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First I apologize for my absence on the forum. Been working my ass off lately, and had a fucked up run of bad luck I'm trying to dig myself out of(phone died, crashed car...ect...).

 

That being said on a recent job I had problems with both of my welding helmets.

 

I have a Arcone X540V tucked in a jackson hood. I love the lightweight of the Arcone and standard clear lenses, but the Arcone Vision hood was heavy, and the Jackson made this thing LIGHT and way more comfortable with better head gear... The lens crapped out on me. Its only turning on when it wants, and thats completely unacceptable.

 

My normal backup for that is a Speedglas 9100XX. I had the headgear break on me. I'm still using this one with a ghetto fix with a machine screw untill I get some new headgear in, or a new lens for the arcone.

 

I'm thinking a backup to the backup is in order... I don't want to get quite into the price tag of the above welding helmets, but I'm looking for a solid, reliable third option in my corral.

 

Bonus points for standard clear lenses, or large viewing areas. Clear picture is a must, I'm making money with these things. Hoping not to dump as much money on this one as the other 2. you know, something in the wings in case my work masks fail again that can sit in the garage and serve duty there at other times.

 

what do you guys recommend? what do you use?

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Imnot a welder by trade but have to do from time to time at work. The Hobart helmets do well. have had mine for 10 yrs. autodark, 9-12 tint, large glass,solar, sensitivty,time delay. all around $189. If i did more welding I would jump up to the class of helmet you use. but i dont.

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Imnot a welder by trade but have to do from time to time at work. The Hobart helmets do well. have had mine for 10 yrs. autodark, 9-12 tint, large glass,solar, sensitivty,time delay. all around $189. If i did more welding I would jump up to the class of helmet you use. but i dont.

What specific model do you use? How many sensors does it have?

 

I appreciate the input.

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I've been welding for 35 years and have gone through a shit pile of helmets throughout the years. The last one that crapped out on me was a Speedglass.

 

I'm now using a Miller Digital Elite, and this by far, is the nicest helmet I have ever used. The optical clarity is far better than anything else I have tried....and I have tried a lot. However, it will set you back over $300 bucks.

 

Tony Rumore

Tromix

 

P.S. Edited to add - It looks like you can get plain ones (no crazy graphics) for about $250.

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I use a speedglass 100v. Im not sure what type of welding you are doing but this thing has been worth every penny and is about half the price of the 9100xx. Its also fairly light weight compared to my regular helmet.

 

I've looked at the 100V series. They seem like a descent bang for the buck.

 

As far as the welding I've been doing the job that killed the arcone(after 6 years of hard service) was a overlay job on a boiler. The boilermakers didn't have enough people with the proper certifications on this particular job and pulled pipefitters. we were doing overlays measured in feet up to 5/8" thick with pipe pro Mig machines. In order to look around the cup, and get around some scaffolding poles I had to get a little too close to the work. Once I switched to the speedglas I was going through a outside clear every other day, the heat was deforming them, and it was like looking through a fish-eye lens

 

I'm now using a Miller Digital Elite, and this by far, is the nicest helmet I have ever used. The optical clarity is far better than anything else I have tried....and I have tried a lot. However, it will set you back over $300 bucks.

 

The digital Elites are a standard in the trades. They have a good reputation.

 

What model speedglas were you using that crapped out? I love a clear picture, and your saying the digital elite has a better picture, I'm interested.

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The Speedglass is a cheap ass junker model. It just says Speedglass Utility on it. I didn't realize how bad the optics were until I got the Miller. I imagine their higher end ones are better. The thing still works, but won't darken anymore at the low amps I'm running with the Tig.

 

Tony

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I will be purchasing this helmet shortly. Miller has recently redesigned the headband and upped the warranty to three years. The model pointing to in the link, is the least expensive of the Miller Digital Elite models. Cyberweld = free shipping and no tax.

 

http://store.cyberweld.com/miwehebldiel.html

 

Good luck to you and happy welding!

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We've got 8 full time welders all they do all day 60hrs a week 50 wks a year.. they all wear & buy pipeliners. Just plain ole hoods. Nothing fancy. I've had one for 12plus years... though I only weld occasionaly anymore and when I do it's tig. Everyone of them a G6 certified welder myself included.. Nothing wrong with the electronic ones, they have their advantages..but hardly necessary.

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The pipeliners are the oldschool way. Reliable an durable, the design has lasted for a reason.

That said I do prefer a auto. Allows you to keep your hood down more, and makes starts and stops in awkward positions easier when your weld criteria is stringent and a stray arc mark is unnacceptable.

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I do most the real delicate tig small machine parts and such. We got other guyof that do majority percision welding on exotics ( the big deal currently is duplex stainless). but yea I can see the advantage of an auto, I just never came up off the cash for one. I learned oldschool methods from true old school welders/ millrites.. I'm one of the only people I know that can do a reverse alignment , and soft foot calculation on paper. Most people use the laser now..which is soo much easier.and faster.

.

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Heh, I know where your coming from. My father is a industrial mechanic and electrician. He has to deal with motor alignment and soft foot. Not a issue in my trade.

 

He was stubborn about getting a auto also. One day he attened a seminar sponsored by lincon and tried some of their auto hoods, and liked them. I took the opportunity to pick him up a viking 3350. He loves it for lift start tig now.

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I don't know about helmets, but I've got a box full of welders caps my retired mom made for a deal that fell though. If anyone is interested I can find out a price from her. Various sizes.

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Fuck Harbor freight for anything, you might as well be pissing gasoline on your money and setting it on fire! With that said, I Try not to get into to much welding, but I still end up doing my fair share of puddling. I don't weld daily like you and Tony, thank god, cause I really don't enjoy it much anymore, I do however like to tig when needed! When you're not a professional welder, meaning someone who welds daily for their living, then you don't want to drop $500- $1000 on a hood, some hoods get really stupid in price! I was in the middle building a material rack for the shop as shown below, and bounced two cheap ass POS off the shop wall. My solution was a cheap $200 Viking hood bought at a local welder supply that is good enough for part time welding, but I would fork out a lot more for a much better hood if I was you Jake, nothing bets a high quality hood when your burning for 10-14 hrs a day!

 

post-11513-0-33880400-1351519188_thumb.jpg

 

My hood:

post-11513-0-19115800-1351519525_thumb.jpg

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I depend on my Speedglas 9002x to work everyday. Nailbomb I wouldn't steer u wrong brother. I dropped mine "ALOT" and the highest was 25 feet and hit a railroad track while working on the new battery in Clairton in Pittsburgh. I thought it was a goner. picked it up and it turned right back on. The cheaper speedglas are not as good, trust me. I bought mine about 7 years ago and you know how much I use mine. I let my fitter "tack a hanger" 2 weeks ago and he is thinking about getting his certs again. He was amazed at how much he could see.

 

I only wish it had 4 sensors instead of 2. I know with mine I have to adjust the headstrap screws all the time. But that is my only gripe. I keep several spares in my drag bag to cover the annoyance.

 

I have tried others and I will keep mine. I will have to post a pic, it is at work in the trailor.

 

U know how I roll.... Main Steam header 22 inch pipe, 4.5 inch wall. 2,000 PSI. This is what I did last week. Starting on a valve on the same line tomorrow.

 

602657_476254712396426_132794408_n.jpg

 

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Edited by chupa
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I had a spiffy one from my old job, I kind of threw it with the force of thor and broke it, had a black widow in it, when you see one of them that close it make you react accordingly. The spider and mask ate it. So now I'm using a lincoln one at Lincoln workshop (friend works for Lincoln and since I sold my welder I can use their goodies)

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