johnc Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 For those that might be looking for a welding helmet: http://www.weldingsupply.com/cgi-bin/einstein.pl?Next::1:UNDEF:AND:close*out*green:::: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Magnum Rockwilder Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Harbor Freight has them on clearance quite often for $50 for auto-darkening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 yeah, but HF stuff isn't the best for prolonged/shop use. would you trust tools made in china? I've snapped an HF breaker bar before. I've broken a spring compressor most of my stuff is from HF, but it's for personal use, not professional Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Just for the record, I broke a 1/2" Snap On breaker bar. The problem with the HF welding helmets is that they're slow to darken, so every time you use one you get a split second of exposure to the flash. As Aux said, over years and years and years this can be a problem. Not sure that it would affect someone too greatly if they didn't weld a lot though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Magnum Rockwilder Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 They have a faster-darkening one for a little more money. I'm not sure of the exact cost or specs, but they did have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 This helmet at Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46092 claims a switching time of 1/20000 of a second. The helmets on John's link which post a switching time claim 4 milliseconds. Means the HF units are 80 times faster. Who to believe? I wish there was some way of knowing for sure whether HF helmets are bad or not. People constantly dis them, but from what I can tell it is based upon their price compared to the price of units in a welding supply shop. Are the HF units poor quality junk, or are the welding supply shop helmets overpriced? I have this HF helmet http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47277 which Meets ANSI Z87.1-1989 standards And is 100 times faster than the $200 close out helmets listed above. The electronics have performed fine, nothing has broken and I sure as hell don't notice a flash of any type. My only real complaint was the head band kept coming loose. But for $18 I bought a replacement head band that snapped right in. It was also so light and flimsy that when I first got it I figured I would be lucky to get a years use out of it. 3 years later it is still working. Now I realize how much more comfortable a light helmet is. As for trusting tools from China, all I can say is welcome to the new millennium. Good luck trying to get by NOT using goods from China. I have a Chinese made pistol I bought 15 years ago for less than half the price of a Springfield Armory unit. Several thousand rounds later it is still going strong. I appreciate good craftsmanship, but some things are such a bargain it is hard to justify the extra cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 I'd certainly trust a company like Optrel to have spent money on R&D being damn sure they are safe as opposed to a company that turns things out as cheap as possible... likely copying someone elses product without understanding it, or what is important about it. I deal with this kind of stuff all the time, cheap knockoffs made in China by companies that copy others and have no understanding of the product at all, just doing what they see others doing without knowing why. In the end they change things the don't see as critical, but they in fact are. Just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 This helmet at Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=46092 claims a switching time of 1/20000 of a second. The helmets on John's link which post a switching time claim 4 milliseconds. Means the HF units are 80 times faster. Who to believe? Check John's link again. 0.4 ms switch time. Not that it matters much. I think one of the big differences is the changeability of the lens and the good ones have a glass cover, cheapos have a plastic cover over the lens itself. I'm now also remembering that the HF ones have a very small lens, so that could be a problem when you're in a tight spot, where the more expensive ones have a larger viewable area. I'm sure John will tell us all what is what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaparral2f Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Even though the light from the initial flashwill cause damage over time, its the heat that causes flastburn. Wearing glasses can break the heat from the welder enough to stop flash. Believe me when I say that geting your eyes flashed is not enjoyable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilRufusKay Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Trust me guys the HF helment BLOWS!!! I wasted my money on one and wish I hadn't. I will be looking into John's link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted February 1, 2005 Author Share Posted February 1, 2005 Man, I just posted a link to a good price on a helmet that I see a welders who weld hours every day use. Now it has become some religious thing about China and Harbor Frieght. Some of you guys need to go get laid. Jeez! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted February 1, 2005 Share Posted February 1, 2005 Check John's link again. 0.4 ms switch time. Not that it matters much. I think one of the big differences is the changeability of the lens and the good ones have a glass cover, cheapos have a plastic cover over the lens itself. I'm now also remembering that the HF ones have a very small lens, so that could be a problem when you're in a tight spot, where the more expensive ones have a larger viewable area. I'm sure John will tell us all what is what. Well guess we heard from John. The Optrel has a viewing port of 3.85 in. x 1.5 in. while the Harbor freight unit has 3-3/4'' x 1-1/2''. So yes the $270 helmet is a tenth of an inch wider than the HF. The lens covers are all standard size and replaceable. Don't know what I had on the HF one when I got it, but I have a set glass cheaters in their now. And you are right, the HF switching times are only 8 and 10 times faster. Guess all the flash burns have degraded the old eyes since I didn't see the decimal. Not trying to bust anyones chops. I just think the HF unit was a hell of a deal at only $69 and would like someone to explain to me how I went wrong with the cheaper one. If I welded 10 hours a day for the last 40 years like my brother has then I guess I would want a quality helmet. But come to think of it, he doesn't like autodarkening units. Guess when people are given the correct information they figure out what works for them. And I would be willing to bet that the helmet manufactures buy their electronics from the same place. So the $100 HF might very well have the same lens as the $300 unit with the flame paint job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Well you shot down all of my arguments... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilRufusKay Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 Maybe I should have not been so vague in my post sorry... There are three main things that I do not like about my HF unit. 1. The headband will not stay tight. It pops to the next adjustment when I try to put it on tight like I like it ! 2. When it is even mildly cool say 50 degrees F, the auto darkening gets noticbly slower. Below 30 degrees and it is almost useless....itscold up here 75% of the time. And the third one was something that PoP mentioned...the plastic covers. When I first got the helmut it was cold and the area between the actual lens and the plastic would fog up...so bad that I had to remove the cover to weld. As a result the plastic darkening actual lens collected metl marks becauseof splatter .... I was (and am) not the greatest welder My buddies (nice) helmut has a non-removeable glass cover and I did not think I could put anything eles over it....what are cheater lenses? I guess I should mention one other thing. I prefer to buy tools that will last a long time. However, at the time I needed a helmut (love that spelling) and could not afford the one I wanted. The HF was affordable at the moment and allowed me to begin welding on my car. Although it did not last a year and was ready for retirement within 6 months of fairly normal use. The HF unit as PoP mentioned is most likely worth th 69 bucks...I actually got mine for 59 on sale.... Rufus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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