Time to upgrade my welding helmet?

[MikeInOr]

This weekend I spent some time in the shop building a heavy duty mobile base. My welding results were PITIFUL!!! I cleaned the surfaces very well, spark sounded fine, etc. Basically I couldn't see ANYTHING through my 20 year old HF auto darkening helmet! I used to be able to weld just fine with it but have had problems ever since I started wearing glasses. It was cold in the shop so condensation on the mask and my glasses didn't help at all BUT even holding my breath while running a bead I pretty much had to weld by feel. I tried removing my glasses (they are auto darkening in the sun but didn't seem to darken at all) but that didn't really help.

I am thinking it is time to buy a new helmet. I am hoping to find a decent helmet with good clarity for under $100 but would go up to $200 if there was a huge step up for the extra money. Any suggestions?

I am also thinking that I might buy a high powered task light to use while I am welding. Would that help at all (The lighting in my metal shop isn't that great and is due for an upgrade but other projects are taking priority)? If so any suggestions?

P.S. I am using a Lincoln 250 MIG welder but would like to get into TIG some time.

 

[ErichKeane]

The light would likely help out a ton. I found that putting my M18 spotlight made things way nicer.

As for masks, the YesWelder ones all seem really nice, starting at about $90. Chinese manufactured, but sadly most are these days. I've also played with/been tempted by the Harbor Freight Vulcan masks, they are about $160.

 

[ConValSam]

I have a Lincoln Electric (Model# K3063-1) I bought at Home Depot and it works great for me wearing reading glasses under the hood. I have used it both in the shop and outside with equally decent results.

Current price is $140.

 

[Aukai]

Lincoln 3350 4C that has new color technology, and cheaters. I also have the Optrel e684, but they have proprietary cheater inserts, so I use the Lincoln more. The general, and the other welders will be along. I think I should have tried the Optrel "clear view"

 

[Aaron_W]

Had a similar problem. Yes lighting helps a lot, I got a couple of magnet mount lights that can be very helpful.

I was using a less expensive auto darkening helmet, $120-ish, last year I bought a Lincoln 3350 as it has gotten a lot of good reviews here. It made a significant improvement in seeing what I was doing. Well worth the money, I think I paid around $250, but looks like as with everything else they have gone up in price and are more like $300 now.

Well worth the money to me, I'm still a bad welder but at least now it is all on me, not just because I can't see.

Optrel seems to be the best, but I couldn't see spending $500+ on a helmet.

 

[DavidR8]

I upgraded from an old ESAB to their new Savage A40 and couldn't be happier. It's light and the clarity is amazing.
I added an LED headlamp to the chin and that works really well for my needs as a hobbyist.

 

[francist]

Oh I like the chin mount idea! I used little clamp-on book lights onto the actual MIG torch and they worked great too. Batteries lasted only so long though and the switches gave out ou after a while. But they were cheap!

 

[DavidR8]

Oh I like the chin mount idea! I used little clamp-on book lights onto the actual MIG torch and they worked great too. Batteries lasted only so long though and the switches gave out ou after a while. But they were cheap!

One thing to note is to mount the lamp upsidedown so that it tilts up instead of down

 

[woodchucker]

I have a HF auto also. First, did you clean both lenses, inside and out? The outside lens is replaceable if it's hazed over.
Inside not.

My hood has a single knob for adjusting the timing or darkness, Originally they had 2 adjustments, one for speed, and one for darkness. Have you played with those? I would wear clear glasses underneath, no telling what your self darkening glasses are doing with the auto adjust. I wear reading glasses under the hood, as I need to see it better as well. I don't have a fog issue in cooler weather, I have a sweat issue in the summer.

Of course if you want a new hood, some of the new wide vision are super nice, but also SUPER expensive.

 

[MrWhoopee]

I put a 2x magnifier in my very cheap economical auto-darkening hood. Made a world of difference, as did the LED shop lights. I also use higher magnification glasses for shop work than I need for reading.