auto-darkening helmet

[uglyota]

http://www.varnco.com/catalog/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=101
Anybody know anything about Varnco?
It's less than half the price of most self-darkening helmets, and .0001 second response sounds good.
Thoughts?
Thanks
Eric

[eight]

I used some cheap one once. It darkened fast enough, but took too long to turn back to light. Really piss you off when tacking stuff. So I sent it back. Even the good brands only last 2 years for my company, but I hear they last longer if only used indoors, something about sunlight being bad for them.

[Cajun]

I wouldn't go cheap on anything that's protecting my eyes. If you don't have the skrilla for an autodarkening (I love my Speedglas) just pick up a standard hood with a big window. It's no big deal if you're MIG welding anyway, just get the gun where you want it and flip your hood down.

[Graystroke]

you know you can also get different levels of darkening glass for the regular helmuts. if you use the lighter tints you don't even have to flip the lid.

[Chadnutz]

Try not to go cheap on tools period. I'm with Andy. If you can't afford an auto hood just go with a regular one for now. It is just a luxury anyway.

[uglyota]

Originally posted by Graystroke
you know you can also get different levels of darkening glass for the regular helmuts. if you use the lighter tints you don't even have to flip the lid.
I'm arc welding. Is this still okay? Don't arc welding helmets come with #9 or #10 glass for a reason?

And if the only problem with them is how fast they lighten up, I think I can live with that. My big problem is keeping everything straight while I flip my hood down. Once it's tacked, I think I could wait a few seconds for it to lighten up.

Ryan, what wears out on these things? You can replace the batteries (on the non-solar ones)

However, I think I'll go with you guys and just get a flip-down one with big glass. Then even if it doesn't flip down all the way, I can still see enough to work.

[robertf03]

lcd screens don't like sunlight. ever used a gameboy outside for a few hours and gotten those lines on it? thats all I can think of that would wear out, but welding would **** it up just as much as the sun.

I'll bet its fine outside.

[BigRedFord04]

i dont know much about these but i know i love the one we have at work. makes things really easy for short, repetative welds. i've used it with MIG and TIG and it works great. i'll find out what brand it is tomorrow, and maybe even where they got it.

[eight]

Yea they just quit working. I think only the first one we bought used batteries.

I would not get the big flip face one. I've allways welded with the small flip ones but then I saw a big flip one for sale at TSC for $12 so I got it. Well, I don't like flipping that big sombitchen lid all the time. And theres no reason to need such a big screen, you're looking where you're gonna weld anyway. If you do get a small one and don't like it I'll trade you my big one for it.

[Broncocustom]

I am with Andy on not going cheap on safety items. The last thing you want to do is burn your eyes. When it happened to me it hurt like hell and then all you can do is wait for them to get better. At least they gave me some really good drugs for pain.

[redcagepatrol]

auto helmets are for pussies...:flipoff2:

[Cajun]

Originally posted by redcagepatrol
auto helmets are for pussies...:flipoff2:

Well...normally I don't wear a hood and just close my eyes and weld by feel and sound!

You know, like that kid Tommy, the one that plays a mean pinball?:flipoff2:

[fbronco86]

i am kinda surprised krebs has not had anything to say. He has one and i have used it alot it has like 4 different settings 9, 10,11,12 or something like that. it came with his hobart welder so i am not sure who made it.

[eight]

I know plenty of people that have burnt their eyes by tacking stuff with no hood and their eyes closed thinking it wont get them. I get to make fun of their dum ass the whole next day at least while they look like **** and feel like they got a handful of sand in their eyes that won't come out. Also gotta watch when welding at night while another person is welding too, if they're behind you their welding can reflect inside your hood and get your eyes. I guess they're more sensitive at night.

[uglyota]

Originally posted by eight
Yea they just quit working.
Quit working and stay dark all the time, or just decide one day not to get dark, and your eyes hurt like a sumbich?

Originally posted by eight
I would not get the big flip face one. I've allways welded with the small flip ones but then I saw a big flip one for sale at TSC for $12 so I got it. Well, I don't like flipping that big sombitchen lid all the time. And theres no reason to need such a big screen, you're looking where you're gonna weld anyway. If you do get a small one and don't like it I'll trade you my big one for it.
I might take you up on this. I have a big screen one with no headband that I just hold in front, and I like being able to see all around where I'm working. I used a buddy's small fixed-screen one and unless I flipped it down just perfect, the screen wasn't in front of my eyes. I also have used a small screen one where there's a fixed clear lens, and a flip-down dark lens, and it's nice because you can just flip up the dark lens and you're totally protected forchipping, but half the time I just think "hey, there's a screen in front of my face!" then strike an arc and realize that I'm blind because I didn't have the right screen in front of my face. Also, you can't nod your head and have the small screen fall.

[eight]

Any flip screen hood I've seen has the clear lense behind the dark one.

As I remember, when the autodarkening ones go bad they'd be kind of dark in the center and light around the edges when they go out. You know something's wrong before you strike an arc. But usually they'll turn dark anyway, they just don't go all the way back to light. One flash won't hurt you. Whatever we use now has a lifetime warrenty so we just keep an extra lense laying around to put in when one goes bad, send the bad one in, and a new one shows up in a few weeks.

[uglyota]

didn't some company make an autodarkening insert, so you could retrofit a regular helmet?
Ryan, I bet your shop's rigs are expensive, but could you get the brand or model or whatever?
Thanks

[eight]

Yep, they are just the inserts that we use use now. But I think you have to buy the helmet that goes with em. The lense itself costs about $100.

[VROD_Morgan]

I wouldn't get an auto darkening if I were you. Even the best rated ones have tendencies of flippin off right in the middle of a weld.

Its your eyes man, you can only get that sandpaper feel in them so many times before they decide to give out. Stick with the regulars, theres nothing about them that can malfunction

[AgDieseler]

Eric, you hate the cheap little helmet that you got with your Lincoln, right? So did I.

I went to Home Depot or Lowe's, and picked up their $30 Lincoln flip lens. All of the helmets come with #10 lens in them, and that's too dark for the kind of jobs we're doing (i.e. we're not welding all day every day). I put in a #8, and can see a lot more, but it's still plenty dark so I don't hurt my eyes. It really shows its value when you're striking the arc on the work. I've got mine here, and you're welcome to give it a try if you want.

That's a total of $32 + tax invested in a helmet, and I don't see that switch to anything more expensive is required. At least, not until I get a MIG or something.

[redcagepatrol]

Robert and David are right,
just get a cheap $30 helmet and go with it. Get the lighter tint if you need to.

Those auto ones are for yuppies, I have never had any luck with them either. They are also to expensive to throw around or to bang on the underside of your truck. I don't like being gentle to my tools, they should be able to stand abuse and be cheap to fix.

[Doug Krebs]

I've got the hobart one, it came with my welder when I got it. I've never had a problem with it. The only time it will flash is if the sensor is blocked from the arc. i.e. your sitting underneath your truck welding on a crossmember and the sensor is behind the frame rail causing the auto darkening not to happen.

Now I don't think I could live without it, I'm just too used to it. If I started off with a regular one, i'm sure i'd say auto darkening one's are for yuppies and aren't needed, but that's like saying sex is as good with a condom on, then without!:flipoff2:

[aggielr]

if it came w/ the welder i say use it, but if you have to drop that much $$ on one, get the cheap one, i can't think of how many times i've dropped, knocked it off the table, hit it against something, i'd be forkin pissed if i paid $100 and busted it when i coulda used the $20 one and just get a new $15 lens

[Cajun]

Like I said earlier, if $$$ is an issue, get a fixed shade hood and be done with it.

As for durability, I've kicked the sh!t out of my Speedglas and have never had a bit of trouble with it. The sensitivity is infinitely adjustable (it has a dial, no numbered settings) and I've never had it flash on me.

Oh, Scott...:flipoff2:

[redcagepatrol]

Originally posted by Cajun
Oh, Scott...:flipoff2:
:flipoff2: :flipoff2: :flipoff2:

[Chadnutz]

Call me a yuppie, but this thing is nice. It has 4 different shades - 9 to 13 and the turn of a dial. :flipoff2:

[Doug Krebs]

Originally posted by Chadnutz
Call me a yuppie, but this thing is nice. It has 4 different shades - 9 to 13 and the turn of a dial. :flipoff2:

Holy****! Weedwacker much?

[stx4wheeler]

i have used both in what welding i have done, i have used the high priced ones at my friends a hop and they are great, but you would want to be way more careful with the fancy one than the regular helmets. just my .02

[fbronco86]

its been awhile since you worked on your truck huh. look at all that grass:flipoff2:

[BigRedFord04]

the auto hood we have is a generic helmet with a speedglas front

[Chadnutz]

Nah. It has the new rear springs on it. Now I just need to pull the tcase and make a new crossmember for the second one, but that's not what this thread is about. :flipoff2:

[uglyota]

fawk it
Turn it into another 37 page mazda SAS thread :flipoff2:
I'm just gonna get a new helmet with the same size opening as the speedglass insert, then someday when I'm not poor anymore I'll put the speedglass in.
Maybe if I ask Santa reeeeal nicely...
Thanks for all the info guys
:cheers: