Chicago Electric

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Does anyone have the Chicago Electric helmet 91214 sold at Harbor Freight?I have been reading some good things abt it.  I  would like to know what you guys think about it.Thanks,Jack
Reply:Garbage. I'm not shy about it. I tried one, a friends' shop had like 10 of them. Lousy light sensing, lousy and not consistent arc sensing delay, and the adjustability was sub standard. It's like their welder; 2 settings. Max, and min.Save a few more bucks and get a good helmet. Your eyes are worth it.....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:I had an older model and it worked great for years. I hated the headgear though. I just bought this one, and I love it. Oh, and the headgear is awesome!http://store.weldingdepot.com/cgi/we...t/3023294.html"Where's Stick man????????" - 7A749"SHHHHHH!! I sent him over to snag that MIC-4 while tbone wasn't looking!" - duaneb55"I have bought a few of Tbone's things unlike Stick-Man who helps himself" - TozziWelding"Stick-man"
Reply:Jack772,I have used this hood for a while. Borrowed it from my nephew and have not ahd any problems.
Reply:The harbor freight blue flame is the one I've been using.  It's an OK starter autodarkener at a low cost, but leaves some to be desired for a serious welder.  It might be a good value for the occasional welder if you get it with a good sale or coupon (I think I've seen it running about $35 on sale recently?)Mine is kind of old (I "inherited" it from a family member used, did not buy new) and when I got it it had been sitting unused for a while, and I found it was necessary to "recharge" it by placing it in the bright sunlight to get it to start auto-darkening again reliably.  Every once in a while it needs additional "sunlgiht recharging."  The batteries are probably kind of tired, but its got no replaceable batteries I've been able to find.Aside from that it has been working allright, it's pretty basic in terms of adjustablity, and number of sensors.  I wish it went lighter in the light state; I often have trouble seeing if the work lighting isnt very good, so I flip it up to get it out of the way, to set up for the next tack weld, etc.  The dark range of 9-12 is quite useful for my 200 AMP TIG work, especially 9-11.  Its too dark for plasma cutting or oxy acetylene work.The headgear is pretty "plasticky" and cheap, although it has yet to crack or break apart on me completely.  It does "unscrew" its way looser as the helmet gets flipped up/down, and I have to re-tighten the knobs on the sides quite frequently to prevent it from drooping down, which gets annoying.  I'm guessing when its new, it probably wouldn't have these problems as bad.  Hope that helps.Last edited by jakeru; 10-02-2010 at 12:13 AM.
Reply:I bought one a few years ago, and its actually been fairly decent.  The fit isn't as good as my Lincoln or Hobart, but the reaction time and shading is just as good.  One thing I have noticed, they seem impressive to those of us who've never used a true, quality hood.  I thought they were great until I started trying other hoods, specifically Speedglass and Lincoln.  Funny thing is, the HF hood has been more dependable than my Lincoln Ultrashade, which was about 3x the price.  My Lincoln now won't darken at all, while the HF keeps right on plugging along.  I just picked up a Hobart, so we'll see if it outlasts the el cheapo HF!