Anything welding

I used a HF auto dark helmet for years with no issue. Mine did charge off the light from welding. I still use it for when I have to weld in awkward positions and I don't want to worry about scratching the lense dragging it across the bottom of a rusty car frame.

 

I think here though we are talking about the new HF .

 

That's the one I'll be using. I'll use if I go blind.

 

I use the digital elite myself, but have been watching reviews of the ArcSafe because of the bigger viewing area and the reports of a clearer view. My old eyes could use all the help they can get, now if the made a helmet that compensated for the shakes.

 

Wow Kirk you drag your Hood so hard you would take out a Polycarbonate front cover plate to get to the lens

just using plastic front cover plate ?

 

+1 for being a torch person. I walk past the plasma all the time for the torch. Does that make us old school? I'm just more comfortable with it in most cases

 

There is a reason why there are $600 helmets on the market. I have 3 3M speedglas helmets. One 9100X and 2 9002X. Bought 2 online one used and one new in box. Had one replaced at work but the AD was still good so I fixed the helmet and now have 3.

Cheap AD units are slow to react either flashing you or taking forever to go light again. I can adjust the parameters on mine so it reacts quick, has the right shade for the job and reacts fast or slow on the return to light setting. I try to use the cheap ones they supply at work and I get headaches due to eye strain and “micro-flashing”. Why ruin my only set of eyes to save a few bucks?

 

Would you go back? If we have a welding job at work and one of the other guys hands me their helmet I refuse. I use my speedglas or I stand back and let someone else do the welding. The cheap crap ones are useless once you have used something decent IMO. Also the grinding feature is awesome on the newer ones. Great for plasma cutting.

 

I seem to catch myself on fire every time I'm working under a car. Shit gets real wild once you realize something unintentional is burning. Helmet comes off in a hurry!

 

I've got two of them don't think I'll use anything else.

 

It is like driving a high end performance car. You don’t know what a piece of shit is until you know what really good is.

 

I think it's time for a new welding jacket.

 

Turn it inside out, the wear point will be on the opposite side. Lol.

 

I think I can get another year out of it now.

 

All I can say is Wow !

Other then a few sparks in the region of the top of my elbow now and then if I was ever on fire it is so long ago and so minor I don`t recall

I will say one does get into some strange positions welding on vehicles

I so hate getting burned so maybe over the years I adjusted my style and position to lessen the chance .

As to anything made in China it seems they have good days and bad for quality control!!

One of the Critical things with Auto Dark Hoods is the front plate be very clean as soon as the senors start to degrade you have problems

Some Jobs I changed front cover plate every morning even at times swapping to my extra hood when temperatures were critical

 

Your not welding enough of you have not been on fire at least once a month.

 

Catching fire once a month? Since you keep taking the IQ test do you want to be told your score?

 

Mine usually matches the room temperature.

I'm street smart. I know what street I live on.

 

I weld for probably 6 to 7 hours a day, everything from tig to arc, to mig, some in a shop at a bench, some in industrial applications, some on heavy equipment. Sometimes upside down, contorted around a valve, overhead on a lift 90 feet in the air, squeezed into the underbelly of a Cat, sometimes everything around you is covered in grease, filthy, dirty ugly work environments, So, if your sitting at a bench welding pretty parts for cars with a Tig for a an hour a day, you might not ever have a fire incident, but if you want to put on your big boy pants and roll with me for a few days, we will see if we can't get you to catch yourself on fire just for shits and giggles.

Here is a nice shot of one of my jobs from 2 months ago, 107' off the ground, pop off valve repair at a steam generated power plant in the middle of the desert. Wind was blowing 25 mph , was 114 degrees out, and the valve repair was not accessible in any other way then this Disneyland ride.

But what do I know, I just glue metal together in funny shapes and fix stuff that most people want nothing to do with because they don't have the skill or balls to get it done.

So yeah, I have a little fire every now and again, it's just part of the job.

 

Pretty sure I had a fire when I was burning these out. That's what spotters and those red bottles are for.