HF Auto-darkening helmet (1 Viewer)

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I'm also in the HF camp. :D

I have had my HF hood for over 5 years, and never had to replace the battery. It is the solar one and I leave it in a southwest facing window in my shop so it is always charged when I grab it. I use a 3.0X magnifier lens in it AND wear my reading glasses under it so I can see the weld.

That being said I am considering moving "up" to an Everlast welder that can do Tig, Mig and Stick (Tig is lift start only no high frequency)
So I guess I will be in the market for a new hood if the older HF hood can not do Tig...
 
For me the time is coming pretty quickly where I am going to replace the HF hood. I find that I am always having to adjust my position because I cannot see very well in the small viewing area. Other than that, the want for a larger viewing area, the hood does great.
 
Thought i'd restart this thread given my recent experience. I'm getting more and more into TIG welding. I took a course at a reputable school yesterday and the instructor told me i could not use my HF Vulcan helmet! it's the best one HF has. He said they cheap out on the UV protection coating and even if you do not get burnt eyes, the UV rays will deteriorate your eyes over time. Called HF complained, they are taking it back and giving me store credit (to their credit after 14 months of owning), ordering a lincon today...
 
what I'd want in a welding helmet these days:
very fast reaction rate
large viewing area
outside opacity adjustment including grinding
enough space to wear glasses and a respirator
 
I have a HF auto dark hood that's relatively 'new'. Bought it and it sat for a while before I got around to using it. Started out great and worked as advertised. Until I had about six or eight hours with it. Now it doesn't work well. Most of the time it doesn't darken like it should and is nasty on th eyes. I had to stop using it. Really disappointed with the lack of durability. Now I'm going to have to spend some $$ for a real hood.
 
you're surprised by the lack of durability from a horrible freight product?!?!
there is absolutely no way in hell i would rely on that kind of junk to protect my vision.
 
if I have to use a HF hood again (I'd try not to if at all possible), I'd make sure to test it seriously first against the sun or a suitable light source. I can handle a slow darkening time if need be, but I sure don't want it to quit darkening suddenly in the middle of welding when I'm focusing big eyed, close by, and with a helping lens on the pool.
If the battery is not that great, I'd make sure to "charge" it right before using it.
And I'd wear polycarbonate safety glasses underneath as a last ditch UV protection safety.
 
^ well I do. And probably just about anybody who is starting to weld does, I would think. You must be an expert. For the rest of us, having the ability to see what we are doing and position things properly when initiating the arc is a big plus.
 
I got a 4x5 'gold' filter (not auto darkening) for TIG welding. I like it better than my 3M Speedglass as far as view of the arc, clarity etc, but for the convivence, I prefer the Speedglass... *shrugs*
 
Knowing what I know now, I would never trust HF to save a few bucks. Go with any of the name brands for welding, MILLER, Lincoln, Hobart... spend a few hundred bucks and save your eyes!
 
brian said:
and that is why auto darks are no good either....i still dont understand the love of them.
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I think a lot of it depends on the welding you're doing. If you start your weld and then just burn it in, the auto-dark doesn't do much for you. If you're fitting things up as you go along, it saves a bunch of time over popping the helmet up and down constantly.
 
When i was doing production welding work one of the other guys brought in the newer HF hood that's about $100, Vulcan (i think?) claiming it was super good. Normally uses a Speedglas. I gave it a shot and it had really high quality viewing, comparable to my $350 Jackson BH3. If I had to buy another hood as a backup I'd give it a strong consideration.

Maybe it's because I didn't start out using them but I hate non-auto hoods
 
If you're auto hood is "slow to start", you're burning your eyes.
If you make up for that by holding your eyes close for the first second or two... You can probably work just fine without the auto darkening, maybe easier to flip the manual hoods down than closing your eyes when the arc starts.
I learned on a stick machine without the auto darkening hoods. But I haven't had enough practice over the last 20 years since to be good enough to not want one now, even with these fancy wire feed things that start with a trigger.
Guys here stating there HF hoods are slow to darken just confirmed what I suspected... Don't get a cheap one.
 
^ yes I had a HF that was slow to darken. I attribute that to the built-in battery that was a couple of years old without much use. Probably went bad. And not easily replaceable. Before that it was fine. But I will say that even with my keeping my eyes closed until the glass darkened as you mention above, it was still better than having to flip a hood in that I could position myself, close my eyes without moving anything else and fire things up with certainty that I was still in the right spot. Whereas with flipping a hood I would invariably move a bit. Admittedly, I don't have much practice but as a beginner, the autodarken was still better even with that klutzy approach. I'm sure that with more practice I could use a fixed lens hood properly but I don't see the need to struggle through that. Even aside from the moving bit, the ability to adjust the darkness based on the conditions is a big plus in my book.
 
e9999 said:
^ yes I had a HF that was slow to darken. I attribute that to the built-in battery that was a couple of years old without much use. Probably went bad. And not easily replaceable. Before that it was fine. But I will say that even with my keeping my eyes closed until the glass darkened as you mention above, it was still better than having to flip a hood in that I could position myself, close my eyes without moving anything else and fire things up with certainty that I was still in the right spot. Whereas with flipping a hood I would invariably move a bit. Admittedly, I don't have much practice but as a beginner, the autodarken was still better even with that klutzy approach. I'm sure that with more practice I could use a fixed lens hood properly but I don't see the need to struggle through that. Even aside from the moving bit, the ability to adjust the darkness based on the conditions is a big plus in my book.
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you are way over thinking that.
the head flip thing, is a nothing burger and the large lenses are tough to beat for viewing area.
 
to each his own...
 
I would not buy HF anything that is meant to protect my eyes. F-CHINA
 
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