I have used a Jackson Nex Gen helmet for 12 years, 2 sets of batteries. Very nice helmet, it cost me about $200 when new. I would do it again, at the time it was considered the best bang for buck in a high end helmet. I am sure now that everyone makes auto helmets there is competition but Jackson has been doing this for years and are USA company with complete service parts available at many welding stores.
-
Welcome back Guest! Did you know you can mentor other members here at H-M? If not, please check out our Relaunch of Hobby Machinist Mentoring Program!
TIG Auto Darkening Welding Helmets-Cheap or Expensive?
- Thread starter Janderso
- Start date
Also, back when I first bought my TIG setup, I had purchased a Harbor Freight AD helmet... when I got it home, I found a line in the instruction book that stated 'This helmet is not recommended for use in TIG welding'. I returned it...
Bear
Bear
I have the same helmet, it's the best I've ever had. I bought a cheap helmet from USAWeld for a friend to use while I taught him to weld, think it was $80. I grabbed it yesterday to save the time it would take to get the miller out of its bag and got flashed twice before I stopped and got the miller. Night and day difference.
B
British Steel
Forum Guest
Register Today
ALL will block UV and IR light even when they're not darkened, there are filters built in for that so no arc-eye (assuming they have local approvals - straight from China via EvilBay, AliBaba or Wish may not have...) - all you get is dazzled temporarily, unlike trying to weld without any eye protection... The built-in filters are a lot more expensive if you want to see more visible light through 'em, which may be one of many reasons why the cheaper helmets are darker?
Dave H. (the other one)
Steel is correct- the clear part of the lens gives the main protection, the darkening is for visible light glare. Many folks
do not know this. Think about it- no manufacturer would trust a couple of coin batteries to protect against eye damage- and the
regulatory agencies wouldn't either. It has to be passive protection.
I bought an Antra X60 series helmet (55$, Amazon) good value, and they include several replacement lenses.
do not know this. Think about it- no manufacturer would trust a couple of coin batteries to protect against eye damage- and the
regulatory agencies wouldn't either. It has to be passive protection.
I bought an Antra X60 series helmet (55$, Amazon) good value, and they include several replacement lenses.
I've been thru a few different hoods and have been served well by the Harbor Freight units with either the silver or blue blaze decals. My blue one is about 9 years old and the silver one is about 4 years old They have only 2 sensors so, you need to keep your face square to the welding. At least 2 sensors are needed for the unit to function. This is how all 2 sensor units work. Anyhow, the HF hoods are good, functional and high-value. After a decade, the strap mechanisms are working fine. I replace the sweatband with generic replacements at least 1-2 times a year.
The front clear lens (0.040" thick polycarbonate plastic) is what blocks all the UV. Never weld without that in place! I buy it in sheets and cut it to size with a box cutter for a replacement cost of about 10 cents per lens. Just look on Amazon for polycarbonate sheet plastic. Polcarbonate is very easily scratched and it absorbs chemicals very easily. After a week of welding, you can see that it's permanently yellowed/discolored. If you want to see what you're doing (especially the weld puddle) replace that lens frequently. Clean the inside lens too. After a few hours, it's filthy with soot.
If you do a google search of the serial number on the auto-darkening control unit, you will see that they are the same ones used in a lot of the "name brand" helmets costing hundreds more. Alibaba sells those control units in minimum lots of 5000.
If I buy another helmet, it will be one of the "color view" or "clear view" units which hit the markets a couple years ago. My buddy let me try his last year and it did have better color rendition and fewer contrast problems. But not enough for me to justify $250 more because my $50 helmets serve me perfectly. I'm waiting for the price to drop on the Lincoln Viking.
Happy welding...
Ray
The front clear lens (0.040" thick polycarbonate plastic) is what blocks all the UV. Never weld without that in place! I buy it in sheets and cut it to size with a box cutter for a replacement cost of about 10 cents per lens. Just look on Amazon for polycarbonate sheet plastic. Polcarbonate is very easily scratched and it absorbs chemicals very easily. After a week of welding, you can see that it's permanently yellowed/discolored. If you want to see what you're doing (especially the weld puddle) replace that lens frequently. Clean the inside lens too. After a few hours, it's filthy with soot.
If you do a google search of the serial number on the auto-darkening control unit, you will see that they are the same ones used in a lot of the "name brand" helmets costing hundreds more. Alibaba sells those control units in minimum lots of 5000.
If I buy another helmet, it will be one of the "color view" or "clear view" units which hit the markets a couple years ago. My buddy let me try his last year and it did have better color rendition and fewer contrast problems. But not enough for me to justify $250 more because my $50 helmets serve me perfectly. I'm waiting for the price to drop on the Lincoln Viking.
Happy welding...
Ray
B
British Steel
Forum Guest
Register Today
Ray's right about polycarbonate blocking UV - I tried using it to hold PCB positives on some photo-resist boaard and it didn't develop at all... 
Dave H. (the other one)
Dave H. (the other one)
