Auto Darkening....I give up

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This evening I was welding a few gussets on a tractor for a friend. I forgot my hood and his neighbor said here use mine.  I told him that is alright I will run home, but he almost insisted.  It was an auto darkening.  I used it and that was my first time with auto dark. I can see what an advantage that would be especially for low amp TIG, for me anyways. I actually liked it but I have always stayed away due to the price. When I can buy a Jackson for $20.00 I keep on buying them.  A few months ago I hurt my back and was welding pop cans together at low amperage, I believe auto dark would have helped there.  Anyway I guess I may buy one, graphics are not important to me.  So if you have one that works good for you I am all ears.  Thanks.GeezerPower Mig 255C185 TIGBlue 175 MIGRanger 8 Kohler 20HP1974 5K Lincoln/Wisconsin Powered (Cherry)Victor/Harris O/AK 487 Spool Gun
Reply:i've got a brand new 2"x4" shade 12 insert for sale. I will make you a sweet deal , $50+shipping. http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=51243
Reply:Originally Posted by Showdog75i've got a brand new 2"x4" shade 12 insert for sale. I will make you a sweet deal , $50+shipping. http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=51243
Reply:I tried one once. Didn't care for it at all. I'm a little on the older side and tend to stay with what I know. Just curious how many still like the 2x4 flip downs? I know I'll never change. Any others feel the same?
Reply:Originally Posted by geezerWell it certainly sounds  like a good deal, I just need to educate myself about these auto dark a little.  hopefully I will be a fast learner and get back to you soon.
Reply:Originally Posted by backpurgeI tried one once. Didn't care for it at all. I'm a little on the older side and tend to stay with what I know. Just curious how many still like the 2x4 flip downs? I know I'll never change. Any others feel the same?
Reply:I cant give you recomendations on a brand because I have only tried one myself .A speedglas 100x..I use it exclusively for tig for several reasons..It helps me get my hands in position before striking an arc,It fits a common 2x4" cheater lense-(on the inside there are 2 brackets that hold one),you can adjust for the various amperages needed for tig, and last time I bought cover lenses they were expensive, so I dont want to get smoke and crap all over them.. I use a plain fixed shade for other kinds of welding simply because I can see the puddle more clearly,and the ad would be of no advantage to me ,unless I were doing alot of tacking or have to weld in an uncomfortable place.. If I were in the market for a new ad hood I would get one that you can grind with and use a cutting torch with ;I dont think mine works out for that stuff..I would also get one that uses common ,flat, clear protective lenses..
Reply:Originally Posted by ak4130I cant give you recomendations on a brand because I have only tried one myself .A speedglas 100x..I use it exclusively for tig for several reasons..It helps me get my hands in position before striking an arc,It fits a common 2x4" cheater lense-(on the inside there are 2 brackets that hold one),you can adjust for the various amperages needed for tig, and last time I bought cover lenses they were expensive, so I dont want to get smoke and crap all over them.. I use a plain fixed shade for other kinds of welding simply because I can see the puddle more clearly,and the ad would be of no advantage to me ,unless I were doing alot of tacking or have to weld in an uncomfortable place..Thats a good point.  What I should have done was swap between my hood and the auto dark to see what the difference is viewing the weld puddle.  I did notice the auto dark seemed to have a slight haze when viewing.     If I were in the market for a new ad hood I would get one that you can grind with and use a cutting torch with ;I dont think mine works out for that stuff..I would also get one that uses common ,flat, clear protective lenses..
Reply:I have a 1990 Jackson big window #11 gold lens (thanks Tozzi) flip down and go...I don't like auto darkening at all.....zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Originally Posted by zapsterI have a 1990 Jackson big window #11 gold lens (thanks Tozzi) flip down and go...I don't like auto darkening at all.....zap!
Reply:I have a Speedglass unit that is now about 6 years old. I change the batteries 1-3 times a year, and I like the field of view. Miller has some really nice ones that I am really considering, especially their new large view model. Let me stress to you right now; Do NOT buy a cheap unit unless you will only use it for high amp mig/ stick work. The good hoods are worth every penny, be it $220 or $400. Like the difference between a push/ pull mig gun vs a regular 12' wand trying to mig weld aluminum. Get a good one, and you will be very happy.And then, after so much work...... you have it in your hand, and you look over to your side...... and the runner has run off. Leaving you holding the prize, wondering when the runner will return.
Reply:Originally Posted by RojodiabloI have a Speedglass unit that is now about 6 years old. I change the batteries 1-3 times a year, and I like the field of view. Miller has some really nice ones that I am really considering, especially their new large view model. Let me stress to you right now; Do NOT buy a cheap unit unless you will only use it for high amp mig/ stick work. The good hoods are worth every penny, be it $220 or $400. Like the difference between a push/ pull mig gun vs a regular 12' wand trying to mig weld aluminum. Get a good one, and you will be very happy.
Reply:Didnt think I would like a auto helmet but once I got 1 I like it. I have a hobart one from local fleet store Paid about 150 or so for it. Never tigged with it but works good for stick and mig although with stick sometimes if you submerge the arc a little you get flashed but at least it is still shade 5. Still have a couple tried and true jackson fixed  hoods to boucne on the servive rig.Millermatic 252millermatic 175miller 300 Thunderboltlincoln ranger 250smith torcheslots of bfh'sIf it dont fit get a bigger hammer
Reply:I am far from an expert, and just barely qualify as a beginner; but I use an autodarkening hood. In my opinion it makes me a better welder.  I have a Harbor Freight, low budget hood.  I agree that there are better hoods, but I balk at paying more than the lowest price possible.I offer three choices: Good, Fast, & Cheap. You may pick two.Hobart AC/DC StikMate LXHarbor Freight AD HoodHarbor Freight Industrial Chop SawDeVilbis 20 Gallon, 5 HP Compressor
Reply:Loved my Miller performance series, get it in plain black for less than $200. Best "bargain" out there in my opinion. Although I still ended up upgrading to a helmet with a larger lense later on... $$$Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire.
Reply:i have 2 harbor freight ad hoods that i have used extensively in the past before i bought my speedglas 9100x and just recently my miller digital elite. i thought the hf hoods were great till i got the 9100x. literally night and day. everything about the speedglas smokes the hf hoods. clarity, comfort, low amp tig, side windows for peripheral vision, grind and cut settings, replaceable batteries etc. the list goes on. drawback....price...but i only have one pair of eyes and the price is still cheaper then one pair of bifocal glasses. now for the digital elite...well all i will say about it is that it is almost a good backup hood for the speedglas 9100x. it was a little cheaper then the 9100x which was about twice as much as i would pay for another DE even if it was the only hood i could find if i was welding in the middle of the Sahara desert in a snow storm. i'm still hoping the DE will redeem itself and the price it costs someday in the event i get in a position to really need the X mode. but i try to keep enough boxes of aluminum foil on hand to wrap the thanksgiving turkey in so that i don't have to crank the tig down that low to weld several remnants together to get the bird feeling all warm and toasty.225NT bobcatAEAD200LEScott 125mm175, mm252 w 30A, PT225mm211, TA 181iHyper Therm 380, cut master 529100X & XX, Digital Elite6 Victor setssmith little torch, meco midget kalamazoo band sawsteel max saw evoulution circular saw
Reply:$40 jackson with  #9 gold lens is my favorite.. had a airgas cobra radnor, wasnt fit to piss in. friends got me a lowes, a little better, i use it when im tacking with stick so i can go back and forth, pick up a grinder, etc..tiggiing i find the jackson is good because i can get in position, flip it down and see bvetter than any other hood....
Reply:I like AD... don't have one though... but ever since my uncle gave me a gold lense at 12 years old I can't use the green ones.
Reply:Originally Posted by WeldingWookiein my experience with tig and auto darks i have used the 2 sensor ones and have gotten flashed with them when doing low amperage tig out of position i use a fixed shade or a 4 sensor auto dark
Reply:speed glass 9100xx   great headgear side windows very lite it rocksdream to weld with
Reply:Originally Posted by nadogailI am far from an expert, and just barely qualify as a beginner; but I use an autodarkening hood. In my opinion it makes me a better welder.  I have a Harbor Freight, low budget hood.  I agree that there are better hoods, but I balk at paying more than the lowest price possible.
Reply:Originally Posted by backpurgeI tried one once. Didn't care for it at all. I'm a little on the older side and tend to stay with what I know. Just curious how many still like the 2x4 flip downs? I know I'll never change. Any others feel the same?
Reply:I recently got a Lincoln 2450 VIKING™ Auto-Darkening Helmet on the recommendation of a friend, initially just to do a review of it. After doing the review it stays on my welders and nobody gets to touch it! I have been using two other auto-shade helmets but this one is way better and lets me see much better around the arc. It has a large viewing port size, four sensors and the adjustments really do things which makes it easier to dial it in for what I want. I have a review of it with photos and stuff if that would be of help. I am very happy with it anyway.http://www.newmetalworker.com/Review...nghlmtrvu.htmlLast edited by Tomhintz; 05-07-2011 at 02:20 PM.Reason: Forgot the link, I just turned 62, give me a breakl!Tom Hintz, publisherwww.newmetalworker.comLincoln Pro Mig 180Lincoln AC 255Determination
Reply:A few people have mentioned the 9100 series speedglass hoods and I can't give enough praise to that hood I agree it's quite as clear as a gold lens but damn close, and having sustained a bad neck injury flipping hood all day adds up so auto darks have been a saving grace for me and out of the several i have tried the 9100 is the clearest most comfortable option. although if i'm doing something where I can keep my hood down for a long period of time (tigging pipe for instance) I grab my big window jackson with a gold lense.
Reply:Still like fixed shade gold lenses and still have several, but my favorite AD hood is a Jackson Nexgen Halo-X.  It's quite light (something like 6oz without lens?), so I don't seem to get a sore neck.  The headgear is comfortable , clips for cheater lens, has 4 sensors and i've never been flashed with it, lots of adjustablity on the lens, etc.etc.  No problem with low amp Tig.  I've not been disappointed.  I have a Northern tool AD hood as a backup or for a curious bystander... decent for that purpose, but I don't usually weld with it.Dynasty 200DXBobcat 250, TD Cutmaster 38 Hobart Stickmate AC/DC LXHobart 210 Mig / SpoolgunCentury Mig, O/A rigPress/Ring Roller/Tubing Roller/Hyd. Pipe BenderJD2 Notcher/IR 80gal 5hp compressorportaband/chopsaw/grinders/etc.Originally Posted by turnerStill like fixed shade gold lenses and still have several, but my favorite AD hood is a Jackson Nexgen Halo-X.  It's quite light (something like 6oz without lens?), so I don't seem to get a sore neck.  The headgear is comfortable , clips for cheater lens, has 4 sensors and i've never been flashed with it, lots of adjustablity on the lens, etc.etc.  No problem with low amp Tig.  I've not been disappointed.  I have a Northern tool AD hood as a backup or for a curious bystander... decent for that purpose, but I don't usually weld with it.
Reply:Originally Posted by Vinniespeed glass 9100xx   great headgear side windows very lite it rocksdream to weld with
Reply:Originally Posted by TomhintzI recently got a Lincoln 2450 VIKING™ Auto-Darkening Helmet on the recommendation of a friend, initially just to do a review of it. After doing the review it stays on my welders and nobody gets to touch it! I have been using two other auto-shade helmets but this one is way better and lets me see much better around the arc. It has a large viewing port size, four sensors and the adjustments really do things which makes it easier to dial it in for what I want. I have a review of it with photos and stuff if that would be of help. I am very happy with it anyway.http://www.newmetalworker.com/Review...nghlmtrvu.html
Reply:i'm a little older as well,  my dad taught me to stick weld when i was a kid, and he had a jackson big J.  it's all i used for a long time, and when i bought my 1st hood, thats what i bought.i welded for years with that hood.i was in a LWS and needed cover plates, gloves, soapstone ect, and started looking at a smaller ,lighter hood. i was doing a lot of fab work, mainly out of position, and in cramped areas.i bought a new AD hood that day. the solar AD lense crapped out after 11 years, and i replaced the hood with a new miller pro-hobby last year.theres a night and day difference between the cheap HF & NT hoods, and the miller. i seldom use the old jackson anymore                   I'm a legend in my spare time
Reply:Originally Posted by jbmprodsi have 2 harbor freight ad hoods that i have used extensively in the past before i bought my speedglas 9100x and just recently my miller digital elite. i thought the hf hoods were great till i got the 9100x. literally night and day. everything about the speedglas smokes the hf hoods. clarity, comfort, low amp tig, side windows for peripheral vision, grind and cut settings, replaceable batteries etc. the list goes on. drawback....price...but i only have one pair of eyes and the price is still cheaper then one pair of bifocal glasses. now for the digital elite...well all i will say about it is that it is almost a good backup hood for the speedglas 9100x. it was a little cheaper then the 9100x which was about twice as much as i would pay for another DE even if it was the only hood i could find if i was welding in the middle of the Sahara desert in a snow storm. i'm still hoping the DE will redeem itself and the price it costs someday in the event i get in a position to really need the X mode. but i try to keep enough boxes of aluminum foil on hand to wrap the thanksgiving turkey in so that i don't have to crank the tig down that low to weld several remnants together to get the bird feeling all warm and toasty.
Reply:The Miller Performance and Elite work best for me. You don't have to turn them on or off, solor with battery backup, grind mode, 8 to 13 shade, #3 light state, Performance has 3 arc sensors, Elite has 4, weight is only a pound and the price is right.www.georgesplasmacuttershop.comPlasma Cutter and Welder Sales and Repairs--Ebay storeTec.Mo. Dealer Consumables for the PT and IPT torch's