[6pack] Welding Helmet Question

[Foster, Stan (HP IT)]

Bob, when I bought my Mig welder a few years ago I bought a Huntsman brand
auto-darkening helmet at the same time. It cost around $150 but it does not
require batteries and it has held up well other than needing to replace the
outer plastic window that protects the auto darkening unit. It is lightweight
and responds instantly and fits well. It has no flames, skull and crossbones,
stars and stripes etc on the helmet, it does not look like a pig face (ok, I
heard that). It is just plain black.

Stan

-----Original Message-----
From: 6pack-bounces at autox.team.net [mailto:6pack-bounces at autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Bob Danielson
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 4:20 PM
To: triumphs at autox.team.net; '6pack List'
Subject: [6pack] Welding Helmet Question

One of my many problems with welding is I can't see anything until the
sparks start flying at which point I figure I'll set the house on fire
so......I'm considering one of the auto-darkening type helmets figuring I'll
be able to see where everything is before I light things up. A search of
Sears & Home Depot shows the auto-darkening models to be in the $100 - $200
range. Harbor Freight had one at $80 and eBay has a bunch of new ones listed
at $30 - $50. And I've also seen some for $400. From a spec standpoint, they
are all similar with regard to reaction time, darkness scale and meeting
various industry standards. So I'm guessing the difference lies in various
construction aspects of the helmet itself. This is something I'll use maybe
once or twice a year and my primary concern is eye protection. Will the less
expensive ones do the job given that they all say 1/25,000 sec switch time,
adjustable shade control & ANSI certified.

I remember driving down the highway a year or so ago and seeing something
blow out of the back of truck. It was a welding helmet. So I caught the guy,
who was a welding contractor, and motioned that his helmet fell out. He knew
immediately what I was motioning about and was able to turn around to get
it. If I wasn't so honest I bet I could have scored one expensive helmet!

Thanks
Bob

Bob Danielson
1975 TR6 CF38503U
Running w/ Throttle Body Injection
Toyota 5 Speed & Nissan LSD
http://tr6.danielsonfamily.org