I'm looking to replace a 17 year old Miller welding helmet that I've never liked. The viewing lens is too small, the flip up system never seemed to work well, and the auto darkening has actually become too slow. It never had a good battery life either. I actually hate the thing now.
I wear glasses, and would like to have the biggest viewing area I can get price permitting. Maybe even something with the ability to fit a magnifying lens in place. My eyes will be 60 years old soon.
Any ideas of what I should consider? What are you guys using? All and any welding helmet wisdom appreciated here.
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65 Laurentian post, 67 Grande Parisienne 4 door HT.
Mine is from Eastwood. At least the better one is. It is also adjustable shade, believe 9 thru 12. The other is a brand name but older with a fixed #11 shade. Both are auto darkening. With mig you usually generate much less light for a shorter period and I found that the #11 shade stayed too dark to really see the weld when doing light stuff. Both have the larger lens and with some of the positions you have to get into when working on bodies you need to be able to look out of the corner of your eye. Small lens are okay for straight forward bench work.
This is definitely an area where I would pay the extra for brand name as you don't want to trust your eyesight to an inferior product.
-- Edited by norontcan on Wednesday 10th of March 2021 11:56:05 PM
Mark. We have been selling the ESAB Savage helmet 4-1 to any of the others. Good viewing area,shade 9-13 and has the grind mode button. They seem to be pretty indestructible from the feedback in the field. Pretty sure it's a 2 year warranty. You had an auto with flip front? Those are a lot heavier and hard on the neck. Should be around 160-180 (Canadian) depending on where you buy from.
ESAB Savage A40 Welding Helmet
Regular price$159.00
Colour Black Yellow
Black Yellow
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ESAB SAVAGE A40 WELDING HELMET
The SAVAGE A40 helmet has been designed to meet the needs of a variety of welders, providing a high tech lightweight shell to protect from heat, sparks and spatter. Utilizing the latest ADF technology, the welding lens gives a high clarity of view with True Colour, resulting in an excellent optical quality. The SAVAGE A40 helmet provides ideal functionality, performance and comfort to the occasional welder, maintenance and construction workers through to the professional welder.
External shade adjustment between DIN 9 and DIN 13 and an optical class of 1/1/1/2. Delay and sensitivity can be adjusted from the inside
Four arc sensors for higher auto darkening response
Wider coverage and a larger viewing area of 100 x 50 mm (3.93 x 1.96 in.) that offers a wide field of vision and increased spatial awareness
Sensitivity control is an adaptable feature useful when welding low amp TIG for better reaction to darker arc light
Delay control enabling the welder to set how long the lens stays dark after the welding arc stops. Short delay helps get the job done faster during tack welding, whilst longer delay is useful for high amperage welding
You insert them into the viewing window of your helmet. I have one (I think it was a Lincoln brand) and it's great, except it is too thick and I had to modify the lens holder a bit to get it to work in my helmet (I'll be looking into the Miller ones that Jim mentioned - I bought one that was too strong and I find myself getting too close to the weld. I need to try a less powerful lens.).
I've been trying (operative word: TRYING) to teach myself TIG welding. I find that I really need to be able to see the puddle and electrode much more clearly than for MIG, and the cheater lens helps BIG TIME. Maybe after I get a better feel for it, it might not be as critical, but keeping the electrode out of the molten metal has been a challenge!
