Expensive welding helmets?

[Kent]

I just read through this again and thought. How many have a real clue? You see my reading glasses improve my eyesight to a better reading std of this screen text on this here laptop from a couple of inches (and I will melt my mask if I put my head that close) to a good foot longer than I can reach my arm. Anything past 2 mtrs is however very blurry and I shouldn't walk around or drive looking through them. My old readers were ok for anything and I wear a pair made to sunglasses driving ( not because I need correction at distance at all) being only a mild correction for fine detail close up. I am 47 years old though and the things that focus the eye down weaken with age, I can tell a rabbit from a hare or a pinkfoot from a greylag at around 800 yards so I guess my distance is ok uncorrected eh? If your the other side of 40 an eye test is more than a good idea, I hadn't been in over 5 yrs and only booked in because I was taking my youngest (thought it might be a bit worse because I had actually taken to wearing the old specs for welding more)

More adjustable is likely better in a headband but if you sometimes wear a hat sometimes you don't or if you have short hair then long, likely as not it will be too much faff and if you don't have the patience or time to set it up bob on its the wrong one for you. We used to spend a lot of time customising our helmets ( no I don't mean painting silly eyes on them) padding out the front and adjusting everything before locking it all up in place, getting the nodding to just the right height, drop and tension. Has auto correct made people lazy in this regards?

I cant see much point in a real big viewing area unless you are in one heck of a tight spot. I used a split screen when I was working PAYE welding when auto darkening was only just being trialled. The viewing area was tiny I never found it an issue - your only looking at the weld pool at the end of the day and the first rule of running a bead is set yourself up in the right spot decide were any start stop will be, dry run if required etc. dropping your head was a no no as you got tempary blinded so nobody ever touched my lid not even to use as hand held for a sneaky quick tack-up .

 

[Kent]

So really your saying that a cheap cheater lens reduces the optical quality of any helmet you fit it to rendering them all about the same?
Why not wear some off the peg cheap reading glasses with similar magnification then? The lense quality will almost certainly be higher than a cheater with the added benefit that you can clean them easily (a cheater stuck inside a helmet tends to trap all sorts of dust and grit and this creates scratches and swirls when you try to wipe them clean reducing clarity even further) personally for what they cost I find regular lense changes give the best results no mater what the helmet they all scratch easily, and the state most people let their lenses get into always suprises me.

that's a very true thing especially if new lens covers are harder to get or dear. I actually keep a perfect lid in the house now that I go in for when I have something harder to do or TIG. Muck and dust gets all over in the shop and most of it works as a very good abrasive if you wipe it like you say it scratches the thing to an opaque.

 

[AndyS2]

I was saving up for a Speedglas, but after reading this thread I started looking at the Lincoln Viking. I ended up getting the 3350 direct from Lincoln Welding Supplies in Sheffield, who offered me a great deal. Dead pleased with it, it's heavier than my old mask, but really comfortable and the huge window is great. Highly recommend one if anybody is thinking about it.

 

[Richard.]

I was saving up for a Speedglas, but after reading this thread I started looking at the Lincoln Viking. I ended up getting the 3350 direct from Lincoln Welding Supplies in Sheffield, who offered me a great deal. Dead pleased with it, it's heavier than my old mask, but really comfortable and the huge window is great. Highly recommend one if anybody is thinking about it.

That huge front adf makes them heavy but I find the weight is quite well balanced and I'm happy to sacrifice a bit of weight for the large veiwing area. I do really like the mechanism for removing the adf, it's so much easier than my new tech to replace the outers and inners. I'm not too keen on the little adjusters though. They are fiddly with my fat fingers and impossible with gloves! A push button type like the miller elites would be better IMO but hey it's a great mask and for the price they are unbeatable.

 

[addjunkie]

I have a miller mask, threw the cheater lens away, helped me no end at first, but as said not as good as good eyes with out cheater. The cheater seemed to scratch too easily. I w use my computer glasses. Had some cheapies, lens quality was poor, these were ordered on line with advice from an optician on the perscription, were about 15 quid if i remember correctly

The head gear i dont find better or worse than others. Though as lids go its nice and light, about half the weight of my other one.

As for glasses, i have readers, in two magbifications, one for pc use the other for a book.

Then i have a third pair different again for machining, saves me bending over too much to see whats going on. These have side screens too.

Getting old is crap....but part of life i suppose.

 

[paceman1]

getting old I have 1 pair for driving 1 pair for mig welding and 1 pair for tig welding

MOD: Language edit

 

[Bartlett20]

A good helmet must be round and aerodynamic shape ,since radiation and poison gases are close to the person ,should protect all the face and skin also a welding jacket it's require if you are welding for long hours.there so manny website you can buy Good helmet Good Luck!

 

[Farside]

Well, my ebay cheapy died today. It lasted ok, about ten years, but much of that time it wasn't used, so I could have had much more use out of it in terms of inches welded over the years.
I think I'll go up a step to around £70-odd this time and get something with replaceable batteries and a brand name.
I'll keep the old shell and get a cheap insert for it, as a spare, as it's still in very good condition overall, and fitted me quite nicely.

 

[Kent]

It's the same with any who fabricate or even need to do proper weld prep
Lid is going to be off more than on for most

 

[Bill Edwards]

Sort of a two part post this, so bear with me

1: headgear. Are the multi-adjustable type with pivots and clasps everywhere better for long-shift use? I mean, if you put it on at 8am and take it off at 5pm I can see having something that can be perfectly adjusted to suit head shape and bone structure would be great, but for 'hobby' or 'fabrication' use is it more of a liability? In my case, my lid is on and off like a whore's drawers - I only wear it welding so all the inbetweeny stuff (cutting/grinding/measuring/marking/adjusting position/etc. - probably 90%+ of any project time) it's off my head - a single point adjustment suits me but I've not tried a 'fancier' design - would it benefit me or would I break it with constant fiddling?

2. What exactly are these 'bs advertising' things? Adjustability? Larger viewing area? Better optical quality? I can't really think of much else you can do to a lid for marketing points apart from things like integrated dab radio

I've gone from a cheap mask to a decent one. The cheap one is fine for hobby use but really is not comfortable after perhaps half an hour which is what drove me to upgrade. The upgrade is to an Optrel Vegaview which has adjustment for the top band as well, and a stop for how far the lid drops down but that's it. However, with the extra adjuster and I think what must be a far better design of headband it is comfortable and can be worn for a very long time.
It certainly isn't weak or flimsy compared to the cheap design.

I did look at a mask with two top bands, for comfort I would expect that to be the best but I don't see a need for it unless it's worn solidly for a shift, and even then I think my Optrel is probably fine for most heads. They look a little fragile to me, but it's a while since I held one and can't really remember it much now.

The extra bits with decent masks are plentiful:
Adjustability - they fit your head better giving comfort, and I found that the lens is much closer to your eye which greatly reduces light reflecting off the inside and also gives a much wider field of view for the same size window.
Larger viewing area. Some have side windows as well, I have no idea if these are useful as I've not tried them.
More sensors to detect the welding - cheap ones can often get blocked by an obstruction and you get flashed.
Optical clarity - both in the dark and light state. My Vegaview has a shade 2.5 in the light position, the standard is 4. It makes quite a difference! It also has a lower dark shade available too, it goes down to 8 instead of the more common 9.
Grind mode - you can opt to keep it in the light setting to use for protection while grinding.
Replaceable batteries.
Adjustments for the sensitivity and delay, I'm not sure if all cheap helmets have these.

I had to try one before I realised just how much difference there is. I was quite happy with the cheap one apart from it being uncomfortable, but I couldn't go back now.

 

[Bill Edwards]

Yes, I think they are warranted with the possible exception of side windows, I suspect that these are of limited use but that's just a guess.
So perhaps you could say that most of the advertised features are genuinely worth having.

 

[Richard.]

I cannot stand side windows personally. I find them distracting. First thing I did with my old 9002 XL was block em with the stickers then when the stickers peeled off I sprayed them black!
For me (simple guy) I have a but a meer few fundamental requests from a mask.
1 head gear. It's got to be hard wearing. Not too many flimsy adjustment points. I wanna slap it on and tighten the back. Any more is just after thought imo.
Adf. I want a minimum 1/1/1/2 optical quality. I'm 95% tig welder and 50% of it is 1mm or thinner. Those optics need to be clear and I would like the selected shade to cover the full L and W of the view. Something not many masks offer.
Weight. Not so much any more but only a few years ago a mask was on my head 10 hours a day. It's got to be light and well balanced. Nowadays there is more tolerance in this area as I'm not under it as often.
Hard wearing. I am a user not abuser. I will push my gear to its limit and expect it to cope. I won't go kicking it about but I'd expect it to withstand many drops and knocks.
Now for the gimmicks. Grind mode is useless imo. Disagree on this if you wish but for me grinding on any shade other than clear is just handicapping yourself.
I love big viewing areas I also like light weight. You can't have both so I find a compromise between the two works. My 3350 is a little heavy but the viewing is marvellous. I'm not one for lower shades id sooner use lower fixed shade goggles for oxy fuel so shades 5-8 are not stuff I use either. Internal controls are a must for me. That's a preference thing I just hate with a passion them on the outer shell.

 

[Kent]

I think it matters more on low amp tig than general mig mma what quality lens is in

The comfort thing? Lots of piffle really you can get disposable head band cussions and spend a little time on the cheapest of lids and make them the equal or better

Why does anyone need side windows? Once the lid is down and the arc stuck your eyes and mind should not be anywhere but the pool

 

[Richard.]

Yes you can.. Head gear swaps are an easy cheap mod to getting a comfortable lid.
Having used a wide variety of them over the years you can notice significant differences between them but some are simply 10 x the cost of others which isn't always justified. Mine was a bargain at 130 quid and worth its cash. Not perfect by any means as it still pees me off I can't accurately alter the functions with a gloved hand but it's great overall.

 

[Chris Stevens]

Tried a 3350 yesterday, and seems better than my Miller, but dont like the rotary controls. Wonder how much cover lenses are? Those for Miller are very expensive...................

 

[Kent]

You know if your holding out swapping cover lenses on a lid - you wasted your extra spend

You make a fair point Chris. Ask first then buy a large quantity perhaps?

 

[Richard.]

Tried a 3350 yesterday, and seems better than my Miller, but dont like the rotary controls. Wonder how much cover lenses are? Those for Miller are very expensive...................

I agree mate those rotory switches are not the best design. Did you try to set them with a gloved hand. What a ball ache. Push button switches are much better like the speed glas.
I've not welded with the Miller elites yet but they look like a decent layout on the adf. They have that xtig mode which I have tried on the esab hd and is a good thing for obstructive work.

 

[Richard.]

Wonder how much cover lenses are?

Well I'd imagine quite dear but the difference is due to the shape of the millers your really limited to Miller spares where as the Lincoln ones they are just square cut Perspex so you can get them easily and cheap or even cut your own. I've cut out a few spare outers for mine. Inners I haven't bothered as I can't remember the last time I ever replaced one.

 

[Richard.]

iirc you're mainly tig Richard?

Tig mainly mma if it's thicker stuff but not mig at home. Do all processes at work but not consistantly now.
Yes my lid gets a verrrrrrrry easy life. No spatter and the lenses last ages so buying OE ones isn't a heart ache as ten lasts me literally years.
Lids are getting thinner, lighter and certainly will never be as durable as the pipeliner types but then unless your a pipe welder Or even site welder they don't need to be. My old 9002 was my go to lid for donkeys years when I was full time fabricating on site installing thick heavy components in mills. 3.2 and 4mm rods all positions was an easy life for it. When the 13mm carbons came out it would run for the hills but still she never failed. (Outers were changed 2 per shift).
I sold that but a month ago for a £140. That's an amazing investment if you ask me. It's been all over the world suffering serious brutality from all position 12 hour shift welding and gouging faced with currents of over 800 amps 2 feet infront of it showered in molton metal, cost me nothing more than battery's lenses and a tin of paint for the stupid side windows. And I got more than half its money back 10 years on.
Sometimes it's worth spending on them. Hobby mig/mma at home not so much ifyou ask me. Low amp Tig is worth spending for good optical veiw given the old peepers ain't what they once were.

 

[Chris Stevens]

You know if your holding out swapping cover lenses on a lid - you wasted your extra spend

You make a fair point Chris. Ask first then buy a large quantity perhaps?

The price of things like cover lenses for Miller is a complete rip off, but then again this is probably the case for all the more expensive helmets?