Thread: TIG welding helmets

Originally Posted by steran50

The Aussie Dollar, well I can't see any Retailer dropping their Prices until they clear their current Stock. Unless they sell on Consignment, the Goods that they Sell would have been Bought at the old Dollar price.

My comments were somewhat tongue in cheek. Unremarkably any dollar movements against us are passed on seemingly before they even occur, yet when it goes the other way you rarely ever see any prices fall. Personally I find it, once again, difficult to understand how I can buy a helmet from the US and pay freight as a single unit (obviously a very expensive way to send versus sending out a container load) and have the total cost to my door almost HALF what retailers here are asking!

The other thing about the Digital Elite is that it's triggered by electromagnetic as well as optical triggers. While 4 sensors are unlikely to all be obstructed simultaneously, with TIG I find my face is relatively close (compared to stick for example) and some of the sensors sometimes get obstructed by the work when I'm welding from behind, my hand, etc.

I've heard a few bad reports about the Speedglas but when relating them to a few retailers today who carried them they just about threw me out the door! Fortunately a welder came in at one store and when the topic came up he said he uses one but has had trouble with a newer model.

Gidday

Yeah Ive used the speedglas helmets n didnt have much time for them N a lot of the boys currently using them are looking to cross over to Miller Elites next time round. U can agonize over these kinda a decisions....................

N ultimately @ the end of the day its all about learning to lay a good tig weld consistently in any position. The best advise I got when caught up in the 'what gear to get trap' was to think less talk less n lay more welds................which kinda put things in perspective for me

At the end of the day its an artform that returns great dividends from time behind the lens learning how to problem solve body positioning n getting a feel for how the arc n weld pool behave under certain conditions

No doubt an el cheapo i'll get you buy but in saying that a good quality helmet i'll give years of trouble free use reliability n less down time setting up n positioning behind a standard Lens.

Its one of those things thats not necessary but just makes that tough initial learning kerb when starting to Tig that little bit easier n more comfortable............to me worth every cent.

Another thing worth consideration is u often get a good warranty with the higher end Helmets...............As always U get what you pay for

Regards Lou

Another happy Miller Elite user here.

Can the OP confirm that the lightening is not due to blocking the sensors?

Even with the 4 on the Miller Elite I can still manage to shadow all 4 sensors occasionally and cheaper helmets only have 1 or 2 sensors.

Frank

I don't think the sensors were being blocked at any stage but it's a good point as the helmet only has 2 sensors. Maybe occasionally, but not the way it was constantly blinking on and off like a strobe light! It was one of the factors that influenced me to pay a bit more and get the digital elite with the electromagnetic sensor so I believe a 4 sensors can be covered yet the hemet will still detect the arc. Hopefully it's not far away from arriving now

Pete

Hi

Interesting views submitted here. However I would have thought that even though the Australian dollar appears to be heading towards parity with the US dollar surely you wouldn't be saving much (if any) should the item become faulty during its warranty period? Then there is the inconvenience of being without it for several weeks which costs money!!

Has anyone here actually had any experience from buying an helmet from the U.S. (or anywhere else in the world)?

Cheers
MH

No disrespect intended to your comments, but the warranty argument is one often presented to punters in order to over-charge them. In this instance I would almost be able to buy TWO helmets from the US and keep one as a spare or for visitors for the same amount of money!

Over the years I have spent a lot of time in the US, bought back a truck load of gear and still buy a lot of things from the US. While it's not entirely fair to generalise, my overall experience in the US is if something is faulty they give you a new replacement, in Australia they give you a hard time! The customer service in our country is generally dreadful in this regard. Of course there is a risk in purchasing from overseas but in most cases US retailers exceed expectations. As much as I'm a proud Aussie and would love to support the local retailers I'm not about to entertain any idea of supporting a network where the end result is I'm paying twice the price for half the service! Again, a generalisation, but a sad conclusion.

Pete

Hi Pete F,

So reading between the lines you are saying that they (American sellers) are obligated to take the helmet back (at their cost - each way) if there is a genuine fault within the warranty period?

Cheers
MH

Originally Posted by Metal Head

Hi Pete F,

So reading between the lines you are saying that they (American sellers) are obligated to take the helmet back (at their cost - each way) if there is a genuine fault within the warranty period?

Cheers
MH

I never said or even implied that so have no idea why you are suggesting that. If you feel the local warranty coverage is worth paying double then fill your boots. Personally I'm more than happy to take the risk and if my new Miller helmet packs it in I'll either send it back to the US (at my expense, the same guy who paid for the thing to get out here in the first place ) or throw it in the bin and buy another new one from the US. In fact I wouldn't literally throw it in the bin but would keep it for parts etc, in which case I would STILL be ahead financially!

At the moment I'm trying to find a suitable powder coating system. In one example I could buy from the local branch, or the US branch. The local one is, literally, 300% for an IDENTICAL product. That form of contempt towards customers is unacceptable in my books. It's their business and they can charge what they like, but don't cry foul play when they go broke as everyone gets sick of being shafted and buys offshore.

IF the helmet is misfiring on TIG, I'd be considering several things.

This is not to say that this is relevant to your circumstances tho....

1. Clean the helmet windows.... inside and out.

2. Clean the sensors......

3. Check the sensitivity pot - and possibly consider dropping in a lower value ??? modification to the circuit - re the triggering.

4. Try to weld with enough light falling on the solar cells.

5. Stitch in an extra cell in series or parallel to up the voltage or amperage by a miniscule amount....

6. Hook in a battery to drive the LCD, and use the solar cells to drive an on / off circuit with sensitivity adjustment.

If it's under warranty take it back for a refund.

or

Declare it to be possessed by Satan and burn it in hell.


As far as buying OS., I am all for that.

Getting screwed in Aus on prices.... I wanted to buy a Texas Instruments Graphing Calculator (TI-89 Titanium) - and the best price in Au was around $200+., with Dick Smith being the worst price of the lot (I think they charged $235 or $275)

I was able to get on in the US for $125 US retail, and that order came with a few extra BOOKS on calculus etc., came I think to about $160 or $175 Au.... air freighted to my front door.

One of the most prominent retailers in WA who did all the academic "bulk deals" for schools laid on the TI calcs tried on the "Oh and what about the warranty - not applicable in Aus if you buy in US etc.", and yet for all their "smarts" they would not price match etc. or even haggle..... "Hello - your retail competition is nearly half your price - and all your doing is feeding me Bull Poo".

Soooooo I guess there is the perception that "Brand name and perceived quality" automatically justifies high prices and "cheap crap" gets the low ball;

But I am of the mind that "Cheap" should mean LOW PRICE, not low Quality, and Premium prices should justify outstanding quality, features and service - again the high price doesn't necessarily justify the differences between the low priced item and the high priced item.

I mean service is generally not an issue, even $5 calculators come with solar cells, triggering circuits for LCD screens? that is old hat; the bigger screen? yes that is good, but they are not usually 5X as big;

Will a $400 helmet give 5 times the combined features of quality, life expectancy, service, features etc., than the cheap $80 helmet?

And how come I CAN get helmets shipped in via air freight on a single shipment door to door, from a US retailer at US retail prices for around half the price of retail in Au?

And how come the Au retailers cannot give me a reasonable excuse for THEIR price differences?

I know, I know - I know the secret - why ONE LCD helmet costs 5X as much (Au retail) as a basic LCD helmet;

It's the fancy paint job on the helmet.

Ha ha, had to giggle about that post HH ... vent it, get it all out man

The "no Australian warranty" Miller helmet arrived today, looks nice. Have a job for it tomorrow in fact. No fancy graphics though; I'm a cheapskate The nearest welding store from me takes 45 mins each way minimum to get there so to get it delivered directly to the door in the price is an even greater saving in my books.

The previous helmet said it was ok for TIG but from what I can gather just because they say that doesn't mean they actually are. It was from Harbor Freight in the US, not sure what the equivalent would be in Oz, maybe a bit like McJings in Sydney?? In other words not the greatest quality in the world but often "good enough". I did the usual cleaning etc etc and considered pulling it apart but to be honest it wasn't very expensive so it wasn't really worth messing about too much, instead I'm sure my neighbour will appreciate my overwhelming generosity when I give it to him. Probably fine for stick.

Pete

Hi, i've been using the same Speedglas helmet for over 10 years now without so much as an issue other than the headgear. So far its the only one that hasn't failed under very high amperage, and using TIG.

Used a few different brands so far and weld for a living.

cheers.

hi peterf can you tell us witch online shop you been looking at for the miller im keen on a new one

I bought the Digital Elite through this company Welding Supplies, Miller Welders, Thermal Dynamics Plasma Cutters pretty dodgy name but great service and the price was good, very good in fact.

I'm really liking the Miller but can see how some can say it's a bit on the heavy side. I'm not welding for long periods so it's no big deal, just something I notice if it's up and I nod it back down again. The only other thing is to remember to turn it back on if I take a break for a coffee etc. A couple of times I've come back and it's turned itself off automatically and I haven't noticed ... right until I first strike an arc On a positive note, maybe it's my imagination, but it seems to react noticeably quicker than the old cheapy. I'm surprised as I didn't think it would be noticeable but it seems to react almost instantaneously. I didn't realise the old one had an ever so slight delay until using the Miller but I'm pretty sure there's a difference there.

Pete

Originally Posted by Pete F

I bought the Digital Elite through this company Welding Supplies, Miller Welders, Thermal Dynamics Plasma Cutters pretty dodgy name but great service and the price was good, very good in fact.

I'm really liking the Miller but can see how some can say it's a bit on the heavy side. I'm not welding for long periods so it's no big deal, just something I notice if it's up and I nod it back down again. The only other thing is to remember to turn it back on if I take a break for a coffee etc. A couple of times I've come back and it's turned itself off automatically and I haven't noticed ... right until I first strike an arc On a positive note, maybe it's my imagination, but it seems to react noticeably quicker than the old cheapy. I'm surprised as I didn't think it would be noticeable but it seems to react almost instantaneously. I didn't realise the old one had an ever so slight delay until using the Miller but I'm pretty sure there's a difference there.

Pete

Hi Pete,
Now you've had the Miller a while, how do you rate it?
I'm looking at getting one from the same company (maybe even two and sell the spare...)
As l'm only a casual user at MIG l'm also considering the Miller Performance helmet, it's much cheaper. But may not be as useful for TIG should l ever get into that, again as a hobby welder.
Another choice is the Speedglas 9100x but the $$ is a fair bit higher.

Cheers