Thread: auto-darkening masks from ebay/Bunnings

Interesting - reminds me of a Miller Elite. If that is the case I wonder whether they are made under licence, badged or copied?

Michael

I was wondering if they were a rebadge as well. Dunno.

Well I went out and bought the Lincoln Viking 3350,

• Viking 3350 Motorhead Welding Helmet

which has the really big screen, and I can only say it is sensational. First time in 30 years of amateur welding I can see absolutely everything up/down/sideways, no tilting, no nodding. As with the comments above re the Weldclass, the helmet is very comfortable, very light, and with the 1/25,000 reaction time and the 4 sensors, it is utterly seamless. No flash at all.

The delay was set on when I got it, which I found for stick welding was a little annoying, so I turned it back a bit and now it works great.
Same as the Weldclass, clarity is perfect, and it was quite an unreal experience to just be able to weld/chip with completely unrestricted vision. I don't know if there are any professional reasons against, but I can't help but feel that a time will come soon that all helmets will have screens this size. $285 at Adelaide Tools.

Originally Posted by jabell

... clarity is perfect, and it was quite an unreal experience to just be able to weld/chip with completely unrestricted vision.

I find the same thing when I change the covers in my (Miller) helmet. The covers will scratch far more easily than if they were glass, so don't be temped just to grab any old dirty rag and give them a wipe. Find something soft and use it only for that purpose. The other thing that will happen is that if you are welding things that throw off fume (just about all the common stuff really), the smoke/ fume will tend to coat the lens which will then need cleaning, so try to make sure you are pushing the smoke/ fume away - perhaps a small fan with just enough air flow to blow it away. I tend to weld things in a way that my head is at least partly over the work a lot of the time so even if I'm outside after a few hours I wonder why things are not as clear if I don't think about where the smoke will go.

Michael

PS - Being an amateur welder who has to pay for PPE, I am getting in the habit of jotting down the date I change covers, gloves etc to avoid telling myself that I'm not buying a new _____ because I changed it just a month ago. Replacing this stuff can cost and being throw away I would otherwise tell myself that it's good enough to use forever. If I can see a date that tells me a cover has been in place for say a year I feel I've had some work out of it and don't mind so much.

Originally Posted by Michael G

. . . . . the smoke/ fume will tend to coat the lens which will then need cleaning, so try to make sure you are pushing the smoke/ fume away - perhaps a small fan with just enough air flow to blow it away. I tend to weld things in a way that my head is at least partly over the work a lot of the time so even if I'm outside after a few hours I wonder why things are not as clear if I don't think about where the smoke will go..

A small fan may just postpone the problem as it will disperse the fumes around the shed and will eventually precipitate as a grey goo. If the mask is left exposed, like everything else it will also be covered with grey goo. This is particularly irritating when it is on the inside lens so it is better to keep a mask covered when it is not in use. I know I sound like a broken record on this but active ventilation is about the only way to deal with this problem.

Good excuse to justify a tig machine. Yes, my lenses get coated too, especially when running lots of stick rods and on galvanised. I used to use it for grinding and cutting but quickly realised that was a bad idea and just grab the cheap face shield now. Helmet's only for welding, preferably tigging.

Originally Posted by BobL

If the mask is left exposed, like everything else it will also be covered with grey goo. This is particularly irritating when it is on the inside lens so it is better to keep a mask covered when it is not in use.

This is good advice, I keep my helmets in bags when not in use, it also stops them getting showered with grinding sparks etc. My Miller DE helmet that I use for TIG came in a good quality helmet bag so that's where it lives when not in use. The Speedglas that I use for MIG and stick stays in a Bell race helmet bag along with gloves, spare lenses, side-cutters etc ready for use off-site.

Especially as you get older, being able to see what you are welding is half the battle.

An interesting perspective on welding filters can be had by looking at the very large numbers and wide range of naked filters for sale on Ebay and Aliexpress.
Some of the filter specs are not all that flash (Har - Har) so I wonder who buys these?

Then I found this


No this is not an Asian tourist photo, it's from this website hood1.jpg
I guess Its better than a piece of cardboard with eye slits in them.

Could always go the old newspaper and swimming goggles:
fc57e9139edb24eb5f8a433596bfee7f-orig.jpg


I really must say, this has been an incredibly informative thread, far more so than the old "What's the best welding helmet?" questions. I've been pleasantly educated by it.