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Welding Helmet

Hobart Welding Helmet...~$200.....Replaceable battery with solar-assist for max. battery and lens life (2000 hrs. on MIG)
9-13 shade control, sensitivity and delay controls all internally adjusted
Excellent for low amperage TIG and inverter arc responses (10 amps)
 
Althought the self darkening helmets are nice, I prefer a standard helmet when welding on fuselages. Reason being that sometimes you have to reach around tubing and when that tube crosses in between the arc and the helmet, the darkening feature shuts off and you are instantly blinded. If you have never been flashed by a TIG welder, it's not pleasant. Just a few seconds of the arc can make your eyes hurt for days. feels like sandpaper in your eyes. Been there, done that!

John
 
Helmet

Jackson Next Gen is the one I use. Best one so far. lockinging tensioner, 4 sensors to eliminate the tubes in front that would flash you otherwise. Price is around 390.00 Canadian, but we get screwed on lots of stuff.
The helmets sets for grinding , torch and from 9-13 shades for arc.
Ron
 
I agree with ron,next gen is excellent. Most people go out and buy a nice welder and the cheapest welding hood and shield they can find.They wonder why they cant wel nice.If you can see what you are welding your welds turn out much nicer.Some guys that have worked for me welded crappy till i let them use a good helmet. If you use the old style hood,buy 3 or 4 different shades ,if you cant see the puddle lighten the shade one more.It is so surprising how peoples welds improve.
 
I use from Miller. under 150 and everthing is adjustable. auto off and what not.

Jeff
 
I tried a auto darkening when they hit the market years ago and didnt stay with it for the very reason that cubunltd described, I like the large face plate Huntsmans. They seem to have one of the best ratchet mechanisms for the head band and the hood itself is light. I have a lot of welding hoods laying around that I have tried out.
 
pzinck said:
I agree with ron,next gen is excellent. Most people go out and buy a nice welder and the cheapest welding hood and shield they can find.They wonder why they cant wel nice.If you can see what you are welding your welds turn out much nicer.Some guys that have worked for me welded crappy till i let them use a good helmet. If you use the old style hood,buy 3 or 4 different shades ,if you cant see the puddle lighten the shade one more.It is so surprising how peoples welds improve.

Thanks for all of the advice. I will look for one of the jackson nexgen helmets. I have found it is cheaper to buy the best tool you can afford rather than buying the cheapest tool and then buying the right quality tool the second time.

Tim
 
Hey Ron, thanks for the info on the Next generation helmet. I'll look into one.


John
 
helmets

John: No problemmo. I think you'll like it especially if you tried the early Optrels, and got turned off by them. What a piece of crap they were.
Ron
 
Re: helmets

Ron Babos said:
John: No problemmo. I think you'll like it especially if you tried the early Optrels, and got turned off by them. What a piece of crap they were.
Ron
Thats what got me away from them, the early ones were not very good, I think I will look into a new one. I think the first one I had was a Jackson. Time to check into a new shop gadget.Kevin
 
I prefer the Jackson helmets. I've used miller, Hobart, and several others that I can't recall, but the Jackson's are, in my opinion, the best. The others seem too flimsy to me. They flex too much around the pivot point, causing it to push into your head if your head is tipped sideways a bit. The Jackson is a bit heavier, but not what I consider noticeable. If I borrow a helmet from someone, I always find myself wishing I had my Jackson after a short while using theirs. They're very user friendly, and very adjustable for MIG, TIG, SMAW, grinding, plasma cutting, torch, etc.... My $.02, take it for what it's worth.
 
My opinion and thats what it is because this is really a personal preference question and what is the mission with it. I'm a career welder (36 years). I run a Miller Digital Elite. They are very utilitarian (adjustable). I can't say I've tried a Jackson. I stick with what I like. Just make sure it has 4 sensors or you will run into the above described scenarios with the hood going light when you block a sensor. One thing I personally like about a little more flexible headliner is if you are in tight spots you can push your head to the side of the hood and still see out the corner.
 
For tried and true its hard to beat a pipeliner (sugar scoop) with a #10 lens and you can add an auto dark lens in it for another 100 bucks. I have several in the shop but for best visibility I like the 3M speedglas if I am going to be welding all day. It allows you grind and see without removing the hood to put on a face shield.
 
I am of the opinion that lumping all auto darkening helmets in to one group probably doesn't make sense.... Either you're simply implying something besides tinted glass, or you're simply illustrating that you haven't explored a quality modern helmet. There's a world of difference between something you picked up at tractor supply / harbor fright, and a quality tool. Any tool... including a welding helmet.

I enjoy the TIG process, but am only good enough to 'glue' things together :???:. I'm also over 50 years old and now wear glasses, which I *think* means I probably notice when I see well, and notice when it's a bit of a challenge more than the average youngster who hasn't had to use glasses to get it done.

When I need welding done right, I employ my son, who spends all day, every day with a TIG torch in his hand.

About three years ago I bought an Esab Sentinel, It has been my favorite purchase of anything welding related, the COLOR while welding makes sense to my eyes. That also, was the last time my son brought his own helmet down when he came to help :???:. That told me he thought it was a good helmet as well...

Worth the money? hard to say, son didn't go out and buy one,soo... but to me? I would replace it with the same if I needed to in a heartbeat.

Take care, Rob
 
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