Welding Helmet Selection

[everyjuangohome]

It's about time I upgrade. I like my Helmet when I am tig welding, but have a hard time seeing when I MIG weld.

What's a good Helmet to get and why?

Im just a basic welder nothing special. Using an older lincoln Idealarc 250 for TIG and a millermatic 250xp for MIG

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[DP Racing]

It's really up to what you're doing more of TIG or MIG, bench or in-car welding. I liked the auto darkening hoods for bench welding when I have to skip around the part or have a bunch of tiny parts to put together. The only down side is when the sensor gets into a shadow and you can still see the weld.

I use a Huntsman flip type for EVERYTHING now. It does take some getting used to when you are in a car but you will never be blinded; they're cheap and light. I use a # 10 gold lense for everything I weld including aluminum (the gold helps on the glare off the lense).

Your welds look good with what you are using. Removing the mill scale off the material will also help in seeing whats going on. Also remember to keep that tungsten sharp.

I hope this helps. Keep an eye out for local welding shop open houses. They usually have a welding area for checking out the new product before you buy it.

[everyjuangohome]

Thanks for the reply. I currently use an auto darkening helmet now. When I TIG the puddle and bead really stand out and give off a nice orange tint, when I MIG weld it's green and I can't see the material I am welding very well so it's harder for me to get a nice clean MIG weld all the time.

I am self taught, almost ditched the TIG that took a long time to get where I am at today, I don't really have that steady of a hand so Im happy with what I can do. I keep that TIP sharp I also have a dedicated grinder for my tung. I always clean my metal before welding the best I can as well.

[atomicjoe23]

OK. . .I can totally help you out here, because I have run the entire scale of welding helmets in the last year from straight plate (also used a #10 gold lens) to bargain bin auto-darkening (Blackstone w/knob adjustment), mid-range auto-darkening (Miller Pro-Hobby w/knob), and premium auto-darkening (Miller Digital Elite). . .

First off. . .you are using an auto-darkening now. . .I would highly suggest that you stick with an auto-darkening hood.

What helmet are you using now? What is your price range?

Look for one with the solar panel so you don't have to worry about the batteries going dead on you. . .also make sure that whatever helmet you get has a standard sized lens that you can buy a straight plate for. . .just in case and keep a spare in your bag (extra batteries are also something to keep on hand).

So once you answer what you have now and how much you wanna spend I can point you in the right direction. . .

. . .right now not knowing your budget or what you currently have I would highly suggest the Miller Pro Hobby. . .it's not digital, but it does have a sensitivity setting that allows you to weld in the sunshine or shadows. . .I used this helmet for about six months of welding on table in a dedicated welding booth, on a jig table in the middle of a shop, outside in the open, in a garage and under a carport. . .I never once had an issue with it and still have it.

I upgraded to the Miller Digital Elite because my job paid for it and I liked the graphics better (got the American Vintage graphics). . .the only difference between the Digital Elite and the Pro Hobby in my opinion are the graphics, the Elite is digital with push-buttons, and the Elite has the X-Factor lens (supposed to help with the welding outside, but as I said I never once had an issue with my Pro Hobby). . .the only difference that I personally could tell between the two was that the Elite has a slightly clearer lens. . .and I mean very slight. . .if my job hadn't paid for it I wouldn't have bothered with it. . .

. . .you can get a Pro-Hobby for ~$160 while the Digital Elite goes for ~$485 (slightly less if you get the non-digital standard Elite). . .

. . .so how much do you wanna pay, but you can't go wrong with the Pro Hobby.

I've used other helmets in the past year as well so if you have questions on a different helmet just ask and I'll tell you what I think (it's only my opinion though and others will be different).

[mikeyfrombc]

Miller MP10 with a #10 GOLD Lense

[atomicjoe23]

I personally don't like straight plates for MIG & TIG welding. . .

. . .I don't mind them for SMAW welding, but if it's vertical or overhead SMAW I much prefer auto-darkening.

I used straight plates for about a year and a half before I upgraded. . .I never had problems welding with a straight plate, but the starts became an issue whenever I started having to have welds inspected at each pass. . .no arc spots were allowed outside of the pass. . .so it became critical to know exactly what was going on ALL of the time and not just when I was actively welding.

. . .just me $.02

[HardCharger81]

Speed Glass. One of the best helmets you can buy.

I got my first one when I was 18 for a b-day present, I'm 29 now, still use it everyday.
I just recently bought a SpeedGlas 9002X for my own home use. Its really cool. It flips
open like the old fixed shade helmets do too.

[loufish]

Just about all my helmets have been the Huntsman 711P...not for electric welding, but they are very light and small for getting your head in tight off-position welding places (roll cages in small cars...?)...Sort of a custom deal...not recomended for all....

My last 2 helmets have been Millers, the latest the Elite series...It took a while to get used to the auto-darkening, but it works great now...

[atomicjoe23]

The Miller's are also a nice compact design which fits easily into tight spaces when welding out of position on roll cages. . .but so are most of the nice helmets anymore. . .

[Tech Tim]

I am doing a helmet review for 4WD Toyota Owner magazine and have a bunch of different helmets (both hobby and pro models) on loan for the review and after 2 mos of playing with all these trick new helmets I can tell that IMO there is no perfect helmet.

Speedglas: Their top of the line has the most comfortable headset PERIOD. It looks real different, but put it on your head and it is total cush. And I flat out love the side windows, no ninjas sneaking up on you with that helmet!

Miller: Love both their new hobby and pro models, BUT why do I have to turn it on every time I pick it up??? If it has to have a ON/OFF button, let me decide when to turn it off.

The new Hobarts are very nice. The Pro model has the big viewing lens and the little air cushion on the head band is very comfortable.

The Jackson X is one of the best of the Auto lenses, but why install it in a helmet that is twice as heavy as the others? Sore neck after about 20 mins use.

The ARC Ones are super nice and work real well, nothing super stands out about them, but a good package overall so it ranks pretty high.

Optrell also builds a kick butt helmet. Their Pro model is roomy and works flawlessly.

For me the ultimate auto helmet is a combination of 4 or 5 features on different brand helmets. BUT this is different for each person, I like my helmets on the dark side and the different helmets have various tint to them, one bugs me after 5 mins, my shop assistant can go 45 mins with it no problem. The same with helmet shape and where it hangs on your head, different styles for different head shapes.

I'll edit this post with part numbers and a little more detail in the future.

(Joe if you want to come down and try a few different styles, fire me off a PM.)