LOL, dead right, when MIG first come out most of the old timer acetylene junkies rubbished it too.I don't know who would be stupid enough to try and do rust repairs on a car with gas these days, distortion city!
tnt423,
Sep 13, 3:46am
Most guys at my work use auto darking helmets at work, only the older guys don't, Speedglas is what most of the guys use or Miller, i've had mine about 6 years cost about $600, you can get cheaper ones with only shade 9 for about $250 - $300. It won't make you a better welder just makes life easier when doing lots of tacks.
h.e,
Sep 13, 3:49am
im quite surprised at the amount of welders on here who use them and the numbers they are saying e.g half the workshop use them.im a boilermaker have been for 23 yrs,i dont no anyone who uses them,maybe we are a bit behind the times down here edit to say we do have 1 in the workshop no one including the owner uses it
oramac,
Sep 13, 3:55am
I've been using them about as long as you've been welding.
h.e,
Sep 13, 4:04am
used one many moons ago.it had a solar sensor type set up as it got dirtier the slower it tinted,cleaning obviously helped but it was never as good as when it was new and slowly got worse.all i have seen (i have never bought one myself) have ended up being kicked,thrown to the furtherest corner of the workshop
snoopy221,
Sep 13, 4:23am
First **leg up** here is CHECK what damn lense ya running-if ya can't see.AND Personally i wouldn't recomend a 9 splitting hairs some might say-however a 10 would be my recomendation.[And if ya running a dirty clear and an old 15(Commonest).well cheap as chips for a new lense and a coupla clears-and blow some rods.] Biggest prat with auto helmets is the reaction time-very slow on cheapies.
snoopy221,
Sep 13, 4:26am
Actually other *leg up* here is set ya helmet up-so the lense is ALWAYS down and the helmet is comfortable down-and **leg up** you can shake ya head and it will flip down nicely and be comfortable. I.E. don't have one hand on the stick and the other on the lense-Kapeesh!
wellabolla,
Sep 13, 4:57am
Ive been welding for 20 years.I used to hate the auto lenses.They were big and ya couldnt get into tight places.I used to use an 11 lense coz i used to get head akes.Any hoooo.i got a late model slim type helmet about 5 years ago with my new mig.Now i wont weld without it.Its fast ans reliable It doesn't need battery's (like the old ones).i also have a shaded lense so if something is in the way of the sensors and it doesnt darken,then there is still some protection there.
cathair,
Sep 13, 5:37am
DON'T BUY A CHEAP ONE! I bought one last year from Repco and it lasted about 7 welding jobs before the auto darkening function ceased to work. Didn't even bother taking it back. The auto darkening feature IS way too slow and can damage your eyes in the time it takes to darken. Bite the bullet and get a decent one that has a very fast reaction time. It is after all your eyesight that you are toying with. BOC have specials on helmets quite frequently and they sell nice ones that are up to standard. I have a Speedglas from them
oramac,
Sep 13, 5:44am
Not a problem, just blink your eyes. I haven't used a miller, but would highly recommmend Speedglas.
unclejake,
Sep 13, 8:00am
I have to agree. I have the cheapest one and it is arse as I can't see much. I used a friend's $500 one and it was great.
I understand why experienced welders want to have nothing to o with auto helmets, but if you (like me) MIG only once every few months then the auto ones make sense.
Just make certain you buy a decent one. The $170 one I have (from the Tool Shed I think) is awful to look through.
dinosaw88,
Sep 13, 7:36pm
I dont trust them. You wont know its stopped working until you start welding and then you'll be blind.
richardmayes,
Sep 14, 3:30am
I'm not a welder, but I work around a lot of "real" welders on sites, and a lot of them use these helmets.
Remember "real" builders didn't use battery drills for a while when they were new; useless Father's day presents fit only for suit-wearing girly men I think they were once regarded as.
franc123,
Sep 14, 3:33am
LOL, dead right, when MIG first come out most of the old timer acetylene junkies rubbished it too.I don't know who would be stupid enough to try and do rust repairs on a car with gas these days, distortion city!
oramac,
Sep 11, 12:58pm
I've been using them about as long as you've been welding.
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