Auto darkening masks

[monetbridge]

Hi everyone,

Brand new to this forum and i'm just a 'hobby welder'. I have the traditional 'flip' type helmet and would like to upgrade to an auto-darkening type. I see they are quite expensive, but on e-bay, some are advertised, brand new,for as low about £25? Does anyone have experience of these cheaper masks? Should I steer clear of them or what?

Any advice, comments, would be much appreciated.

Many thanks - Monetbridge

 

[malcolm]

I'd been meaning to add a forum section for masks and things for ages as information was spread around. You'll have missed this section as it wasn't here when you posted, but there's good reading.

The really cheap ones tend to be fixed shade, and quality is likely to be up to normal eBay standards. We tend to advise people to £50 and pick up one with a little adjustment in shade from a welding dealer.

 

[TVT]

While we`re here, I`ll drop in my $0.02....
I`ve got a cheapie that I bought when I got my kit, and in all honesty - I am very happy with it.
Yes, it`s fixed-shade, and has a small window, but - especially once I`d custom-painted it - it was absolutely fine.
Then I got an expensive Miller one, and unsurprisingly, it`s much better. It has a bigger window, variable shades, variable timing, and crucially, it has an on-off switch.
The benefit of that is that you can test that it`s gonna darken before you strike the arc, whereas with the cheapie, you`re trusting it to work. Although you can always glance at a lightbulb to check, I guess.

Mind you, the long and short is that the cheap one is more than adequate.
My only caution to you would be probably not to buy the very cheapest one - but that caution usually applies to whatever you`re buyiing!

 

[Bullyterrier]

I bought a cheap one from ebay around 30 quid mark - very pleased with it. Light shade 3, so good to see what your doing in low light, variable shade 9 - 13, tig setting, adjustable sensitivity setting. It is the spiders web one you see on there.

 

[sloderby]

I bought one of the Parweld XR14 masks & am happy with it.
It's brilliant compared to the fixed shade & makes things much easier.
It has adjustable shade around 9-13 as Bullyterrier says.
I bought mine on ebay from the same seller as below, but I collected as I live nearby, I had no problems with him so can recommend him.
They're also available from the likes of DIY Welding & possibly Weldequip?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Parweld-Welding-Solar-Auto-Mask-9-to-13-shade-XR14_W0QQitemZ350166137702QQihZ022QQcategoryZ67052QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[monetbridge]

Thanks for all your comments guys, much appreciated.