Welding Mask/Helmet

[JeffR]

So my old helmet expired (can't complain was a £25 eBay jobby!) after 8 years of abuse.  It has taken to refusing to auto dark.... Welding flash is rather unpleasant. So need a new one (affordable!) any recommendations - got a 110 to refurbish , a grand vitara to rebuild and a wheel crusher to make.....

[dangerous doug]

Something that is designed to protect your eyes isn't worth economising on. I used to have a sealey one which was pretty good on the price/performance scale and now have a speedglas which is superior in every way! Only thing I can say is but something with a known reputable name on it

[landroversforever]

What Doug says, there's no point skimping on something that's protecting your eyes. You only get one set! I've got an Optrel E680 and I love it. Fine control for TIG but also happy with the MIG turned right up. Buy a decent brand  

[UdderlyOffroad]

There was a thread on here a while back re this; I'm still very happy with my ESAB helmet, which was £60-odd from the local welding factors.  If you can go to your local place and try a couple - bearing in mind these places keep 'trade' hours so you probably need to leave work  early one day - there's usually a deal to be had for cash, and prices are often better than online.

[Kierran.M.110]

i started my apprenticeship as fabricator and after a while a chance in the company allowed me to change to cnc machining and still do a bit of welding from time to time, i use a combination of two masks,

this mask auto darkening mask for tacking, fitting up  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bolle-Fusion-Welding-Helmet-FUSV-New-and-unused-/332211757954?hash=item4d595d2382:g:BYAAAOSwdGFYwEsF

then this standard wide view mask for actually fully welding the work piece http://www.r-techwelding.co.uk/phantom-passive-flip-front-static-welding-helmet/

[Ex Member]

It depends a lot on what type of welding you are doing.  For most of what people would do here absolutely anything will work.

If you are doing TIG on thin materials as small amps, then the topic gets more involved.

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Having a great Mask helps you do better welds.

Speedglas are just fantastic, but not cheap, switched on the glass is brighter than off, and you can see everything around you vs a cheap mask where putting it on turns everything near pitch black lol

 

ESAB also do some nice auto helmets too

 

 

[landroversforever]

But the nicer the helmet the better it is. Yes it will still darken if you get a cheap one but its going to be less reliable and no where near as good as a decent one. As nige says, nicer mask will make you weld better.

I don't want to risk my eyes with a cheap one.

[andy2986]

Hiya,

 

I started a topic on this a little while ago. 

I ended up buying a speedglass jobie.

It was a lot of money but i get on with it very well and its nice and bright. 

I tend to buy things looking at the long term rather than cheep and cheerful. Also if it, for any reason, was lost I would replace it with the same model.

 

HTH

 

Andy

 

[JeffR]

OK narrowed it down to two: 

ESAB Sentinel A50, cos well its cool.....

Miller Electric Viking 3350

Visited local welding shop and accidentally came away with the big screen Viking, wow what a revelation.  The bigger field of of view makes life just so much easier, being able to clearly see the weld pool whilst lying on your back at arms length (bought a 2.5 cheater lens too!) has improved my welding exponentially.  Mind you the ESAB was super cool but sadly didn't fit me comfortably.

 

Can recommend the Viking, best £194 Ive spent in a long time, just got to confess to the wire/hide the bank statement next.....

[nickwilliams]

Lincoln Electric will be very upset if they notice you have attributed their helmet to their arch-rivals, Miller! :-)

I have a Lincoln Viking 3350 as well - it's the dog's danglies. 

[JeffR]

OOPS scotty! Also looked at Millers!

[B reg 90]

I had a cheap helmet. It failed after about a year. Decided to go a bit more expensive and spend £60. The helmet I received looked identical to the cheap old one..... It also randomly cut out for a 1/2 second giving me arc flash 1/2 way though a weld. I returned it.

 

Then decided I like my eyes  and bought a £230 speedglas unit. It's superb compared to the cheap ones. Obviously if you don't have the cash it's not an option, but if you can spring for one they are much, much, much  better. The wide field of view, brighter when off, better controls, seems to be brighter with out arc glare when welding, far better build quality, etc.

 

I strongly recommend one if you going to be doing more than 5 minutes of welding every now and then. I found best price was on Cromwells web site. I managed to find an online discount code on the web as well that discounted it.

 

Adrian

 

 

[Dave W]

I have an auto darkening helmet, not sure of the make off the top of my head, it was on special offer at the BOC gas place when I was in and it was a LOT better than my previous one.

That said though it seems to be all or nothing no matter where I set the level, it's nice and clear when "off" but as soon as I start welding I can barely see anything outside the arc which makes welding a bit of a guessing game sometimes ! The number if times I've done a really nice looking weld... about 5 mm away from the join !

All the helmets seem to have a similar adjustment range but is there a helmet that will let me see what I'm welding without melting my eyes too ?

[nickwilliams]

The Lincoln Viking 3350 can be switched between two different shade ranges which together cover shades 5 - 13. The newer ones have what Lincoln refer to as a 'C4' filter which is very nearly colour neutral. You can also get a range of magnifying lenses to go in them. There's really nothing else on the market which is as good. 

The other factor which makes a massive difference is to ensure you regularly replace the lens covers (inside and out) - the scatter from dust/residue on the lens makes a huge diference to what you can see when the filter is in dark mode.