OlderThanMe Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Hey guys... I thought I'd leave a little review for the Harbor Freight auto-darkening $50 welding helmets. I own the older and newer versions and both are "modified". They both have basically the same electronics but the newer version has some improvements but also has some problems. (not electronic problems...) BODIES skinny vs. round shaped We will start with the bodies of the two versions of the helmet. The older version is made of thicker plastic than the newer one. The older version is more narrow than the newer version so it should be easier when you are up under a car welding on a tranny mount, floor pans, or that driveshaft that you are too lazy to replace. The newer helmet is lighter weight than the older helmet but it is bulkier. A problem with the newer helmet is the "shelf" that is right in front of the lens. When welding overhead it catches and holds all of that hot molten slag and sparks. Old helmet "shelf": New helmet "shelf": Melting partially through the newer helmet's upper shelf. The same thing is true with the lower "shelf" at the bottom of the helmet around the neck area. The newer design catches everything where the older design has a thicker and more sloped lower deflector to keep sparks away from your neck. Newer helmet lower shelf: Electronics: NOTE!! These helmets perform poorly when used on TIG under 50 amps! Even on high sensitivity it will start to flicker at around 50-55 amps! They do fine for over 60 amps on TIG and do fine for MIG and SMAW(arc) welding. The view is also plain green. Viewing area is adequate for most welders. Requires no batteries. Keep the front plastic cover clean or the light sensors will be slower to detect light which will hurt your eyes. Old version has all of the electronic functions of the newer helmet. Notice that the shade adjuster is attached with a solid part that is connected to the viewing area. When this older design helmet is dropped sometimes the plastic body will flex and pop off the shade adjustment knob. Also notice the inside of the screen is eaten up a little bit with hot slag that got inside the helmet while I was welding. This causes light spots in the screen. The screen is also held in by plastic clasps or clips. These can go bad over time. This is the newer design. You can see that the shade adjustment knob is now seperately mounted so that the knob won't pop off and shoot across the room. You can also notice that the body of the electronics is held in with a spring now rather than press-fit in. There is also an internal plastic shield to keep sparks off of the inside of the lens. Old helmet screen without protective cover (looks like it can have one but didn't come with one and store had none): New helmet electronics securing spring Headbands: The New style has a bayonet style adjuster which is quite nice and doesn't require much maintaining. The older style is an OPEN adjustable friction style and is horrible. It gets full of slag and spatter and gets hard to adjust. I highly suggest these helmets for anyone that is just welding on their car or just to watch someone else weld. If welding is your JOB or business then this won't be durable enough to last long. Maybe 350 hours of welding time. Personally I am going to be buying a Speedglas 9002X now. My anti-spatter, slag, and spark gear: When wearing it all setup for overhead welding I look like a cross between a midaeval soldier and a post-apocalyptic guy from some movie... I guess you can tell what my favorite brand of welder is too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I have the older helmet. The one negative comment I have is that the headband rips my hair out. I have put a kind of velcro sweatband-ish cover over it that I got from the welding store. It still does it every once in a while when the cover slips a little. Other than that it has worked great for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted March 18, 2008 Author Share Posted March 18, 2008 The one negative comment I have is that the headband rips my hair out. Don't worry... the newer ones don't get any better. I went to the local welding supply store and bought one of those little black hats with red trim for $7 and that solved the hair snagging problem and gave me some added spark protection. If your hair is longer then it can also get into the open adjuster of the old helmet which would hurt. The newer version is closed so that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Personally I am going to be buying a Speedglas 9002X now. I have one of these with the side windows and its great. Large viewing area, good for TIG welding down to 30 amps (maybe lower), light and comfortable. The headgear stays adjusted except the top strap of the headgear will pop apart after a few weks of use. Duct tape it together at the correct adjustment. Buy a lot of extra clear plastic front lens covers and the batteries last about 50 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted March 18, 2008 Author Share Posted March 18, 2008 Johnc, I just got a job welding on thick 18 gauge 304SS for custom resturant kitchen tables/sinks and general fabrication so I will be spending lots of time in the 35-55 amp range. These HF $50 helmets are good for the hobbiest or someone in welding classes but mine was going crazy at lower amps in TIG. I have used a buddies 9002X before($275 to $900+ depending on acessories) and it is about half the weight of one the HF helmets which makes a difference at the end of a 8 hour shift. You can see different colors in the arc and weld with the 9002X which can help for low amperage TIG. I have also seen the head strap problem but it should not be too much of a deal if it breaks. Just tape it up as you said. Maybe some pop-rivets... I will still keep my HF helmets for MIG welding on cars and for other people in the garage that want to watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tannji Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I used a similar HF helmet for my welding class a couple of years ago. I started wearing a beanie (weld cap) on my second day = ) I picked up the basic concept quickly, but after about a week I suddenly couldnt weld to save my life. Spent hours trying to correct my technique, settings, etc... then the instructor saw the front protective lens and suggested a magical (and obvious) fix. Problem was, my local HF doesn't carry replacement lenses, and were actually exchanging complete helmets for new ones so you could get the extra 2 spares that come with the new ones. That is my single gripe with the cheap HF and similar helmets... odd sized lenses that you have to either cut yourself or search for. Otherwise, I think they are a good value, considering that most of the commonly available helmets from Jackson, Miller, Lincoln, or Hormel cost at least 4X more. My current helmet is uses a Nexgen lens, should be interesting to see if it will work in the 5 to 30 amp range with my cheap TIG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capt_furious Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 OTM, for the 'shelf' in front of the lens on the new helmet, a piece of light-gauge steel cut to shape and 3M VHB taped or epoxied into place might be a more permanent and durable solution than the OSHA tape you've got on it. You might want to try swapping the electronics and headband from the new one onto the older one, if the attachment points are the same. Not bad for $50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shift Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I had an older model too. Another complaint, It doesn't like being in the cold for too long. Had to get it replaced 3 times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SATAN Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I JUST got one of the newer Chicago Electric ones (Has blue flame stickers). So far it seems to work great. I took the first one back though because I am an idiot. I let it charge in the sun for about 5 hours like it says. Took it out the next day and held it in the air to get the sun darken it and it didnt work. I took it back and got a different one. The new one did the same thing. I tried welding with it and it worked fine. Apparently the sun wont darken it which I suppose is a very good thing if you are doing a lot of overhead welding outside. I am not so I didn't know any better LOL. Also, one other thing about mine.... I do not have any flickering when TIG welding below 60 amps. It works just fine at low amperage. Maybe it is just because it is brand new still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.I.jonas Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 I wonder if Miller would appreciate their name stuck all over those helmets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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