Welding helmets, costs vs longevity?

[Al Smith]

Jackson made a good line of welding equipment ,hoods stingers etc .I have a couple of hoods which I seldom use because they are standerd small glass and I prefer the large glass .Now if you want to see some creative designs get around a bunch of pipeline welders .They'll use a set of cutting goggles with a dark lens and make shields out of thin plywood .I suppose out in the hot sun it gives them some ventilation .Most pipe line welding is all down hill .Why I have no idea ???All those pipelines I've been around had fairly thick walls which in my way of thinking would be three pass,stringer 6010 ,hot pass 6010 or 7018 and cap 7018 uphill .Then again I've never been a pipeline welder just pressure pipeing , structural steel

 

[lehman live edge slab]

Jackson made a good line of welding equipment ,hoods stingers etc .I have a couple of hoods which I seldom use because they are standerd small glass and I prefer the large glass .Now if you want to see some creative designs get around a bunch of pipeline welders .They'll use a set of cutting goggles with a dark lens and make shields out of thin plywood .I suppose out in the hot sun it gives them some ventilation .Most pipe line welding is all down hill .Why I have no idea ???All those pipelines I've been around had fairly thick walls which in my way of thinking would be three pass,stringer 6010 ,hot pass 6010 or 7018 and cap 7018 uphill .Then again I've never been a pipeline welder just pressure pipeing , structural steel

Code pipeline welds and high pressure steam boiler pipes usually is 6010 down hill and 6010 fill or 7018 fill with a 7018 cap usually. But each one can be different depending on materials we used some 7010 and 8010 few times along with 11018 low hydrogen rods. The 7010 is just basically a stronger 6010 and that rod is designed for vertical up or down. Usually do down on pipe and key hole or whip the root in, I liked the keyhole downhill the best. Run on the hot side and actually push the tip of the rod through the weld slightly and pull back. Moving slightly down each time you do this, looks like a catapiller on the inside when done. Pipe welding requires full penetration but you don’t want to much inside causing turbulence in flow so you can actually bust a weld test having too much inside. 6010 is made for open roots so that’s why they use as pipe root pass, 7018 would need a backer ring to hold the shielding gas back around weld so you didn’t get porosity in root.

 

[Partner]

Likewise, batteries and external protective glass can be replaced if someone has time

 

[Al Smith]

Besides hoods you can spend a lot of time discussing welding methods .T1 steel for example which usually is 11018 and using anealing beads on the finish. Consumable inserts used on nuclear piping which BTW I've never done in my life .I might add once you get it down pat you'll have it the rest of your life .It was easy for me but some never do get it .

 

[Catbuster]

The best view I’ve had out of a welding hood was/is a shade 9 gold glass lens. I don’t really want a huge view, so I go with the 2x4.25, right now I go with the Phillips Safety ones-in an old school (made in the 1990s) fixed-front Fibre Metal tigerhood I got from my dad. The batteries don’t die on me, it’s comfortable, fits easily over a hard hat, and is borderline indestructible. Now that I’ve posted that I’ll run it over.

Speedglas is the standard of which all auto-darkening hoods are judged by. They’re priced as such, but with that said my dad used a 9100 series hood for 15-ish years as a pipefitter and it was in good shape.

Beyond Speedglas, Optrel hoods are known for durability. Their flagship hood is close to $500, and their “budget” hood is over $300. They’re really light, cover your face and neck, and I love them.

My friend who I used to do fab work with uses an ESAB Sentinel. It’s great hood too. Lincoln Electric had their Viking series which are really good but the lens is grayscale, which hurt my eyes.

I love Miller welders but hate their hoods. The special clear lenses, the lip on the front spatter and sparks catch on and eat the hood up, the uncomfortable headgear, I’m over it. My friend who works as a mechanic has mine now.

My first auto darkening hood was a Jackson W40 insight I got in 2017. I still use it if I’m doing general fab work in a shop. It feels great on my head, and I can see well enough out of it that I don’t have problems using it.

Ultimately, it needs to fit you, and you need to be able to see out of it. If you can’t see, welding isn’t going to work. The price point that works for you is going to be defined by those two parameters. Buy once, cry once sort of applies, but unless you’re in a heavy industrial environment the durability of a Speedglas or Optrel might not be necessary. If you’re doing a lot of MIG or TIG welding a pipeliner with a good passive lens will do you just fine and be a lot less expensive than any auto darkening hood on the market worth having.

 

[OnlyStihl]

I backed off the new headgear. The "deal" was from China, got bit once and recently on a China order. Also price was too good to be true. New one is probably Chinese made also, but is shipped via Amazon, so less dodgy then made+shipped from China.

New helmet, almost the price of headgear, for $27 after discounts and coupons. Replaceable battery, and hopefully the headgear will hold up better.

 

[Agent Smith]

My hobart auto darkening hood i bought when i was 16 lasted 20 yrs. I weld probably a 12-15 times a year so i don't need a 50 million dollar hood. I bought this off Amazong for around $70 about 3 yrs ago and it still works fine. My welds didn't suffer going from expensive to cheap. It has sensitivity and darkening adjustments that work and thats all i need.

 

[fredx]

I was a certified welder @ a nuclear facility and a steam generation station. Been welding since I was a kid / teenager & I have used just about them all. There are a few things I would consider if I were you- & as always I consider safety #1 & nothing is even close second, as I only have one set of eyes and my vision is probably the most valued part of me maybe even over my mind / sensability. That being said, I would never skimp and go "cheap" with anything that might in anyway do harm to my eyes. If your not doing small highly meticolus tight quartered frequent welding, I would go with a traditional /standard flip up and start out with a #11 lens. If I HAD to have an auto darkening after using the whole range of those from cheap ( not mine but friends ) to the best available ( in my opinion ) I would go with the Speedglass. When I retired I had been using mine for 15 yrs or so-- still working fine.

 

[Partner]

Most home users do not know what the knobs are for

 

[OnlyStihl]

Most home users do not know what the knobs are for

They are for turning, right?

 

[Partner]

They are for turning, right?

Just like women

 

[fredx]

Most home users do not know what the knobs are for

I agree with you 100%
But thats what instruction booklets and youtube are for

 

[OnlyStihl]

Just like women

To complex. Turn left or right, switches up or down, buttons in what order, there's gauges, dials, displays, etc, etc.

 

[Dustin4185]

Miller, Hobart, speedglass “3m” and Selstrom “the old fibre metal” all make good goods in the 1-300$ range that should last an occasional user 15-20 years and have replaceable batteries. My speedglass at work has a shade 1-3 grind positions, 8-13 weld positions and has been going 12 years at work. They only start on the battery and run off solar panel when welding so the battery lasts a long time.

I have ran Miller digital elites since they came out around 2010. I am seriously looking at going to a Speedglass. I’ve had the same hood since 2015 and only changed lenses and batteries. I don’t like the newer headgear on the millers. Not sure if they have changed since then or not.

 

[Dustin4185]

Jackson made a good line of welding equipment ,hoods stingers etc .I have a couple of hoods which I seldom use because they are standerd small glass and I prefer the large glass .Now if you want to see some creative designs get around a bunch of pipeline welders .They'll use a set of cutting goggles with a dark lens and make shields out of thin plywood .I suppose out in the hot sun it gives them some ventilation .Most pipe line welding is all down hill .Why I have no idea ???All those pipelines I've been around had fairly thick walls which in my way of thinking would be three pass,stringer 6010 ,hot pass 6010 or 7018 and cap 7018 uphill .Then again I've never been a pipeline welder just pressure pipeing , structural steel

I think you are referring to a pancake hood. I still use one for equipment repair out in the open on a sunny day. I can’t stand having light come in my hood from the backside. The benefits of a pancake are that they block out all the light, cover one side of your head and are lightweight. I have sugar scoops, pancakes and auto darkening hoods and they all have their place.

 

[lehman live edge slab]

I have ran Miller digital elites since they came out around 2010. I am seriously looking at going to a Speedglass. I’ve had the same hood since 2015 and only changed lenses and batteries. I don’t like the newer headgear on the millers. Not sure if they have changed since then or not.

We had miller elites at work and the hood was nice but the hard hat head gear sucked now have a speedglass positive pressure hood with built in hard hat. Work bought us positive pressure hoods so we didn’t need to wear a respirator all the time welding. The hoods are like 2500$ but work awesome. We used to use a hood called a slide huntsman in the boilers at times. Colored lens was on a slider and hood was a real light treated fiber material. They were only used in real tight spaces where you couldn’t flip your hood ect.

 

[Boomer2230]

I got my fibermetal one 20 years ago, takes the replacement glass inserts and plastic shields. No batteries required so it can't fail.

 

[Maxchaos]

I haven't seen It mentioned but,you can't go wrong with Optrels too,speedglass are top notch.
We are using the new Panoramaxx Hybrid for laser welding and the clarity is stunning,in light state they are almost like a clear glass,with some added tint. This can be a cons if you weld in highly illuminated area or over polished/brushed stainless steel because the reflections Will blind you.
I would never go cheap on Hood,especially auto darkening,because they can(and Will be) slower to darken and you still get some small flash that Day After day hurt your eyes.
In this case better a fixed shade flip up,they are dependable and sturdy