welding helments

[Leroy]

Has anybody used the Harbor freight automatic self darkening welding helment and if so how did it work? Can they have the magnifying lens put in? Thinking about getting one, it would only get used on average about an hour a month. Can't justify a high priced unit with that much use. My old helment is 50+ years old and thinking it should be replaced and I do curently have the magnifying lens in it. I also wear trifocal glasses.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I think you'd have to have some magnifier glasses under the helmet unless the auto-dark lens was just an insert for a standard helmet. Dave

 

[Bob seND]

Got one of the $49 ones from Northern Tool.
It works well. I prefer it to my old Speedglas
for Tig as the small arc causes the Speedglas to flash me, and apparently the more or larger sensors in the NT one pick up the arc better. It does not go up very high on the head, so lots of light gets in if you're outside in the bright sunshine.
Bob seND

 

[Anonymous-0]

Don't know about Harbor Freight helmets. I have a Jackson that was provided by an employer in 2000, and the auto darkening feature is pretty great. Tried using a "cheater" lens in mine, but I was better off having bifocal safety glasses made instead. "Cheater" lens would've been OK if both my eyes were the same prescription, but they weren't.

Quality is never a bad investment. I'd try to step up to a better helmet, if it was me. I'd guess--and it'd ONLY be a guess--that while the HF helmet might be an OK "starter" helmet, I wouldn't count on it being a long-term, long-life item.

 

[Leroy]

Can you put a magnifying lens in one? In my old helment I have the clear front glass, the dark glass and then a magnifying lens. Without the magnifying lens I can't see good enough. How do they work with eye glasses?

 

[PJH]

I really like my $49 Northern Tool helmet. I think the magnifying lenses will fit in the NT helmet, but I'll have to check in the morning. I used a magnifying lens in my old helmet, and I think I transferred it to the new one, but memory has faded. . .

Paul

 

[Mike M]

I have used the Harbor Freight one and it seemed fine to me ? I was really impressed with it. I wear my eyeglasses under the helmets.

 

[Dusty MI]

I wear trifocal glasses. I've had a large window welding hood for several years, which works better with the trifocals. I don't do a lot of welding but I like to weld and i've enjoyed the large window hood.

This summer I bought an auto darkening hood from Northern Hydraulic. The only problem I'm having with it is the knobs that adjust the tension on the tilt keep loosening so it will not stay up until retighten. A small put annoying problem.

Other than that it works well. I don't remember for sure but I think I gave $150 for it.

Dusty

 

[Josh S.]

Bob seND, Where In southeast North Dakota are you I'm located in Sargent County.

 

[Dean]

I bought one last week for 50% off but have not used it yet. There are coupons available for it unless they have expired.

Dean

 

[bc]

I bought the HF one this summer. Was on sale for half price 35 or 39 bucks then I used the 20% coupon that comes in Parade magazine every Sunday in the paper. I think they are on sale now with a coupon.

It works great for me. I'm still trying to make make my welder burn a good bead but no more head nodding and blind stabbing. I can concentrate on the metal before I start and it doesn't flash my eyes at all. I'll never go back to the other one again.

I like the black. It is a straight color.

 

[WantACaseLASomeday]

The auto dark welding helmet at Chinese Fright is one of their products that actually works quite well. I like mine better than my expensive one, which has on the hook gathering dust since the day I bought the cheap one.

 

[JDemaris]

I bought two of their cheapest and they work great. Think I paid around $30 each 2-3 years ago. First auto-lenses I ever used. Only problem I've had is when I'm welding at night and have a shop-light nearby where I'm welding. Sometimes it makes the lense go dark when I don't want it to. NO big deal and never happens in daylight.

I don't know anything about a magnifier. I just wear my glasses under the helmet.

 

[Goose]

I bought one from HF for $49 a couple of years ago. It's been flawless. Best money I've spent in a long time.

I also wear trifocals, and when I put the helmet on, I have to make sure it's pulled down low enough so I can see through the bottom part of my glasses. But, that's not the helmet's fault.

 

[bc]

"Chinese Fright". That's a good one. One thing about Harbor Freight, they tell you right up front in their name where it comes from. Freighted by ship right into the harbor, probably in LA. Probably have their main warehouse there as well. The chinese bought most of the old naval base there (forget the name, San or El something)

 

[fixerupper]

Any more I only do about an hour of welding a month too, and I just bought a new, old fashioned non-self-darkening helmet with a big lense. Got tired of grabbing the $250 auto one only to find the batteries were dead, and the big lense on this new one sure does work nice with the trifocals. I've used auto-dark helmets for close to twenty years and I'm definitely going to keep one around in case I get into a job with a lot of complicated little pieces to stick together, but now, with the old fashioned one, I know I'll have a helmet that will work every time. Jim

 

[MisterT]

(quoted from post at 01:47:17 10/03/10) Has anybody used the Harbor freight automatic self darkening welding helment and if so how did it work? Can they have the magnifying lens put in? Thinking about getting one, it would only get used on average about an hour a month. Can't justify a high priced unit with that much use. My old helment is 50+ years old and thinking it should be replaced and I do curently have the magnifying lens in it. I also wear trifocal glasses.

I have only ONE pair of eyes, and I will NOT trust them to anything that comes from HarborFreight.

 

[Gary from Muleshoe]

I have a HF Auto Darkening Helmet I have been using for about three years now and it works just fine for me. In fact it seems better to me than the old non-auto one that is now my backup.
Used it all day yesterday and it never failed once.

 

[fixerupper]

My first auto-dark helmet was a cheap one that came into my shop 20 years ago. I know technology has improved since then, but I also know what a cheapie can do to the eyes. This one came from some California overstock/salvage outfit that sold lower valued products. The helmet was solar powered, needing no batteries and it worked great for stick welding. It was light weight and handy to use. I could stick weld for hours with no ill-efefects. The first time I used it for wire welding I got flash burn in my eyes.

Only thing I can figure out is when I struck an arc with a stick the flux on the rod shielded the flash just long enough for the helmet to react. The solar panael in the helmet needed a little time to build up enough juice to darken the lense and the flux shielded the bright flash just long enough for the lense to react. The lense was too slow to react to the instantanious flash from starting an arc with a wire welder.

Maybe the new cheap solar powered helmets are quicker, but I've had a bad taste in my mouth for the cheap helmets ever since that experience. Jim