Fixing Harbor Freight Helmet

[ericc]

My harbor freight welding helmet stopped darkening automatically unless the sun was bright. It was a real drag since the sun is setting earlier these days. If I didn't quit in time, I'd get to see some bright lights. No flash burn, but the bright flashes can cause headaches. There was a post somewhere saying that there is a pair of lithium coin cells that go dead. You have to split the sealed case, though. Get the kinds with wires attached so they are easy to solder. Works great!

 

[Bob Korves]

The instructions that came with mine said that the battery(s) are not replaceable and gave a five year life, IIRC. Of course, we take messages like that as a challenge. After all, it is already broken, you can't make it worse than that!

 

[jim18655]

I don't have the Harbor Freight model but mine went dead from not being used much. I sat it in bright sun to charge and it came back to life. Mine didn't have a replaceable battery and the manufacturer didn't sell the battery. Ebay has Chinese replacements lenses that work well. FWIW you can test them with an infrared remote control.
Good job on the fix.

 

[ericc]

The trick of leaving it out in the sun worked for about a year. After that, it was kind of like a grade B vampire movie when everybody starts getting anxious when the sun is low in the sky. I've been doing a lot of low amp TIG so I haven't used the helmet regularly.

 

[Tony Wells]

I check mine with a striker. If the sparks won't darken it, I charge it. I don't weld enough to have the arc charge it, and keep it under a dust cover, so it usually goes dead between jobs.