welding helmet

Well...Ive used a lot of helmets a time or two. The HF seems to work just as good as my buds Speedglas, at 1/5 the price. They claim to pass all the ANSI standards and as far as activation delay..Ive used my solar powered one at night in my moderately dark shop to TIG at 10 amps with. No delay noted. In fact..my angle grinder may trip it occasionally.

But hey...buy what ya want. And Ill do the same. Thats called different strokes for different folks.

Say..you arent the guy over on misc.survivalism that claims a HF hammer used for framing a house..will build an inferior house to one hammered with an Estwing...are ya?

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Guy, I'm not competent to weigh in on the battery debate, but yes, I love the fan idea. Can you post pictures in the drop box?

ONCE AGAIN! MY AUTO-DARKENING WELDING HELMET DOESN'T HAVE ANY BATTERIES IN IT!

I donn't think you can tell the difference between a capaciter and a battery;

BTW, why don't you get with the program and quit "top posting".

I'd be really surprised if the cheap one didn't protect you adaquately.

I bought two auto-darkening helmets in my brief (6 months) welding experience (almost all TIG). First one was a really cheapo eBay one that is probably much like one of the HF ones, but I don't know which one. Seemed fine except maybe ultra conservative, since it somehow seemed to sense the arc-start HV and would go dark as soon as I hit the TIG pedal even if there was no arc at all yet.

The second one is a fairly expensive Jackson Executive. Much bigger view window and very clear visibilty in the non-dark mode. You clearly see what you are about to do (before the arc) and then clearly see the arc when dark. Nice even view and a color that is very comfortable. More adjustments on the good one. Maybe I'll eventually think of a reason to change something other than the shade number. Probably would feel good to both novice and experienced welders, but really helps us dummies look and feel better.

Both work. The expensive one is much easier, especially since my talents suck and it is nice to clearly see what you are about to do as you start and exactly what you are screwing up while welding. I think the good one makes it easier to learn, but both work, especially after you get adaquate at knowing your arc from a hole in the metal.

One lesson I learned on the good one is that it automatically turns itself off if you don't use it for some time (15 - 30 minutes?). I think that it has been mentioned here that the arc won't damage your eyes on a proper helmet even if it doesn't darken. It IS damn bright though. Nobody should deliberately do it as an experiment. I will now always hit the ON button if I pick the helmet up after doing some other stuff for a while.

As far as I understand, the real danger to eyes is UV radiation. All welding helmets have permanent UV protection that exists regardless of whether the helmet has darkened or not. The visible light is not a big danger.

My experiene with the inexpensive auto-darks is that the cartridge didn't darken uniformly -- there was usually a gradient between the top edge and the bottom edge equivalent to about 1.5 filter steps. ie. About a #11 filter along the top and about a #9.5 filter along the bottom. This was about three years ago, so the product might have been improved since then.

I had a small pallet load of 96 -- same manufacturer, same batch, same lot -- all the helmets exhibited the same "feature". After I finished saving money, I decided that I would use a cheap auto-dark helmet ONLY when it was the right tool for the job. :)

My current inventory has three manual-dark Jacksons for real work, and two auto-dark Optrels for Sundays, Holidays, and Special Occasions -- a guy's gotta dress up sometimes. :)

Always happy to oblige!

Can't tell the difference between a battery and a capacitor? Okay.

Prefer air-powered nailers. Quality of a house is a dependent on many factors. A lousy hammer may affect worker disposition, which may impact house quality... Hopefully you have a sense of humor. ;-0

It seems as though the issue of batteries being inside your solar-powered helmet hasn't been resolved yet. Apparently capacitors and batteries are easily confused.

So, we're right back to square one, but with a twist.

If your so-called solar powered helmet has batteries embedded in it, which it likely has, it will take a few years, but by taking care of your Speedglas, you will not only be more comfortable, but will amortize your money relatively easily.

My thoughts therefore are that with a minimum of care, I'm going to be ahead in many ways. The first is convenience by replacing batteries instead of helmets, and by having a much better helmet.

Make a note..and in say...5 yrs, we can discuss this subject again.

Agreed?

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Those work anywhere and all time - no need batteries flashlights - Coil - magnet - rectifier - and a cap & "white" LED. You generate power by flipping it over and over - wearing out your elbow - then the cap charges enough for current in the LED.

No battery - just a cap.

Martin

Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH & Endowment Member NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder

Diam> ONCE AGAIN! MY AUTO-DARKENING WELDING HELMET DOESN'T HAVE ANY BATTERIES IN > IT!