Welding helmets
 

Just curious what you guys have for welding helmets. I've got to get a new one and I don't want to trust my eyes to a china made look-a-like.

I purchased mine used off ebay

JACKSON PROFESSIONAL EQC AUTO DARKENING WELDING HELMET

I paid $89 shipped for it and my only extra expenses were eneloop rechargeable batteries plus a couple magnifier lenses ( cheaters ) for the small work I do.

I would suggest getting a name brand helmet. I had a Harbor freight ( I won that auction for $27.63 ) but that only worked for a few months. I was not happy with the hf at all .

I like my speedglas 9000X, an oldie but a goodie.
Never had a problem with it.
It wasn't cheap @ $400 something, but I only have one set of eyes.
Just wish it had a little more space between it and my nose.:crap:

i have a lincoln auto darkening helmet, cant remember how much it cost but it was well worth it.

I wish I try one of the new 3M speed glass some day, I read good comments about them :ThumbsUp:

I currently own 2 auto dark Miller, one of them is an Elite (Lucky' speed shop) and the other one is a Pro-Hobby (American eagle), one old Jackson with a 10 shade and a Weldco with an auto dark retrofit. All have their purpose but I use my Elite most of the time and give the Pro-hobby to the "expert" next to me watching my chicken poop job....

I had a Jackson auto darkening helment for years. It was great. I now have a Miller. Both were basic models... 85 to 100 dollars. I had a cheap HF for a minute. I didn't trust it. Didn't always darken like it should. My advice... get a good one. Don't risk a cheap one! Your eyes are priceless!:beerchug:

Get a Miller Pro-Hobby and you won't be disappointed!!

This is the Miller helmet that I currently have. I really like it. I've been using it about 3 years.
http://store.millerwelds.com/commerc...?ProdID=251292

Bought mine at orschelns for 119.00 its a kt industries with variable shade adjustment. Very good helmet for the price

I use an arc1 vision model helmet, I had a cheaper model arc1 that got me through college and was flawless (still have it, still works great). The vision has a large screen, is adjustable from shade 5-14, has a knob on the outside to adjust the shade "on the fly", has 4 light sensors incase the workpiece is in the way, has a grind setting so it can double as a full face shield, and has different delay settings. For example if you tig weld AL, when you break the arc, the tungsten electrode is still glowing bright enough to damage your eyes. You can set the delay so it holds dark giving the tungsten time to cool and dim. I did not buy it here, but this is a better price at just over $200 bucks.

http://store.weldersource.com/p-3809...df81-1500.aspx

If I'm stick or shielded flux core welding I really like my plain old $30 large window Jackson helmet with a gold lens. Everything looks red instead of murky green and it's really easy to distinguish the weld puddle from the flux floating on top. If you have a standard helmet lying around, buy a gold lens for it (about $10), it gives a cool new view to welding.

Bill