Actually it takes about a millisecond or 2 to make the switch to dark. Considering the speed of light your eyes can absorb a column of light several miles long before the switch to dark. Therefore, one should blink at the start on the arc to avoid long term eye strain or damage. The standard mask eliminates the need to remembering to blink.
i bought auto darkening when i started welding exhaust underneath vehicles while lying on my back on the ground in my driveway. not always enough room to flip my helmet up/down
As I look at those cheap ass auto-darkening lenses in the video, it is clear why someone in that case would just go with fixed lenses. The difference between cheap and good auto-darkening lenses is night and day. This is especially true when it comes to tig, I learned that the hard way.
Hi Austin, I'm a hobbyist. I bought a MIG welder and a cheap fixed shield about 20 years ago. The fixed shield sucked horribly. Couldn't see much of anything unless i had a crapload of lighting. A few years later, i got an Optiva auto darkening helmet as a gift, and it was almost literally night and day difference - i could actually see things to some extent. Within the last 5 years or so, i bought a $90 Hobart Auto darkening hood, and it's another night and day difference. Like switching from 90s cable to DVD or Blu-Ray
I've gotten the sense really good pro welders have learned the skill to weld with a fixed-shade, and prefer them for the reasons discussed in the video, while hobbyist or newbie welders (such as myself) prefer auto-darkening so they can see what they're doing before starting the arc. Pipeline welding is probably also a bit simpler in setup than some of the awkward angle welds people find themselves doing with stuff like car repairs, while pipeliners are trying to get higher quality welds than us hobbyists can even comprehend. A difference of a pro making the best quality weld on an easily-accessed surface versus a newbie desperately trying to stick two pieces of metal together in an awkward spot under a car.
@@quillmaurer6563 welding on a damn car is probably the hardest welding you can do for an average guy. Those damn cars are made out of ultra, thin hardened steel that literally curls up like a corn curl rather than melt unless you get everything just right. Even a frame on something like a Chevy 1500 is made out of that thin garbage way in the back. I made a whole back frame for mine, and when I got onto the real frame up by the gas tank, it was a night and day difference in how it welded. Anything to save weight I guess and that’s why it rats away so fast.
@@drizler The sheet metal is tough, that's for sure. Structural parts are easiest, exhausts not as bad. I have a classic Volkswagen Beetle, I think the metal might be a little thicker on that than it is on modern vehicles. Thinking of the Chevy 1500 and weight reduction efforts, probably the problem is that people are wanting to buy trucks for the image and supposed possibility that they might carry something around in it occasionally, but in reality use it to do the job of a sedan, and want the performance, handling, and fuel economy of said sedan they actually need. Manufacturers design them to this need, creating a truck shape out of the lightest sheet metal they can to produce what is functionally the car that most buyers actually need.
You probably had wrong DIN on you fixed shield. When you weld with low amperage with 13 DIN you probably see shit. You need to have some experience to start welding with fixed shield and when you have to make a lot of small joints in many difffrent places (typical autobody welding) it's pain in the arse even for professional welders. 😅 in my opinion autodarkening helmets are great for complicated constructions, but when you work in the big industrial company and you weld thick metal on serious hig amperages with solid wire or flux core the last thing you want to use is autodarkening because there is a little bit of flash every time you start and it's enough to make your eyes really tired the end of the day.
I used a cheap Lincoln pipeliner fixed hood for years (lighter than the fibre-metal ones) with a fixed #10 gold plated glass lens. It was green but the gold plating made it really cool on the eyes and seemed to help show the puddle. It was reliable, light and I could shove it into a 5 gallon bucket along with everything I needed for most welds. Now for the little welding I do I use a newer auto-darkening.
I’m a 68yo retired welder certified in SMAW and TIG processes in 6G and 6GR positions. I’ve never used an auto darkening lens. And always a 2x4” lens on both my pancake hood and my stand up hood. I could focus on how the metal moved in the liquid state much better. Thanks for the memories!
The lens not darkening fast enough has always been my #1 distrust of an auto darkening lens. 68 year old retired and don't need glasses yet.@@bobinnm3786
I was a Pipeline welder for 35 yrs and just recently retired...most of the last decade of my career was welding 36" diameter Heavy wall natural Gas Pipe, I've been using an Arc One HD auto Darkening lens with a flip front Wendy Pancake all that time and every single day and have been through a few say 5-6 in all those years, at $100 bucks each that really is not so bad. These lenses are awesome and unbeatable by far to a fixed lens. The largest hurdle to jump is the stubborn attitude of these old timer pipe welders who refuse to change a thing in their normal routine feeling it'll jinx them on their next Xray, you wouldn't believe how stuck in their ways and habits and especially superstitious an old pipeline welder is, I know since I was caught up in this spider web in the beginning until I stopped ignoring simple logic I dealt with many of these ridiculous reasons of why not to weld with one until they finally tried it and got hooked themselves. BTW...I was one of the first to let go of my trusted Classic 2 and 300D Lincolns and Got myself a Miller Pipe Pro back the first year they came out and got hell from them at the time for doing so....Funny thing is they all own a Miller Now!!!!!
I'm a 'shop' welder,25 years in.I use a passive Jackson large window,paid 40 bucks for it new,I own Speedglas and Viking auto's,only use them for tig and plasma cutting/gouging.The thing I like about passive hoods is that they always work!Flip of the head and you're burning-
I never liked auto hoods, don't want my lens to stop working in the middle of a job plus they are a lot more expensive to replace. I've worked in shops and outside on construction jobs for 25+ years. And a large style lens works best for those hard to reach places like I've had to weld in many times.
I was professional welder and I love the Vulcan auto darkening hood from Harbor Freight. It also has a blue lens, so, yeah... I know what you mean. Also if you don't trust how quick it darkens, you can close your eyes the instant you strike. I've welded in tight spaces where there's not a lot of room to flip your hood down. Also the very action of flipping my hood down has thrown me off just enough to start my bead in the wrong place. I prefer auto darkening.
Being a fitter I like my auto dark hood ! If I only welded a fixed shade worked fine!! It all depends on just what you get into I have used them all over the years. Who does not have a collection of hoods from over the years!!
Hello from Los Angeles….I’ve been Welding for over 40 years, occasionally professionally, but now it’s just home hobby stuff. I saw your introduction to the pancake hood and thought that would be a great idea cause I’m always fighting the sunlight. There is three welding shops within a few miles of my house, and I none had any clue of a pancake hood. Personally, I like the gold lenses.
I am not a welder nor fitter but a (mostly) self taught hobbyist fabricator. I used to used the cheaper auto hood from Northern when they had better quality. I moved up to a Hobart then now a Lincoln 3350. It’s the bee’s knees. I only went to auto-darkening was welding sheet metal. I have used the speed glass which are nice, just can’t justify that one.
The only pipeliner I knew personally used an auto darkening lens in a fiber-metal "sugar scoop" hood. He kept a penny in the channel in front of the clear lens so he could block the sensor when he needed to grind. I use an auto dark for everything. I bought all my welding students auto dark hoods a few years ago. A lot of kids really struggle to learn with a passive lens.
Working as a field construction Boilermaker, I had a large lense big hood and, what we called a "soft hood". A smaller one which I added a leather bib to. Never used an auto-darkening lens, but always carried a variety of shades with me. That way I was always ready for any kind of light conditions and tight quarters. As well as my heli-arc gloves, cloth gloves and heavy leather welding gloves. This along with my cutting torch supplies fit nicely into a 5 gal. plastic bucket with a "Bucket Boss" seat lid.
As the years flew by I found my eyesight changing and had to adapt with it. I am a retired Pipefitter and only weld when I have to. I use a auto-darkening large lens #10.
I use an auto darkening lens and hood I got years ago in trade school. It's just a plain jane matte black hood. Being I've only done structural work, it's just served it's purpose and what I'm accustomed to.
I learned to weld with fixed lense. I think it definitely refines your depth perception and coordination between arc strike and workpiece. Knowing how to consistently find your way back to a spot in the dark is huge. Helmets have come a long ways. I really like some of the Optrel auto hoods
When I started with a gold coat 2x4 fixed lense and an auto with a 'green' tint I used both regularly. Upgraded to a 'clear' Lincoln 3350 a few years ago that is fairly blue and find it to be wonderful to use. I still bring the fixed for mobile work as a backup but 95+% of my work is done with the auto hood. Mostly benchtop and fab shop tig and mig with a little mobile residential and light commercial work mixed in.
I used a fixed lens until about five years ago. I have been welding since 1992. Fixed lens is great because it always works, it is cheap to replace, and the new welders look at you like you brought a dinosaur to the shop.
There’s blue, gold, true blue. There are many autos that don’t need batteries! Dude it’s 2024 the first auto came out in the 90’s. I’ll take my auto any day!
Man ive been a pipeline welder since 1987 i was always stuck with the fixed lense until 3 yrs ago and i used a lincoln 4c ive never had a lens as clear as this lens
Started welding in 1966, never had a colored fixed lens that didn’t chip off or flake. Still on my first automatic darkening lens. Maybe I’m just lucky? Still appreciate the video.
Optrel auto darkining hoods have a natural light filter lens. You see the actual color of the arc given off, not one specific color determined by color of lens.Probably the best welding optics available on the market to my knowledge. Manufactured in Sweeden or Switzerland,can't remember which country. On the pricey side, but worth every penny. Durable and reliable. Beneficial to those of us with eyesight thats not what it was 20 years ago. I highly recommend their hoods.
I gave away my ancient fixed welding mask. Have the same auto darkening for about 20 years now. My auto works even after sitting in my garage unused for years. Never a problem
I noticed over the years welding that very often welders in the field would go back to a fixed hood because of the price of replacing their auto darkening hood and the trouble they would have with them as they got old. Working in the field in all the elements was just hard on them. I use an auto darkening at home here in my little shop....they are very nice to use.
I love my vintage view fixed lenses. Super clear arc. Haven’t seen anything better. And I never flash myself. There’s some real good auto lenses but I like to rock the passive. I’ve gotten used to flipping my hood down. Auto lenses don’t have the same clarity since there’s multiple layers
I’ve been following vintage view on IG since last year and I’ve been missing out every time! I can’t wait to get my hands on one. Hendrix haze,red buzzard and black dahlia are the ones I wanna get my hands on when they drop next year.
i got a rod sheild lens in october and its a 2x4 auto dark lens that is blue. i weld as a hobby but so far its had no issues even with my welding hood sitting for a period of time
I exclusively run a fixed shade after my last auto hood sensor went out mid weld and left me unable to finish my project at the last shop I worked at. Shade 9 or 10 at home for my 110 and a shade 11 for the 440 at the shop. Old style tiger hood non flip are what I've been using for the past eight months or so. Before that I was running a sugar scoop flip lens. Ten different hoods at the house and i can't bring myself to even buy a new hood. I made $100k+ with an old fibre metal sugar scoop that a buddy gave me. Shade lense was cracked so I spent $4 for a new one. Those old fibre metals are amazing!
I was car welder and auto darkening was somewhere in future. In some tasks I used sun glasses. Now I bought four pack of automatics from auction. Inverter machines are new too, MIG and MMA from auction. Only for DIY purposes.
Auto darkening lenses have blue and yellow. Blue is the one I use and I can see very well. The advantage of auto darkening is useful in a shop setting where it is darker and hard to see. Out in the feild it is pretty bright out with sun. The sun also wears on auto darken batteries that are not solar powered. Auto darkening is ment for a shop setting and fixed is for out in the feild. Not that you can't use them interchangeably but that is what they were bulit for. The materials they are made out of are big sign of it as well. Sugar scoops and pancake hoods are made of a tougher material for working out in the feild. Shop hoods are usually made of a thinner plastic that is still durable but not like the stuff you see in the feild. I have never worked in the field but know some guys that do and they are very old and were around when they didn't even have hoods and wore goggles with cotton mask. The guy I know he owns a weld supply shop and has over 45 years of experience in shop and in the field and that is what he told me.
Thanks for sharing with us Austin. I like the auto darkening lense but they are dangerous. When I put my hood on I will strke an arc just to make sure the lense darkens before welding. Can't afford to take a chance since I don't have lots of lenses available close to me. You stay safe and keep up the great videos. Fred.
For peace of mind, it might cheer you up to know that unless you're using a really junky auto darkening model, even the "clear" mode will block enough UV to keep your eyesight intact should it fail to darken. It won't be pleasant but it won't harm you long-term.
By default, the glass already blocks UV. So even if it doesn't darken, your eyes are safe. Other than getting flashed if it doesn't darken, they are not dangerous.
@@elitearboryea my first auto darkening 2x4 lense for pipeliner just died last month I bought it 2014, lasted 9 years without failing once, auto is only way to Go
@@GoldSrc_The polycarbonate clear shield and safety glasses are actually what blocks the UV. Even clear safety glasses will block 100% of the UV light.
The battery life in my $50 Auto darkening helmet is 6 years. Lots of battery operated auto dark helmets come with a easy to replace battery, I just do them like my carry pistol green dot sight, replace the battery on my birthday once a year and don't worry about it.
I have and use both, fixed shades are definitely more reliable and bigger variety of filters. Less eye strain and fatigue as well. I'm also a bit of a bumblefuck and need a LOT more practice to keep from arcing off on the wrong spot or flashing myself. So I use auto darkening as my usual default. Really wish they'd make an ultra tough adf that's fully potted and sealed inside. I've also been seeing a lot of auto darkening filters in a wider color variety, like deep blue, gold plated, etc... *Edit: Truearc makes ultra blue and gold plated adf units, adjustable shade for 100$
It makes sense, and I can understand your point. I’m not a professional welder. I’m an amateur, but I found the fix lens made it incredibly hard for me to see what I was Welding at all, and I would be way off all the time, the auto darkening Made a huge difference for me. I could see what I was welding. I could position myself just right I’m guessing with stick welding. It might be a little less important, but when I first bought my welder, I had the lens that came with it and struggled and I went to Harbor Freight and got a $35 auto darkening helmet and it made a huge difference, my only complaint was the lenses small I’d like to replace it with something with the larger lens but either way the auto darkening helped me a lot plus having an electronic adjustment for the darkness was nice as well. A lot of that is probably just my inexperience, but it just makes it all much easier for me. But You obviously don’t need it. lol
I've been a welder for 50 years ! shipyard and pipeline and for myself ! i like the auto for when i'm in Bayousef welding service ' Lol i can see to hold things when im ready to strike
started welding in early 70's and welding outside with no. 10 or 11 there is enough light you can see as if you were using auto . With regular lenses tig welding after a time you know where the rig is just by experience. I'm retired Boilermaker and 78 years old. old way still works.
I had a 40 year career as a welder . I had no less then 6 helmets . All for different applications and circumstances . I always needed a darker lenses than most guys , my delicate Chuck Yeager eyes were sensitive lol . I regularly used a 14 lense .
I absolutely love my auto hood, but I had to find one that was quick enough. Using a speedaire and another one I can't remember, they were a few milliseconds slow and I ended up seeing a bunch of tiny spots. My miller masks are amazing.
I have had 4 auto shade hoods over 18 years. They have had blue in auto for several years now. But they do eventually quite working as where i still have a fixed shade hood tbat was my great grandpas from the 70s. And still have my first one also
95% of my career, I used an auto darkening lens and only used a solid when welding on the back of a truck or outside of an excavation. Half of my welding was in confined spaces, repairing leaks (yes, at one time we were allowed to weld up natural gas line leaks on our lines)or installing fittings needed to shut down lines and when the excavations had multiple obstructions such as water lines, electrical ducts lines one would need a third hand to manipulate the hood or window.
There are definitely quite a few things to consider when choosing a hood. I like a fixed lens hood with the flip up feature, to flip up the dark lens, and grind with a clear lens, without needing to remove anything, or add additional PPE. Auto darkening is good when the amount of ambient light changes, and you need to change the shade to compensate.
i will say that at work i got a "clear vue" lens color on the new hood. went home and the old green reliable lens just didnt do it anymore, so bought myself a clear vue for home too. ill have to try the blue now.
I just do welding for art and I use auto darkening since I’m not always welding. Though I was curious about how the industrial side viewed them, nice video very interesting.
My problem has always been my warm moist breath fogging the inside of my helmut lens in a cold work environment. I solved the problem by putting two small 5 VDC 1" square electronic cooling fans on the top of my helmuts with a small speed controller and a 2 Lithium 18650 (7volts) rechargeable battery pack I mounted on top too. Runs several days on low speed before needing charged. Light weight, I can adjust the airflow rate and it keeps my warm moist breath out of the helmut! I blow the fans down so the so the air goes out under the bottom of the hood, sucks in mostly smokeless fresh air from the tip, and helps blow the smoke away from the weld too to a minor degree. Got to be honest though, the moving air can chill your face when working in very cold environments! But I don't do that very often so it is rarely an issue! One friend even suggest putting a low voltage battery operated heater or Peltier device ahead of the fan's intakes to warm the air a bit. Quite doable but haven't tried it yet. Not necessary for me. I could easily put the whole package in a small case easily mountable on the top or back of the helmut with no problem. I do like gold plate filters though and I would never go back to a fixed lens again! I haven't really tried various colors.
If you open one of those "solar" lenses you will find a battery inside. The solar pannel is there to trigger the circuit and sometimes it assists the battery but it does not replace it. I found out fixing several of them.
where i work theres a ton of short stitch welds, i could only imagine how difficult it would be with a fixed shade. but i do like the colour variety that fixed shades have
I use an old Fibre-metal pipeliner hood with an equally as old AO Safety gold/green glass lens. I had a blue weld cool lens, but a classmate broke it when I was in school. I've never loaned anything out since then!
I'm a hobby welder, and after watching your videos, I avoid background light while I weld. As a welder(+30 yrs ago) we were in a dark shop. No problemo. I avoid the back lighting. Gotta get a pancake hood for my hobby projects and carbon arc gouging. Keep up the great videos!
I've had that problem with some welds with my auto-darkening helmet, depending on lighting and angles, mostly when working on my car in the garage with the door open. A few times I've even put a shirt or something over the back of my head to block out light from behind so I can see.
I've made about 700k looking through an auto-darkening lens. Changed batteries maybe 10 times. Oof. Bottom line is just buy one of everything. We're all doing fine Love the content ARoss
I remember the first day i welded with my miller digital elite with the clearlight 2.0 lens it was so clear and in full color i actually laughed and said what?! As i was welding. The new true color auto darkeners are a game changer
I like green #9 with 1.5 magnifier since i am old now and have used them for years. I have an auto darken but only use it in applications where I am killing many nuts on bolts and don't want to raise and lower the hood a lot
Thanks for wearing your best Sunday welding shirt😀!! Although I don't think I've ever seen a white welding shirt, it makes sense if your out in the sun all day. I use both styles hoods but I usually grab my hardhat version w/2x4 lens------- just because.
I am a fresh welder, who is still going to school about fabricating, and welding.. I have problems with aiming before I start welding, on the fixed hoods.. I guess that is something you only learn with experience. Getting the muscle memory, and general feeling where the tip of your stick is etc. The hoods our school has, are so bad, cheap and dark that you cannot see absolutely anything through them. Nothing but black, until there is light from the welding.. So this can lead to stupid inaccuracies, and can be difficult with tests and such. I am absolutely going to order an auto-darkering one, until I develop that feeling, and muscle memory for it.
Up in Alberta pretty much everybody runs an auto lens, usually the 2x4 that fit in a regular hood. Makes it easier to avoid arc strikes in a muddy/frozen ditch, works great.😊 Btw, most sugar scoops up here have sellstrom flip fronts installed, good idea but the sellstrom is very poor design. There are others appearing in the field as well.
Yes, its horses for courses. I do a huge variety of welding jobs. I have an add-flow which is probably my most used helmet, I don't use it for tacking though, mostly the old flip lid for that.
sometimes i have had to illuminate a welding area with an LED light. the brightness of the led turns off the autodarkening to black, move the LED futher away and the autodarkening turns back on. something in the LRD light. the solar ones won't work in dark places but the battery one will work
Auto darkening is good in a shop setting, when you are welding in the field, mud, water, and especially for me working around the ocean. If you drop your lid in the water, you can say goodbye to that $120 auto lens. Compared to a fixed shade that is only a few bucks. A lot of employers also supply fixed shade with your 2x4 clear lenses so buying anything isn’t much of a problem. A good 2x4 helmet also goes a long way, I’ve used lots of lids that are heavy or big like a tiger hood, the best ones I have found are a small black welding helmet for $20. You can modify the spring in the flip front so it flips down without any effort. It pretty much turns it into a auto shade.
I welded many years . Pipeline. Compressors . And other high pressure piping . Up . Down . B 31 . Api 1104 . And all in between. . Lincoln supervisibility fixed shade 9 outside . 10 inside . Not sure bout the new ones . But the early auto dark would delay in the cold wyoming winters. And get super dark inthe heat . The USA at the time Lincoln supervisibility was always crystal clear
When I gas weld aluminum i use a very special (TM2000) fixed lens that eliminates the sodium flare. For everything thing else I have a newfangled auto darkening that is a bluish tint. I want to make a pancake for my auto darkening lens to eliminate the backlight reflection issues. (My lens is too oversized to fit in a standard pancake face.)
They definitely have colors ,mime lools like a flag. I watched the eclipse with it. Has adjustible intensitie as well. We used a regular hood too for the eclipse. The resolution was amazing in the auto, the regular still had that star brightness to it. Highly recommend, lol. My father was a Navy welder , air crew for Blue Angles.❤🖖👌👍
As a hobby fab/welder guy. My 2 cents. 1. Fixed is my go to because of the big window, which I have yet to see an auto with the same size window. 2. Auto is good for spaces I can not flip down my lid.
My company mandates auto-darkening welding helmets, and buys them for those who need them. I'm not a full-time welder, I'm a toolmaker who occasionally has to weld things. But I have been welding with a Jackson flip-down for over 40yrs. And yep, I still 'flip' the auto-darkening helmet. Old habits die hard.
It al depends on what you using it for. I useda cheap auto helmet and it actually worked fine on most things. I like the really good helmets were I can set it up for outside and it distinguished between the sun and the arc. Mine is blue lens and it's clear and it has four sensors so you don't get flashed on obscure welding positions. Reliability has been great over 4 years on this one and hours and hours of time on it.
Auto darkening or the one you can literally turn to grinder is nice so you can grind and then go back to welding if needed. Or auto darkening you can then see once done welding without taking the helmet on and off if you have to move or reposition things. I’ve used non auto darkening small screens or googles for welding under trailers cause a helmet won’t fit but that’s a last option kind of thing
Arc One #10 auto darkening in my opinion is the best. Iv had several, used several others, and really don't like the $360 Miller Elete I bought for my son. I have a plastic Jackson hood iv been using for 26 years now. On its fourth lense.
Also, the large sized fixed lenses work better for people that wear bi-focal glasses. I assume there is less issue with fogging the inside of the lens with a pancake hood.
I wanted the clearest autodarkening hood I could get for tig. Europe has some en379 optical class rating. The highest is 1/1/1/1. I got esabs most expensive hood with that rating--about $450 msrp 10 years ago. More brands have hoods that hit that rating now. Its still awesome.
Ive used both but most time have stuck to the auto darkening lens. People complain about the flickering. It wont flicker if you keep the fire inside of the pipe where it needs to be! Nexxttttttttt!!!!!!
The first auto darkening I had was an old speed glass that was out of date for for my iron worker buddy to use at work, so I got it, and maybe 10 years later it started getting a bit flaky so I bought something that was branded as Miller with lens just larger than the speed glass, I felt like I'm dying it. It does not breathe well so I changed the photo cells on the speed glass and I'm back to using that. I like the color on the speed glass better, I didn't like the almost clear color on the Miller. If I ever need a new hood, I'll probably just drop the 600 bucks on a speed glass. Or edit the one I have with someone else's insert.
Really love my pipeliner with an amber glass lens. I am wanting to give a pancake a try but not sure it's even really doable to use a fixed lens since i wouldn't be able to flip the hood down
I use and love booth types of lenses. But i think the choice is more about what type of work you are doing. In a workshop i would chose auto 100% Out in the field, with the sun, the rain, the heat, the fact that you can be far from home, fixed shade never fails. For see through the gap tig welding style, fixed shades are the only things that works In the shop i use a speedglas g5-01 with the vc lens. Best auto darkening visual quality available yet. Can chose the colour and the shade of your lens…. And the adflo is a lung saver when doing some heavy grinding on old rusty or painted stuff. $2000 is cheaper and less painful than a cancer And my fixed shade is a classic prota shell with a homemade adapter for my adflo
I was pipeline welding on the Columbia gas system before u were shitting green no biggie I always old school shit but in 07 was running hott fillers on 42 inch off tack rig and it was the big show u lived with the hood down and burned shit straight up J W welder boss for welded out of business now but I still use the hell out of them keep on 798 brothers greetings from Ohio farm lands
I was just talking about this with my coworker today I feel with stick welding my auto darkening is no good everytime I strike it dims and ifI don't get the arc going it throws me off fixed lens is better with stick welding you don't get that off and on constantly.
I hear you. One thing I found helped me was to increase the delay on the lens. It doesn't go light for a couple seconds after the arc is out. So no weird flicker. (About the same time it takes me to flip my fixed open by hand.)
@beyondmiddleagedman7240 thankyou for that tip I find myself not messing with my helmet much eventhough it has a lot of settings😅 I have the viking 3350 I'll try resetting the delay
I feel like it’s a stubbornness thing lol. I mean I have welded since I was young pipe shops body shops and now the docks. The auto darkening hoods typically have way bigger lenses you can see so much better along with grind modes to not have to lift your hood to clean shit up.
i dont weld pipeline but id assume you weld within a pretty tight amperage, i like my auto darkening lense cause i might be welding stick at 400 amps 1 day and tig at 100 another, it gives me a lot more flexibility
I run MIG, trying to learn stick and my question is how in the world do you see? Starting a bead with a fixed shade you have to know where it’s placed before you strike an arc, and with the element being so narrow how do you get a good field of view?
I appreciate that this video isn't 15 minutes long
True but it could have even shorter.
Actually it takes about a millisecond or 2 to make the switch to dark. Considering the speed of light your eyes can absorb a column of light several miles long before the switch to dark. Therefore, one should blink at the start on the arc to avoid long term eye strain or damage. The standard mask eliminates the need to remembering to blink.
Ditto.
But he's resourcefully informative. We re here, slagliners. . .
But here I am, half way through the before and he still hasn't addressed why they don't use auto darkening, for that reason I'm not watching the rest
I have used fixed until I bought a tig welder. Bought an auto darkening helmet when I was having difficulties. Love my auto darkening helmet.
i bought auto darkening when i started welding exhaust underneath vehicles while lying on my back on the ground in my driveway. not always enough room to flip my helmet up/down
I use auto darkening,I have used all varieties,,don't knock it til you 've tried it! Loved 'em since the first time I tried em !!
As I look at those cheap ass auto-darkening lenses in the video, it is clear why someone in that case would just go with fixed lenses. The difference between cheap and good auto-darkening lenses is night and day. This is especially true when it comes to tig, I learned that the hard way.
Hi Austin, I'm a hobbyist. I bought a MIG welder and a cheap fixed shield about 20 years ago. The fixed shield sucked horribly. Couldn't see much of anything unless i had a crapload of lighting. A few years later, i got an Optiva auto darkening helmet as a gift, and it was almost literally night and day difference - i could actually see things to some extent. Within the last 5 years or so, i bought a $90 Hobart Auto darkening hood, and it's another night and day difference. Like switching from 90s cable to DVD or Blu-Ray
I've gotten the sense really good pro welders have learned the skill to weld with a fixed-shade, and prefer them for the reasons discussed in the video, while hobbyist or newbie welders (such as myself) prefer auto-darkening so they can see what they're doing before starting the arc. Pipeline welding is probably also a bit simpler in setup than some of the awkward angle welds people find themselves doing with stuff like car repairs, while pipeliners are trying to get higher quality welds than us hobbyists can even comprehend. A difference of a pro making the best quality weld on an easily-accessed surface versus a newbie desperately trying to stick two pieces of metal together in an awkward spot under a car.
@@quillmaurer6563 welding on a damn car is probably the hardest welding you can do for an average guy. Those damn cars are made out of ultra, thin hardened steel that literally curls up like a corn curl rather than melt unless you get everything just right. Even a frame on something like a Chevy 1500 is made out of that thin garbage way in the back. I made a whole back frame for mine, and when I got onto the real frame up by the gas tank, it was a night and day difference in how it welded. Anything to save weight I guess and that’s why it rats away so fast.
@@drizler The sheet metal is tough, that's for sure. Structural parts are easiest, exhausts not as bad. I have a classic Volkswagen Beetle, I think the metal might be a little thicker on that than it is on modern vehicles. Thinking of the Chevy 1500 and weight reduction efforts, probably the problem is that people are wanting to buy trucks for the image and supposed possibility that they might carry something around in it occasionally, but in reality use it to do the job of a sedan, and want the performance, handling, and fuel economy of said sedan they actually need. Manufacturers design them to this need, creating a truck shape out of the lightest sheet metal they can to produce what is functionally the car that most buyers actually need.
You probably had wrong DIN on you fixed shield. When you weld with low amperage with 13 DIN you probably see shit. You need to have some experience to start welding with fixed shield and when you have to make a lot of small joints in many difffrent places (typical autobody welding) it's pain in the arse even for professional welders. 😅 in my opinion autodarkening helmets are great for complicated constructions, but when you work in the big industrial company and you weld thick metal on serious hig amperages with solid wire or flux core the last thing you want to use is autodarkening because there is a little bit of flash every time you start and it's enough to make your eyes really tired the end of the day.
@@quillmaurer6563 bad take lol
I used a cheap Lincoln pipeliner fixed hood for years (lighter than the fibre-metal ones) with a fixed #10 gold plated glass lens. It was green but the gold plating made it really cool on the eyes and seemed to help show the puddle. It was reliable, light and I could shove it into a 5 gallon bucket along with everything I needed for most welds. Now for the little welding I do I use a newer auto-darkening.
I'm a fan of the American optics number 10 gold plated lens. It's very easy on the eyes and it seems to distinguish the puddle from the flux better
Yeah I used a gold plated #12 for a while. Still dig it out sometimes but I prefer the auto dark set at #12 for most things.
I used to use a gold fixed lens. Gorgeous colors. Accurate color representation
Nice short concise vid with minimal shameless self promotion! Nice upgrade from rambling on! Good job man
I’m a 68yo retired welder certified in SMAW and TIG processes in 6G and 6GR positions. I’ve never used an auto darkening lens. And always a 2x4” lens on both my pancake hood and my stand up hood. I could focus on how the metal moved in the liquid state much better. Thanks for the memories!
You could learn to love one in short order though I guarantee it👍🏻
The lens not darkening fast enough has always been my #1 distrust of an auto darkening lens. 68 year old retired and don't need glasses yet.@@bobinnm3786
I was a Pipeline welder for 35 yrs and just recently retired...most of the last decade of my career was welding 36" diameter Heavy wall natural Gas Pipe, I've been using an Arc One HD auto Darkening lens with a flip front Wendy Pancake all that time and every single day and have been through a few say 5-6 in all those years, at $100 bucks each that really is not so bad. These lenses are awesome and unbeatable by far to a fixed lens. The largest hurdle to jump is the stubborn attitude of these old timer pipe welders who refuse to change a thing in their normal routine feeling it'll jinx them on their next Xray, you wouldn't believe how stuck in their ways and habits and especially superstitious an old pipeline welder is, I know since I was caught up in this spider web in the beginning until I stopped ignoring simple logic I dealt with many of these ridiculous reasons of why not to weld with one until they finally tried it and got hooked themselves.
BTW...I was one of the first to let go of my trusted Classic 2 and 300D Lincolns and Got myself a Miller Pipe Pro back the first year they came out and got hell from them at the time for doing so....Funny thing is they all own a Miller Now!!!!!
I'm a 'shop' welder,25 years in.I use a passive Jackson large window,paid 40 bucks for it new,I own Speedglas and Viking auto's,only use them for tig and plasma cutting/gouging.The thing I like about passive hoods is that they always work!Flip of the head and you're burning-
I agree tig or air ark
I never liked auto hoods, don't want my lens to stop working in the middle of a job plus they are a lot more expensive to replace. I've worked in shops and outside on construction jobs for 25+ years. And a large style lens works best for those hard to reach places like I've had to weld in many times.
I was professional welder and I love the Vulcan auto darkening hood from Harbor Freight. It also has a blue lens, so, yeah... I know what you mean. Also if you don't trust how quick it darkens, you can close your eyes the instant you strike. I've welded in tight spaces where there's not a lot of room to flip your hood down. Also the very action of flipping my hood down has thrown me off just enough to start my bead in the wrong place. I prefer auto darkening.
Being a fitter I like my auto dark hood !
If I only welded a fixed shade worked fine!! It all depends on just what you get into I have used them all over the years.
Who does not have a collection of hoods from over the years!!
Hello from Los Angeles….I’ve been Welding for over 40 years, occasionally professionally, but now it’s just home hobby stuff. I saw your introduction to the pancake hood and thought that would be a great idea cause I’m always fighting the sunlight. There is three welding shops within a few miles of my house, and I none had any clue of a pancake hood. Personally, I like the gold lenses.
I am not a welder nor fitter but a (mostly) self taught hobbyist fabricator. I used to used the cheaper auto hood from Northern when they had better quality. I moved up to a Hobart then now a Lincoln 3350. It’s the bee’s knees. I only went to auto-darkening was welding sheet metal. I have used the speed glass which are nice, just can’t justify that one.
The only pipeliner I knew personally used an auto darkening lens in a fiber-metal "sugar scoop" hood. He kept a penny in the channel in front of the clear lens so he could block the sensor when he needed to grind.
I use an auto dark for everything. I bought all my welding students auto dark hoods a few years ago. A lot of kids really struggle to learn with a passive lens.
Working as a field construction Boilermaker, I had a large lense big hood and, what we called a "soft hood". A smaller one which I added a leather bib to. Never used an auto-darkening lens, but always carried a variety of shades with me. That way I was always ready for any kind of light conditions and tight quarters. As well as my heli-arc gloves, cloth gloves and heavy leather welding gloves. This along with my cutting torch supplies fit nicely into a 5 gal. plastic bucket with a "Bucket Boss" seat lid.
Your using your head.
As the years flew by I found my eyesight changing and had to adapt with it. I am a retired Pipefitter and only weld when I have to. I use a auto-darkening large lens #10.
I use an auto darkening lens and hood I got years ago in trade school. It's just a plain jane matte black hood. Being I've only done structural work, it's just served it's purpose and what I'm accustomed to.
I learned to weld with fixed lense. I think it definitely refines your depth perception and coordination between arc strike and workpiece. Knowing how to consistently find your way back to a spot in the dark is huge. Helmets have come a long ways. I really like some of the Optrel auto hoods
Been welding 15 yrs I use both, just depends on the situation and what I’m doing, definitely use auto dark doing fab work, saves time and headache
When I started with a gold coat 2x4 fixed lense and an auto with a 'green' tint I used both regularly. Upgraded to a 'clear' Lincoln 3350 a few years ago that is fairly blue and find it to be wonderful to use. I still bring the fixed for mobile work as a backup but 95+% of my work is done with the auto hood. Mostly benchtop and fab shop tig and mig with a little mobile residential and light commercial work mixed in.
I own a Esab A40 and love it. The lens color is awesome. But i still love my fixed welding hood too!
Batteries are another form of consumable. Nice to have a fixed as a backup.
I used a fixed lens until about five years ago. I have been welding since 1992. Fixed lens is great because it always works, it is cheap to replace, and the new welders look at you like you brought a dinosaur to the shop.
Don't forget most of those new welders also wear their pants half way down their asses with their underware showing. I'm not joining that click.
@@tired7140Those would be blacks.
There’s blue, gold, true blue. There are many autos that don’t need batteries! Dude it’s 2024 the first auto came out in the 90’s. I’ll take my auto any day!
Man ive been a pipeline welder since 1987 i was always stuck with the fixed lense until 3 yrs ago and i used a lincoln 4c ive never had a lens as clear as this lens
Started welding in 1966, never had a colored fixed lens that didn’t chip off or flake. Still on my first automatic darkening lens. Maybe I’m just lucky? Still appreciate the video.
Optrel auto darkining hoods have a natural light filter lens. You see the actual color of the arc given off, not one specific color determined by color of lens.Probably the best welding optics available on the market to my knowledge. Manufactured in Sweeden or Switzerland,can't remember which country. On the pricey side, but worth every penny. Durable and reliable. Beneficial to those of us with eyesight thats not what it was 20 years ago. I highly recommend their hoods.
I gave away my ancient fixed welding mask. Have the same auto darkening for about 20 years now. My auto works even after sitting in my garage unused for years. Never a problem
I noticed over the years welding that very often welders in the field would go back to a fixed hood because of the price of replacing their auto darkening hood and the trouble they would have with them as they got old. Working in the field in all the elements was just hard on them. I use an auto darkening at home here in my little shop....they are very nice to use.
I love my vintage view fixed lenses. Super clear arc. Haven’t seen anything better. And I never flash myself. There’s some real good auto lenses but I like to rock the passive. I’ve gotten used to flipping my hood down.
Auto lenses don’t have the same clarity since there’s multiple layers
I sure don’t seem to my puddle/bead as well with auto darkening hoods. I’m sure my 60 year old eyes are part of this.
I’ve been following vintage view on IG since last year and I’ve been missing out every time! I can’t wait to get my hands on one. Hendrix haze,red buzzard and black dahlia are the ones I wanna get my hands on when they drop next year.
Arc one makes an auto darkening ice blue lens. It’s awesome. I used it for a while running 0.45 spray arc
i got a rod sheild lens in october and its a 2x4 auto dark lens that is blue. i weld as a hobby but so far its had no issues even with my welding hood sitting for a period of time
I exclusively run a fixed shade after my last auto hood sensor went out mid weld and left me unable to finish my project at the last shop I worked at. Shade 9 or 10 at home for my 110 and a shade 11 for the 440 at the shop.
Old style tiger hood non flip are what I've been using for the past eight months or so. Before that I was running a sugar scoop flip lens. Ten different hoods at the house and i can't bring myself to even buy a new hood. I made $100k+ with an old fibre metal sugar scoop that a buddy gave me. Shade lense was cracked so I spent $4 for a new one. Those old fibre metals are amazing!
I was car welder and auto darkening was somewhere in future. In some tasks I used sun glasses. Now I bought four pack of automatics from auction. Inverter machines are new too, MIG and MMA from auction. Only for DIY purposes.
Auto darkening lenses have blue and yellow. Blue is the one I use and I can see very well. The advantage of auto darkening is useful in a shop setting where it is darker and hard to see. Out in the feild it is pretty bright out with sun. The sun also wears on auto darken batteries that are not solar powered. Auto darkening is ment for a shop setting and fixed is for out in the feild. Not that you can't use them interchangeably but that is what they were bulit for. The materials they are made out of are big sign of it as well. Sugar scoops and pancake hoods are made of a tougher material for working out in the feild. Shop hoods are usually made of a thinner plastic that is still durable but not like the stuff you see in the feild. I have never worked in the field but know some guys that do and they are very old and were around when they didn't even have hoods and wore goggles with cotton mask. The guy I know he owns a weld supply shop and has over 45 years of experience in shop and in the field and that is what he told me.
The sugar scoop just looks awesome.😊
Thanks for sharing with us Austin. I like the auto darkening lense but they are dangerous. When I put my hood on I will strke an arc just to make sure the lense darkens before welding. Can't afford to take a chance since I don't have lots of lenses available close to me. You stay safe and keep up the great videos. Fred.
For peace of mind, it might cheer you up to know that unless you're using a really junky auto darkening model, even the "clear" mode will block enough UV to keep your eyesight intact should it fail to darken. It won't be pleasant but it won't harm you long-term.
Even if it doesn't darken you can't get flash burn. It's just annoying.
By default, the glass already blocks UV.
So even if it doesn't darken, your eyes are safe.
Other than getting flashed if it doesn't darken, they are not dangerous.
@@elitearboryea my first auto darkening 2x4 lense for pipeliner just died last month I bought it 2014, lasted 9 years without failing once, auto is only way to
Go
@@GoldSrc_The polycarbonate clear shield and safety glasses are actually what blocks the UV. Even clear safety glasses will block 100% of the UV light.
The battery life in my $50 Auto darkening helmet is 6 years.
Lots of battery operated auto dark helmets come with a easy to replace battery, I just do them like my carry pistol green dot sight, replace the battery on my birthday once a year and don't worry about it.
I have and use both, fixed shades are definitely more reliable and bigger variety of filters. Less eye strain and fatigue as well. I'm also a bit of a bumblefuck and need a LOT more practice to keep from arcing off on the wrong spot or flashing myself. So I use auto darkening as my usual default. Really wish they'd make an ultra tough adf that's fully potted and sealed inside. I've also been seeing a lot of auto darkening filters in a wider color variety, like deep blue, gold plated, etc...
*Edit: Truearc makes ultra blue and gold plated adf units, adjustable shade for 100$
I use pancake with auto darkening lens . I do tie-ins and a lot of fab work , less chance of arc burn in tight or congested places .
It makes sense, and I can understand your point. I’m not a professional welder. I’m an amateur, but I found the fix lens made it incredibly hard for me to see what I was Welding at all, and I would be way off all the time, the auto darkening Made a huge difference for me. I could see what I was welding. I could position myself just right I’m guessing with stick welding. It might be a little less important, but when I first bought my welder, I had the lens that came with it and struggled and I went to Harbor Freight and got a $35 auto darkening helmet and it made a huge difference, my only complaint was the lenses small I’d like to replace it with something with the larger lens but either way the auto darkening helped me a lot plus having an electronic adjustment for the darkness was nice as well. A lot of that is probably just my inexperience, but it just makes it all much easier for me.
But You obviously don’t need it. lol
I've been a welder for 50 years ! shipyard and pipeline and for myself ! i like the auto for when i'm in Bayousef welding service ' Lol i can see to hold things when im ready to strike
started welding in early 70's and welding outside with no. 10 or 11 there is enough light you can see as if you were using auto . With regular lenses tig welding after a time you know where the rig is just by experience. I'm retired Boilermaker and 78 years old. old way still works.
I had a 40 year career as a welder . I had no less then 6 helmets . All for different applications and circumstances . I always needed a darker lenses than most guys , my delicate Chuck Yeager eyes were sensitive lol . I regularly used a 14 lense .
We are just alike. I use the Jackson sugar scoop and keep lenses. and headbands handy. Also keep a full hood on hand.
Fixed lens and a light to help see before starting - that works best for me 😊
I absolutely love my auto hood, but I had to find one that was quick enough. Using a speedaire and another one I can't remember, they were a few milliseconds slow and I ended up seeing a bunch of tiny spots. My miller masks are amazing.
I have had 4 auto shade hoods over 18 years. They have had blue in auto for several years now. But they do eventually quite working as where i still have a fixed shade hood tbat was my great grandpas from the 70s. And still have my first one also
95% of my career, I used an auto darkening lens and only used a solid when welding on the back of a truck or outside of an excavation. Half of my welding was in confined spaces, repairing leaks (yes, at one time we were allowed to weld up natural gas line leaks on our lines)or installing fittings needed to shut down lines and when the excavations had multiple obstructions such as water lines, electrical ducts lines one would need a third hand to manipulate the hood or window.
There are definitely quite a few things to consider when choosing a hood. I like a fixed lens hood with the flip up feature, to flip up the dark lens, and grind with a clear lens, without needing to remove anything, or add additional PPE. Auto darkening is good when the amount of ambient light changes, and you need to change the shade to compensate.
i will say that at work i got a "clear vue" lens color on the new hood. went home and the old green reliable lens just didnt do it anymore, so bought myself a clear vue for home too. ill have to try the blue now.
I just do welding for art and I use auto darkening since I’m not always welding. Though I was curious about how the industrial side viewed them, nice video very interesting.
My problem has always been my warm moist breath fogging the inside of my helmut lens in a cold work environment. I solved the problem by putting two small 5 VDC 1" square electronic cooling fans on the top of my helmuts with a small speed controller and a 2 Lithium 18650 (7volts) rechargeable battery pack I mounted on top too. Runs several days on low speed before needing charged. Light weight, I can adjust the airflow rate and it keeps my warm moist breath out of the helmut! I blow the fans down so the so the air goes out under the bottom of the hood, sucks in mostly smokeless fresh air from the tip, and helps blow the smoke away from the weld too to a minor degree.
Got to be honest though, the moving air can chill your face when working in very cold environments! But I don't do that very often so it is rarely an issue! One friend even suggest putting a low voltage battery operated heater or Peltier device ahead of the fan's intakes to warm the air a bit. Quite doable but haven't tried it yet. Not necessary for me. I could easily put the whole package in a small case easily mountable on the top or back of the helmut with no problem.
I do like gold plate filters though and I would never go back to a fixed lens again! I haven't really tried various colors.
If you open one of those "solar" lenses you will find a battery inside. The solar pannel is there to trigger the circuit and sometimes it assists the battery but it does not replace it. I found out fixing several of them.
where i work theres a ton of short stitch welds, i could only imagine how difficult it would be with a fixed shade. but i do like the colour variety that fixed shades have
I use an old Fibre-metal pipeliner hood with an equally as old AO Safety gold/green glass lens. I had a blue weld cool lens, but a classmate broke it when I was in school. I've never loaned anything out since then!
I'm a hobby welder, and after watching your videos, I avoid background light while I weld. As a welder(+30 yrs ago) we were in a dark shop. No problemo. I avoid the back lighting. Gotta get a pancake hood for my hobby projects and carbon arc gouging. Keep up the great videos!
I've had that problem with some welds with my auto-darkening helmet, depending on lighting and angles, mostly when working on my car in the garage with the door open. A few times I've even put a shirt or something over the back of my head to block out light from behind so I can see.
I've made about 700k looking through an auto-darkening lens. Changed batteries maybe 10 times. Oof. Bottom line is just buy one of everything. We're all doing fine Love the content ARoss
I remember the first day i welded with my miller digital elite with the clearlight 2.0 lens it was so clear and in full color i actually laughed and said what?! As i was welding. The new true color auto darkeners are a game changer
I like green #9 with 1.5 magnifier since i am old now and have used them for years. I have an auto darken but only use it in applications where I am killing many nuts on bolts and don't want to raise and lower the hood a lot
Singles 240 HD is a great auto lens. Plus it makes it easier to not strike outside your bevel.
Thanks for wearing your best Sunday welding shirt😀!!
Although I don't think I've ever seen a white welding shirt, it makes sense if your out in the sun all day.
I use both styles hoods but I usually grab my hardhat version w/2x4 lens------- just because.
I am a fresh welder, who is still going to school about fabricating, and welding.. I have problems with aiming before I start welding, on the fixed hoods.. I guess that is something you only learn with experience. Getting the muscle memory, and general feeling where the tip of your stick is etc. The hoods our school has, are so bad, cheap and dark that you cannot see absolutely anything through them. Nothing but black, until there is light from the welding.. So this can lead to stupid inaccuracies, and can be difficult with tests and such. I am absolutely going to order an auto-darkering one, until I develop that feeling, and muscle memory for it.
Up in Alberta pretty much everybody runs an auto lens, usually the 2x4 that fit in a regular hood. Makes it easier to avoid arc strikes in a muddy/frozen ditch, works great.😊
Btw, most sugar scoops up here have sellstrom flip fronts installed, good idea but the sellstrom is very poor design. There are others appearing in the field as well.
Yes, its horses for courses. I do a huge variety of welding jobs.
I have an add-flow which is probably my most used helmet, I don't use it for tacking though, mostly the old flip lid for that.
sometimes i have had to illuminate a welding area with an LED light. the brightness of the led turns off the autodarkening to black, move the LED futher away and the autodarkening turns back on. something in the LRD light. the solar ones won't work in dark places but the battery one will work
Auto darkening is good in a shop setting, when you are welding in the field, mud, water, and especially for me working around the ocean. If you drop your lid in the water, you can say goodbye to that $120 auto lens. Compared to a fixed shade that is only a few bucks. A lot of employers also supply fixed shade with your 2x4 clear lenses so buying anything isn’t much of a problem. A good 2x4 helmet also goes a long way, I’ve used lots of lids that are heavy or big like a tiger hood, the best ones I have found are a small black welding helmet for $20. You can modify the spring in the flip front so it flips down without any effort. It pretty much turns it into a auto shade.
I welded many years . Pipeline. Compressors . And other high pressure piping . Up . Down . B 31 . Api 1104 . And all in between. . Lincoln supervisibility fixed shade 9 outside . 10 inside . Not sure bout the new ones . But the early auto dark would delay in the cold wyoming winters. And get super dark inthe heat . The USA at the time Lincoln supervisibility was always crystal clear
When I gas weld aluminum i use a very special (TM2000) fixed lens that eliminates the sodium flare. For everything thing else I have a newfangled auto darkening that is a bluish tint. I want to make a pancake for my auto darkening lens to eliminate the backlight reflection issues. (My lens is too oversized to fit in a standard pancake face.)
I wanted to get that tm2000 filter plate when it was 180 but I thot sometime in the future. I looked just now and list is 265 USD. Ouch!
They definitely have colors ,mime lools like a flag. I watched the eclipse with it. Has adjustible intensitie as well. We used a regular hood too for the eclipse. The resolution was amazing in the auto, the regular still had that star brightness to it. Highly recommend, lol. My father was a Navy welder , air crew for Blue Angles.❤🖖👌👍
I prefer the fixed aso. They do not auto dark in sunlight and when grinding. That constant flip of the switch is annoying vs just a flip to the clear.
I like the Huntsman fixed lens hood. Light weight narrow hood. Not a heavy clunck
As a hobby fab/welder guy. My 2 cents. 1. Fixed is my go to because of the big window, which I have yet to see an auto with the same size window. 2. Auto is good for spaces I can not flip down my lid.
My company mandates auto-darkening welding helmets, and buys them for those who need them. I'm not a full-time welder, I'm a toolmaker who occasionally has to weld things. But I have been welding with a Jackson flip-down for over 40yrs. And yep, I still 'flip' the auto-darkening helmet. Old habits die hard.
It al depends on what you using it for. I useda cheap auto helmet and it actually worked fine on most things. I like the really good helmets were I can set it up for outside and it distinguished between the sun and the arc. Mine is blue lens and it's clear and it has four sensors so you don't get flashed on obscure welding positions. Reliability has been great over 4 years on this one and hours and hours of time on it.
Been welding 50 years,never bought into the auto lens.never trusted them.allways ran fixed lenses...
That Knox FR is looking sharp!
Blue auto darkeners are a dime a dozen.super easy to find
Auto darkening or the one you can literally turn to grinder is nice so you can grind and then go back to welding if needed. Or auto darkening you can then see once done welding without taking the helmet on and off if you have to move or reposition things.
I’ve used non auto darkening small screens or googles for welding under trailers cause a helmet won’t fit but that’s a last option kind of thing
Arc One #10 auto darkening in my opinion is the best. Iv had several, used several others, and really don't like the $360 Miller Elete I bought for my son.
I have a plastic Jackson hood iv been using for 26 years now. On its fourth lense.
Also, the large sized fixed lenses work better for people that wear bi-focal glasses. I assume there is less issue with fogging the inside of the lens with a pancake hood.
I wanted the clearest autodarkening hood I could get for tig. Europe has some en379 optical class rating. The highest is 1/1/1/1. I got esabs most expensive hood with that rating--about $450 msrp 10 years ago. More brands have hoods that hit that rating now. Its still awesome.
Ive used both but most time have stuck to the auto darkening lens. People complain about the flickering. It wont flicker if you keep the fire inside of the pipe where it needs to be! Nexxttttttttt!!!!!!
The first auto darkening I had was an old speed glass that was out of date for for my iron worker buddy to use at work, so I got it, and maybe 10 years later it started getting a bit flaky so I bought something that was branded as Miller with lens just larger than the speed glass, I felt like I'm dying it. It does not breathe well so I changed the photo cells on the speed glass and I'm back to using that. I like the color on the speed glass better, I didn't like the almost clear color on the Miller. If I ever need a new hood, I'll probably just drop the 600 bucks on a speed glass. Or edit the one I have with someone else's insert.
Really love my pipeliner with an amber glass lens. I am wanting to give a pancake a try but not sure it's even really doable to use a fixed lens since i wouldn't be able to flip the hood down
Coded welder for 27 years, I used fixed lens and swore by them. Got an auto a few months ago, and I'm not going back.
I use and love booth types of lenses. But i think the choice is more about what type of work you are doing.
In a workshop i would chose auto 100%
Out in the field, with the sun, the rain, the heat, the fact that you can be far from home, fixed shade never fails.
For see through the gap tig welding style, fixed shades are the only things that works
In the shop i use a speedglas g5-01 with the vc lens. Best auto darkening visual quality available yet. Can chose the colour and the shade of your lens….
And the adflo is a lung saver when doing some heavy grinding on old rusty or painted stuff. $2000 is cheaper and less painful than a cancer
And my fixed shade is a classic prota shell with a homemade adapter for my adflo
I agree with you man but I also like the mirror lens in blue
Класс! Я из России и часто смотрю твои видео... Очень круто объясняешь по сварке и про маски. Жаль такие маски не купить у нас в России
I was pipeline welding on the Columbia gas system before u were shitting green no biggie I always old school shit but in 07 was running hott fillers on 42 inch off tack rig and it was the big show u lived with the hood down and burned shit straight up J W welder boss for welded out of business now but I still use the hell out of them keep on 798 brothers greetings from Ohio farm lands
Rod shield has a blue auto darkening lens, looks pretty good
I personally think I can see the bevels better with a fixed lens. I feel with auto darkening I just see the puddle but not the surrounding area
I was just talking about this with my coworker today I feel with stick welding my auto darkening is no good everytime I strike it dims and ifI don't get the arc going it throws me off fixed lens is better with stick welding you don't get that off and on constantly.
I hear you. One thing I found helped me was to increase the delay on the lens. It doesn't go light for a couple seconds after the arc is out. So no weird flicker. (About the same time it takes me to flip my fixed open by hand.)
@beyondmiddleagedman7240 thankyou for that tip I find myself not messing with my helmet much eventhough it has a lot of settings😅 I have the viking 3350 I'll try resetting the delay
might want to look into blue light and what it does to the eyes. Does look nice though.
I use auro lens but keep my old school for back up
I feel like it’s a stubbornness thing lol. I mean I have welded since I was young pipe shops body shops and now the docks. The auto darkening hoods typically have way bigger lenses you can see so much better along with grind modes to not have to lift your hood to clean shit up.
i dont weld pipeline but id assume you weld within a pretty tight amperage, i like my auto darkening lense cause i might be welding stick at 400 amps 1 day and tig at 100 another, it gives me a lot more flexibility
I run MIG, trying to learn stick and my question is how in the world do you see? Starting a bead with a fixed shade you have to know where it’s placed before you strike an arc, and with the element being so narrow how do you get a good field of view?
I have 2 Miller elite hoods both auto darkening one is green and one is blue vision