Just got an AD helmet on Ebay

[RcRacer]

First, let me say that I am a hobbiest and don't spend hours staring at a molten weld puddle so a high end helmet was not in the budget. After reading all the pros and cons about various AD helmets and scouting out the brand names ones at the local welding supplies, I decided to take a chance on a particular helmet available on Ebay. It is advertised as a "fast response" auto darkening helmet and sells for 59.99 with a paint scheme or 49.99 in plain black. I chose a green and black camo paint scheme. There are several things that led me this particular helmet. For one thing, the specs were similar to most better helmets. The switch speed is 1/25000 with selectable dark to light delay and selectable sensitivity for low and high ambient light conditions. The dark shade is variable from 9 - 13 with a clear of shade 4. It has a sizable viewing area of 98mm x 44mm. The specs claim to meet various ANSI and EN standards and give full UV/IR protection whether in the dark or clear state. Another factor is that the manufacturer is known ( Antec electronics ) and the cartridge model ( AFV102 ) is sold in various helmets by several vendors in the US and Canada
Now that I have the helmet, here are my initial impressions. The shell is decently made, not flimsey like some cheap ones that I have looked at and the paint job looks decent. The head band is mediocre but not uncomfortable. It's at least as comfortable as my Jackson Shadow HSL100. Being a little sceptical, my first test was to verify it switched using various lamps, lighters etc. and then taking a picture of myself with camera flash turned on. It switched reliably and I did not see spots from the camera flash. I did notice that in the darkened state while looing at a light bulb, that the lens was not perfectly uniformly dark. In the clear state, it is uniform and the view is excellent. I had read that this condition exists in some cheaper helmets but it wasn't extreme and mostly to the outer edges. Convinced that I probably wouldn't be blinded, I decide to run a few beads with my MIG. Let me say that it took some effort to get myself to pull that trigger when my brain kept telling me I could clearly see the gun and scrap metal I was about to weld. I haven't been welding that long but all I've know up to now is "don't squeeze until I can't see"
The results were a pleasant surprise. With shade set to around 10.5, I could see the puddle much better than with my Jackson. Granted, I only got to run about a foot of practice beads on some 1/8" scrap. The non uniformity I noticed at lower light levels was not a factor when actually welding. If it continues to work reliably and performs the way it did and I don't experience any eye discomfort when I spend more time with it, this will be a great addition to my welding tools. I can't wait work with it some more.
Sorry for rambling so long but I always get this way when I get new toys.

[abooker]

Sounds like a good buy and you did the research on the lens. Good luck.

[jgum]

I'm fairly new here myself, lurked a bit doing research to decide on which Mig to purchase - and thanks to the great discussion here I just recieved a spanking new Lincoln 175plus. I'm new to welding, except for some limited exposure during HS (a looooong time ago) and a little 110V Mig and brazing work a few years ago.
So I have this new welder and need to pick out a helmet. I want an auto-darkening helmet, and the big decision whether to go for a less $$ version like HF, or step up to a name brand in the $150 range.
RcRacer - have the link for the model you bought? Sounds like pretty much what I'm looking for. I was at the Carlisle PA car show last weekend and tried the $50 AD helmet at one of the tool vendors. Quick check of the lens (looking down, and then directly up at the Sun) and seemed like the lens worked OK, but the helmet itself was very flimsy and cheapish. Decided to hold off on that one. Still looking.......
Jeff

[eddie]

I just bought one at HF. It listed for $100 at the store but was on their website for $50. I showed them a printout and they sold it to me for the $50...good folks. It is adjustable 9-13.

I really like it. It's comfortable, lightweight and appears to work just great...that is, I don't see any flash. The one I had came with my HH140 and it was heavy...first time I nodded it down, it fell off my head.

As I've said before, the AD helmet has really helped me establish and maintain an arc (MIG) as I am not pulling away anymore when I had to nod down the helmet.

[RcRacer]

jgum,
I bought from the Ebay store "Dawns Early Light" . There was a Canadien based store called "Start Global OEM Direct" that had the same brand for around the same price but they also had lens covers available.
I also considered the HF helmet but their shipping to my loaction in New York takes FOREVER. Even though they will replace defective products, for me it could takes more time than it's worth to work through the shipping issues. Otherwise, that helmet appears to be a decent one for the price.

[Dargo]

I bought one of the less expensive AD hoods off of eBay and also one from Harbor Freight. Both work well for stick welding, but both will absolutely blind me when using my MIG. I'd mentioned this in another thread as well. With the cheaper AD hoods, I had to "blink" when the MIG arc started or I'd be blinded. With my stick welder, it always throws off a few sparks before the arc and the cheaper AD hoods are just fine. I tried every adjustment on them (both go from 9 to 13), but I was still blinded when starting a MIG.

Based upon the fact that I don't want to go blind, I went ahead and bought a more expensive Miller Elite Big Window (or whatever they call it). Talk about a difference!! There are adjustments for the sensitivity and other things besides just the 9 to 13 darkening adjustment. I no longer have to "blink" to prevent being blinded when starting the MIG. Oh, I even borrowed a neighbor's cheap AD helmet and it too blinded me when starting my MIG arc. The Miller hood does not.

If you don't mind the required "blink", then the cheaper hoods seem to work fine. Myself, I don't like to have any tricks to using my equipment. I basically wasted 50 something dollars twice trying to avoid spending a couple hundred dollars to start with on a good AD hood. From experience, I'd say that if you stick weld, go with the cheaper AD hoods; they are fine for that. If you MIG, I'm telling you, the cheaper hoods just flat do not react as quickly as the more expensive hoods. I guess you do actually get something for that extra money spent. To me, my eyesight is worth more than $100 or $150.

[patrickmcveigh]

I have a $50 auto-dark lid which is used only for mig, and I have no problems with it. In fact, my only complaint is that it's only adjustable for 9-13, and I would really like to have it go down to about 8 or so for low current stuff. I'd imagine this could be solved by going to better quality glass, which would let me see more, but for what I paid, I've enjoyed it a good amount. Perhaps when the penny jar is full again, I'll look into a better one.

YMMV

[RcRacer]

Dargo,
That is true with some of the cheap AD helmets. The reaction time for some helmets is a few milliseconds instead of fractions of a millisecond and when they are cold, even slower. The other contributor is the sensor configuration. It is definitely a gamble whether you will get a good "cheap" helmet but there are some decent ones out there. I'm satisfied with mine but if I invest in another one in the future, it will probably be a better quality brand named hood.

[Dargo]

Rc, sorry, I did not intend to say that your hood was bad. I only meant that my luck is that I spend less (hoping to save money) and get crap. Also, in college I participated in an intense study of human critical flicker frequency. I seem to do well with hand eye stuff, especially at high speed, so I was recruited into the study. Basically, I have the ability to see temporal and luminal changes at a faster rate. In short, temporal integration time is related to temporal summation. Temporal summation refers to the eyes ability to sum the effects of individual quanta of light over time. However, temporal summation only occurs within a certain period of time, called the critical duration or critical period. According to Blochís law of vision, within this critical duration, threshold is reached when the total luminous energy is reached. Blochís Law of temporal summation is analogous to Riccoís Law of spatial summation. Blochís law states that total luminous energy is a constant value (k), thus threshold is reached when the product of luminance (L) and stimulus duration (t) equals this constant. In other words, when luminance is halved, a doubling in stimulus duration is required to reach threshold. When luminance is doubled, threshold can be reached in half the duration. Blochís Law is expressed as:
L. tn = k

Okay, likely more than needed. The bottom line is that I apparently will see a flash before most people would see it. Therefore, the reaction speed of the AD helmet is particularly important to me. I should have realized this before I blew money on the 2nd cheap AD helmet.

[RcRacer]

Dargo,
No offense or negative conotation taken
Wow, that was an awsome technical explanation. Does that effect how you see video or movies??
Anyway, now I know not to challenge you to any video game or sports stuff.

[mikeatrpi]

Hey Rc, I also have a "cheap" AD (mines from Harbor) and I really like it for my needs.

Can I ask if you've gone to Dutchess Steel on Overlook Dr., or if you know of a better place in the area?

[storts]

Originally Posted by RcRacer

First, let me say that I am a hobbiest and don't spend hours staring at a molten weld puddle so a high end helmet was not in the budget. After reading all the pros and cons about various AD helmets and scouting out the brand names ones at the local welding supplies, I decided to take a chance on a particular helmet available on Ebay. It is advertised as a "fast response" auto darkening helmet and sells for 59.99 with a paint scheme or 49.99 in plain black. I chose a green and black camo paint scheme. There are several things that led me this particular helmet. For one thing, the specs were similar to most better helmets. The switch speed is 1/25000 with selectable dark to light delay and selectable sensitivity for low and high ambient light conditions. The dark shade is variable from 9 - 13 with a clear of shade 4. It has a sizable viewing area of 98mm x 44mm. The specs claim to meet various ANSI and EN standards and give full UV/IR protection whether in the dark or clear state. Another factor is that the manufacturer is known ( Antec electronics ) and the cartridge model ( AFV102 ) is sold in various helmets by several vendors in the US and Canada
Now that I have the helmet, here are my initial impressions. The shell is decently made, not flimsey like some cheap ones that I have looked at and the paint job looks decent. The head band is mediocre but not uncomfortable. It's at least as comfortable as my Jackson Shadow HSL100. Being a little sceptical, my first test was to verify it switched using various lamps, lighters etc. and then taking a picture of myself with camera flash turned on. It switched reliably and I did not see spots from the camera flash. I did notice that in the darkened state while looing at a light bulb, that the lens was not perfectly uniformly dark. In the clear state, it is uniform and the view is excellent. I had read that this condition exists in some cheaper helmets but it wasn't extreme and mostly to the outer edges. Convinced that I probably wouldn't be blinded, I decide to run a few beads with my MIG. Let me say that it took some effort to get myself to pull that trigger when my brain kept telling me I could clearly see the gun and scrap metal I was about to weld. I haven't been welding that long but all I've know up to now is "don't squeeze until I can't see"
The results were a pleasant surprise. With shade set to around 10.5, I could see the puddle much better than with my Jackson. Granted, I only got to run about a foot of practice beads on some 1/8" scrap. The non uniformity I noticed at lower light levels was not a factor when actually welding. If it continues to work reliably and performs the way it did and I don't experience any eye discomfort when I spend more time with it, this will be a great addition to my welding tools. I can't wait work with it some more.
Sorry for rambling so long but I always get this way when I get new toys.

wHAT BRAND, i HAVE A HF, WESTERN SAFETY FOR FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! YOU PAY THE SHIPPING, AND BUY SOME NEW EYE *****,,AFTER 91 DAYS,,,,NFG!!!!!!!!!God only gives you 2 sets of eyes and below the belt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!BE CAREFUL PLEASE,,,,,JACK

[RcRacer]

storts,
It is a Chinese company called Antec Electronics who makes the cartridge. They are more known for their PC mother boards. I hear ya on the safety issue. I am a little more trusting of this helmet than the HF because it is a known manufacturer. Hopefully it will last a little longer than the HF.

mikeatrpi,
I have only been there once. I bought a 1 foot piece of 2.5" 6061 aluminum round stock at a good price. I haven't priced any steel yet. I built my MIG cart from Home Depot, Lowes stuff and scrap. For my next project, I'll have to go check them out again. I usually look for scrap at PT surplus in Kingston, NY but he sells his stuff as fast as he gets it.