Concerning Welding Helmets

I have been researching which welding helmet to buy. I see that I certainly need one with auto darkening. I also see most of the better helmets have variable shade settings. My question is how do you know what shade setting to use? Do you use different settings for mig, tig, stick, or aluminium verses steel?

 

Selecting the Right Welding Helmet for You

Buy the best you can afford. I like my ESAB Sentinel A50.

 

The most common shade is 10 and is a good starting point. The actual shade you use is a combination of personal preference and how high the welding amperage is. I usually use 9 for tig welding sheet metal and 10 to 11 for everything else. Look for a hood with at least 4 sensors. If the arc light get blocked from the sensors you'll get flashed. With more sensors its less likely to happen especially if you are in a weird position or under a vehicle.

 

I had a cheap Home depot auto-darkening helmet fail on me. Got flashed pretty well.

Swapped over to a standard non auto-darkening with a nice large window and it's been much better (lighter weight, too).

 

This is what I bought 6 years or so ago. 3M Speedglas 9100 Helmet w Auto Darkening Filter 9100X - 06-0100-20SW The new ones claim that you can see color better. I paid about 500 bucks for it and at the time that was more than I paid for my welder, but I was getting "micro" flashed by the Harbor Fight ones. It was not a full on flash all the time, but at the end of the day my eyes burned and by morning it felt like there was gravel in them.

The side windows are nice, but honestly if there weren't there I wouldn't notice. The adjustable setting works fine, the quality over all of the hood is fine. I have no complaints. I run about a 9 for Tig as long as its not stainless and 10-11 for Mig depending on amperage. I never use it for grinding, I have a pair of safety glasses and a full face shield for that.

Incidentally, I wear safety glasses under my hood most times as well. When you pull up your hood, stuff jumps off your weld sometimes and can even get under your hood. Also, when grinding your tungsten for Tig welding after your stuck it in the puddle and you're irritated, you don't have to remember to put them back on...

Also, thorium is bad. Its radioactive and the grinding dust is too. It emits beta and alpha particles that if they get inside you can create problems. Thorium dioxide
decay and daughter product chart https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1050/thorium.htm
Wear gloves and don't stick your fingers in your mouth via smoking tobacco or food without thoroughly washing. Also the dust on the ground from this that you walk in gets tracked all over.. same deal.

Use lanthanated or ceriated tungstens instead and buy a cheap grinder attachment for your dremal or a dedicated one. Stops wandering arc and is worth every penny.

 

I have that Speedglass helmet also. Got it used and it's about time to replace it. A friend got the Optrel Crystal 2.0 very impressive, but expensive.
I use cheaters in the lenses also. Bifocals don't work for welding because you are constantly looking in and out of the puddle. My welds improved when I quit wearing the bifocals and went to straight 3.0 magnifiers.

Good advice on the tungstens and grinding.


Dave

 

I understand the hazard of Thorium, but I'm ignorant of how it enters the picture here. Please explain?

 

increases current capacity and decreases contamination Thorium Containing Welding Rod (1990s)

 

I am looking at the optrel Optrel Crystal 2.0 Welding Helmet 1006.900 as well. Seems very reasonable for what it is. I finally replaced the batteries on my speedglas hood after all these years. Its really a quality hood.

 

Those batteries last a long time. Mine still works, just beat up form years on jobs before I got it. Straps are getting worn out lenses scratched. Got a lot more out of it than the $50 I paid for it. I think the Optrel would be the last helmet I will ever buy.

Dave

 

I can’t recommend this one enough, but it says it’s out of stock. Best hood I’ve ever used, and best price too.

Jackson Welding Helmet - Black Insight Lens 46131

 

I bought the Miller's most basic hood when I bought the MIG welder: https://www.amazon.com/Miller-Electric-Performance-Clearlight-Technology/dp/B077PCFCT9/

I've been very happy with it. It's lightweight, comfortable, and works well. Another thing I find helps my welding a lot is a brilliantly lit work area. If the general lighting isn't bright enough, you can only see the puddle and not where you're going while welding.

 

I'll second this I have thre Miller basic helmet and it works well. I just changed the batteries after several years of use and was happy to find they were just basic AA or AAA but not some crazy watch battery.

 

I can share that the ArcOne helmets are garbage. The cool new shade where you can see color and the price was reasonable but only 2 sensors, mounted too low, so it's easy to get flashed. Also just generally poor build quality, sometimes resulting in the lens assembly slipping so the sensors wind up even more shaded. The adjustment knows are also too easy to move, I keep moving the helmet an turning the shade up. Just don't do it.
I might need one of those Optrel helmets.

 

Do any of you use a 3m or similar respirator under their welding hood?

 

North makes a low-profile n99 unit and I've seen others as well. When welding crusty stuff or stick welding it really does help keep the smoke out of your lungs. I use it less often than I should but some.

 

I use an n95 mask when welding. I’ve haven’t used a full respirator in years; I used to wear one at work when welding galvanized steel when I couldn’t move it outside.

 

Miller makes a welding halfmask that works well.