Welding helmet advice?

weo

weo

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Sep 21, 2014
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Hope this is on topic as it is shop related....

I have a 6-7 year old Cornwell Tools welding helmet that I think may be going. The last few times I've used it, I've gotten some bright flashes that almost blind me temporarily, sometimes when I first strike the arc, and sometimes as I'm laying down the bead.

There's a local welding/fab shop that went out of business and is going to auction off their assets. The have 3 what look like new-in-package auto darkening helmets up for auction: 2 TEKZ and 1 Firepower brand.
WWYD? purchase a replacement lens for my Cornwell, or try to get one of these, and if so which brand is better?

Thanks and enjoy the first day of spring.
 
I don't often recommend harbor freight but they're welding helmets are great and cheap (low cost).

I have one but I'm only an occasional welder. A guy I work with is certified on all kinds of welding and he prefers his HF helmet to his Snap-on
 
I LOVE those auto darkening helmets!!! I grew up welding with the old fashion lenses. I remember the first time I welded with an auto-darkening lenses back in '90s. I finally was able to get one from HF for decent price. Been using it for a few years now and it's been working good. For hobby use, can't beat it for the price.
 
I just wanted to mention that I always view BF using the "New Posts" search, and I saw this thread title and thought it said "Wedding Helmet Advice." I was a little disappointed when I opened it. :(
 
The problem with a business going out and auctioning the inventory is you usually have to buy all the inventory, or large lots of it. It unlikely they will auction it off piece by piece. They may sell all the helmets in the store in one batch.
 
The difference between high and low end is flash time (the time it takes to dim) and fit .Better head bands.That and cool flames. WB
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
It unlikely they will auction it off piece by piece.
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Not an issue in this case. Check out cyberauctions.com, where it's listed. In this case they're split into 511 different lots.
07Vette said:
I don't often recommend harbor freight but they're welding helmets are great and cheap
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So are y'all saying that the TECZ and Firepower brands are Harbor freight brands?

Where would my Cornwell Tools helmet fit in the range of Cheap->High end? Is this considered a HF type helmet?
 
Once you get into the $50 and above price range, I'd say that the electronics are all relatively comparable as far as auto dark and shade adjustments. The main difference, like Wild Bill said, is that the head bands and graphics start to get a little nicer. At a certain point, it's probably all the exact same base helmet with different branding.

On your Cornwell, I'd make sure the lens is clean. If it's hazed over in from of the sensors, that might affect reaction time, or inhibit the solar cell. It's possible that the internal battery is worn out too. You might be able to crack it open and replace the button cell, but then again, if you can get any of the 3 helmets you mentioned, at a good price, then it's probably not even worth it.
 
I'd you like the helmet that you have its probably just the battery or possibly a dirty sensor. Just clean them well and you should be good. If not there aren't very many pro brands. Speedglas and Optrol are probably the best after that the welder company's all have their own lines and are ok. Speedglas makes a single shade in a ultra light shell that is a great price and a good lens. After that there are the off brand stuff and honestly the lenses are probably similar quality and pick the hood that you like. The most important thing is that you can get replacements for cover lenses.
 
I’ve had a Harbor Freight auto darkening hood and it crapped out in 6 months, they replaced it no questions asked. The replacement lasted a couple of months and I said never again.

My cousin has a Miller Classic that’s 4or5 years old:
9101C01C-0E7F-4CDF-A1EE-1861F1CC52AB.jpeg

I have a Lincoln Viking that’s about 3 years old. It’s on the upper end of the price range but now that I have it I can’t go backwards.
96E4693D-EDDD-493A-B9CA-A87AB12091E8.jpeg
 
Drew Riley said:
You might be able to crack it open and replace the button cell
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Have you ever done this? I don't see an easy way to open it to access the battery.

To replace the entire lens would be about $100 if I remember correctly.
 
There are usually locking tabs on the inside around the lense housing that will allow you to replace the lense or battery, but I’ve never had that particular hood.
 
07Vette said:
I don't often recommend harbor freight but they're welding helmets are great and cheap (low cost).

I have one but I'm only an occasional welder. A guy I work with is certified on all kinds of welding and he prefers his HF helmet to his Snap-on
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Same experience here, don’t often use or recommend HF but the auto welding helmet works pretty good
 
weo said:
Have you ever done this? I don't see an easy way to open it to access the battery.

To replace the entire lens would be about $100 if I remember correctly.
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I've had one or two brands of helmets apart, but I'm sure they're all just a little different. You'll probably have to split the case open with a razor knife. (I'm assuming this is a solar charging helmet here). If you do a google search on "welding helmet battery replacement" there's a few vids and whatnot.

You may just want to clean the lenses and sensors really well and set the hood out in the sun for a couple hours. It's possible it just needs a good charging.
 
With price also comes TIG settings. Grinder settings, clearer optics and a big thing. Viewing area size.. I have some cheap helmets here at home tat work fine. But I used Jackson and speedglas at work for years and trust me there is a difference
 
I have a speedglas from the late 90s and bought a new $400 one a few years ago. It blew my mind how well I could see. I thought the shades were off for awhile. Way more colors too and the new headgear is awesome. It all depends on how much you are going to need it but the better lens will make things easier.
 
If you notice the cheaper helmets have about double the response rate of the better helmets (at least of a couple years ago) if welding every now and then, I doubt it matters, but if I was welding everyday I would protect my eyes. As I started needing bigger bifocals and brighter work lights (magnetic gooseneck led) I find myself reaching for my old pipeliner with a glass gold/rose protector in front of a 10 shade. So far it’s battery has lasted about 30 years...lol... only weld a few times a month anymore so ymmv
 
Kentucky said:
With price also comes TIG settings. Grinder settings, clearer optics and a big thing. Viewing area size.. I have some cheap helmets here at home tat work fine. But I used Jackson and speedglas at work for years and trust me there is a difference
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Also more sensors. Mine has four; I've seen some with only one. Sensor redundancy helps if you're looking around a corner or one sensor is shaded. That way you're less likely to have it not darken when your strike an arc.
 
Miller classic series is one of my favorites, plus they take aaa batteries. It's definatly one of my go to ones. (I mean outside of the auto goggles that I use for confined spaces work.)
 
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