Auto Darkening Welding Helmet

scoffcruddle said:
Anyone tried one of these?

404 Not Found - United Welding Supplies | Welding Supplies

United Welding are the UK's No1 supplier of Welding and Cutting Equipment, Abrasives, Power Tools and PPE products. Large stocks available from the industries leading manufacturers. Next Day Delivery!
www.unitedwelding.co.uk www.unitedwelding.co.uk

I like the screen being nearer your eyes,would it steam up though?
Click to expand...
I tried one, not bad for gas welding, but i think i prefer a solid shield, I have had things go pop when welding them before, and I'd rather something a bit tougher than cloth in front of my face, it's ugly enough without burn scars.
My next one will be a Panoramaxx, but it wont be for a good while, lad i work with has one and it's great.
The Vegaview is good too, have two of those for a good while, one used nearly every day for 13 years and still going good.
 
Cork said:
Upgraded the welding mask. Old ones were only lasting a couple of years. Last one was very hard to see through and weld was suffering.

Went for a Lincoln Viking 3350, not cheap at €235 but supposed to be the business.

It’ll be minded....!

View attachment 87208
Click to expand...
Nice, some lads give less for a welder.
 
MF30 said:
I’m hoping that the sunlight is keeping my battery charged! But the simple fact that some of the helmets come in a protective storage bag probably means that they don’t need sunlight at all...
Click to expand...
I was told that its the light from the welding keeps the battery up, my rarely used one is usually in need of a battery when I dig it out of its gloomy storage and its a little ba$tard to replace the battery.
 
Arthur said:
I was told that its the light from the welding keeps the battery up, my rarely used one is usually in need of a battery when I dig it out of its gloomy storage and its a little ba$tard to replace the battery.
Click to expand...
The welding light is supposed to keep the battery charged but I mightn’t weld for a few weeks and then be at it for days at a time so just thought the sunlight might help keep it charged. Regular use probably is best.
 
Arthur said:
I was told that its the light from the welding keeps the battery up, my rarely used one is usually in need of a battery when I dig it out of its gloomy storage and its a little ba$tard to replace the battery.
Click to expand...
Some do and some don't. I have one that does, one that's usb rechargeable and one with 2 replaceable cr2032 batteries, all from the same maker.
 
Bought a viking 3350 from metron last week expensive but crystal clear.

I had read many reviews and really wanted something clearer and it does deliver. I still haven't got used to the head band though its has an extra swivel on it which is more of a hinderance. Also the european version has no external grind button.
 
There have a lot of welding helmets those are auto darkening like TOOLIOM, Jackson Safety HSL-100, DEKOPRO etc. You may click here to much details about those welding helmets. I picked up a Jackson Safety HSL-100 auto-darkening welding helmet from Amazon about a year ago. That was maybe around $160-170, still working perfectly.
 
Last edited:
Just going to add, they have auto darkening shields in Lidl from tomorrow for €33. I know they’re nothing like what’s being spoken about here but may be a cheap backup to keep around the place. I have one here as a backup and have used it a few times welding and plasma cutting and can’t fault it
 
ZetorMan98 said:
Just going to add, they have auto darkening shields in Lidl from tomorrow for €33. I know they’re nothing like what’s being spoken about here but may be a cheap backup to keep around the place. I have one here as a backup and have used it a few times welding and plasma cutting and can’t fault it
Click to expand...
We have one too, not bad at all

any source of the clear lens on the front of it, wouldn’t mind replacing it
 
aidank said:
We have one too, not bad at all

any source of the clear lens on the front of it, wouldn’t mind replacing it
Click to expand...
I haven’t went looking for lenses for it as I have it left in the house as a backup. I only take it out every now and again to make sure it’s still working or if I’ve somebody giving me a hand when I’m welding. I think I still have the box in the shed somewhere. I’ll have a look and see if I can find anything about them
 
So I had a bit of bad luck yesterday evening in the shed and the result was my welding shield now needs replacing. It was a Toparc (GYS I think) MasterLCD 11. Found it a great helmet, although basic (no adjustment whatsoever, just an 11 shade) and never gave an ounce of trouble. I don’t think it ever needed a battery even. Was about 8 years old.
I’m between 2 minds as to replace it with the same again or go all out for an air fed one. I’m doing a lot more welding now than when I bought it first and normally in a tight shed with a low roof so fumes and smoke can build up at times.
Anyone know anything about these?
www.wholesaleweldingsupplies.ie

Weltek Navitek S4 Air Fed Auto Welding Helmet

The Weltek Navitek S4 Air Fed light reactive welding helmet is a high quality air fed welding mask featuring variable shade from 9-13 so is suitable for all welding jobs, flip up visor for grinding mode, 2 Air flow speeds with L-Ion battery 10 hours running time. Conforms to EN12941 and come
www.wholesaleweldingsupplies.ie
Money is big on them but what price can you put on your eyes and lungs. If I knew they were a good shield I’d be happy enough to spend it. I’ve a Lidl auto darkening shield as I mentioned a bit further up but I don’t find it comfortable enough for full time use, but grand as a back up and will keep me going until I get a replacement
 
I have that shield here I find it very good when welding steel that has been blasted and primed as I find there's a lot of fumes from the primer when it burns off. I originally got the shield and blower unit when it was on special offer from Wurth, it was the same blower but with a standard shield (without the grinding mask inside). Wurth rebrand the Navitech and sell them under there own name. I'm sure it was less than €200 when on offer so I said I'd take a punt on it. My thinking was Wurth in general sell good stuff and should be able to carry a range of consumables lenses, filters etc. I later got the shield in your link and a heap of consumables from a crowd in the uk which weren't expensive either. Run time on the battery is very good we'd generally get two days of fairly constant welding before the battery would die out. They are slightly heavier and more awkward to move around with as blower and vent pipe tend to get caught on stuff but you soon get used to it.
 
agrostar said:
I have that shield here I find it very good when welding steel that has been blasted and primed as I find there's a lot of fumes from the primer when it burns off. I originally got the shield and blower unit when it was on special offer from Wurth, it was the same blower but with a standard shield (without the grinding mask inside). Wurth rebrand the Navitech and sell them under there own name. I'm sure it was less than €200 when on offer so I said I'd take a punt on it. My thinking was Wurth in general sell good stuff and should be able to carry a range of consumables lenses, filters etc. I later got the shield in your link and a heap of consumables from a crowd in the uk which weren't expensive either. Run time on the battery is very good we'd generally get two days of fairly constant welding before the battery would die out. They are slightly heavier and more awkward to move around with as blower and vent pipe tend to get caught on stuff but you soon get used to it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that. I’d imagine the one with the grinding mask would be a bit better where you’d be lifting and dropping the shield regularly as you wouldn’t have to deal with the seal around your face every time to lift it? I was asking a lad a couple of weeks back that had a plain air fed shield and he reckoned it was a nuisance for tacking and short welds where you’d be lifting the mask a lot. I’d imagine the grinding shield would be a bit better for that sort of thing? A few lads at work have 3M Speedglas ones but they’re about €1000 dearer so a bit of a non runner for someone like me that wouldn’t be using them every day
 
Just said I’d come back to this, I finally bit the bullet and bought a shield this week. Bought one of the Navitek S4s that I linked above but from a different company:
www.hls.ie

Navitek S4 Airfed Welding & Grinding Mask with Extractor - HLS

The Navitek S4 combines the polyvalent S4 autodarkening filter, with one of the largest clear grinding visors available on the market.
www.hls.ie
These were the cheapest I could find. Ordered Tuesday afternoon and it arrived Thursday. I ordered a few spare filters, and lenses etc, but they had no grinding shields so I’ll have to order them again at some stage. I haven’t used it properly yet but seems a decent shield. A bit unusual to wear compared to the normal one but I’d say just a matter of getting used to it. I’ll update again once I get a bit of mileage on it
 
can anyone recommend a good auto darkening helmet? I'll pay up to around circa €120 . seems to be so many and some reviews on amazon say the auto darkening sometimes fails ...im arch welding and grinding my amature mistakes, only weding broken stuff on farm...
was looking at like of
expondo
--
amazon.de
--
WeldingSupplies
--
Refurbished
 
Last edited:
someguy199 said:
can anyone recommend a good auto darkening helmet? I'll pay up to around circa €120 . seems to be so many and some reviews on amazon say the auto darkening sometimes fails ...im arch welding and grinding my amature mistakes, only weding broken stuff on farm...
was looking at like of
expondo
--
amazon.de
--
WeldingSupplies
--
Refurbished
Click to expand...
Have one of these find it good.

ESAB Warrior Head Shield | Gasweld

The Esab Warrior is now obsolete and has been replaced by the Esab Savage A40 Shield View it here- https://www.gasweld.ie/product/esab-savage-a40-welding-automatic-headshield-black-with-true-colour/
www.gasweld.ie
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20220710-225201_Chrome.jpg
    Screenshot_20220710-225201_Chrome.jpg
    55.2 KB · Views: 15
Cork said:
Upgraded the welding mask. Old ones were only lasting a couple of years. Last one was very hard to see through and weld was suffering.

Went for a Lincoln Viking 3350, not cheap at €235 but supposed to be the business.

It’ll be minded....!

View attachment 87208
Click to expand...
Can I ask how you you are getting on with your Viking 3350 automatic welding head shield?
Would you recommend it as being a good shield?
After 17 years, my faithful SWP automatic headshield has finally called time and decided to retire on me.
I suppose I can't complain, it cost €180 and did 17 years work.
The modern SWP equivalent costs €50 and is made in China and unlike the old one which was made in Switzerland, is not the same shield anymore.
I have heard great things about the 3350 and also the Esab Sentinel.
I don't mind spending a few euros on a good shield. At the end of the day, the good man upstairs blessed us all with one pair of eyes and we must mind them.
 
i have a Lidl helmet which has given up, the autodarkening worked well, however the top of it was open, i thought that was an incorrect design as all the daylight could get in and glint on the vieweing window.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top