Dads old auto dimming welding mask is coming to the endof its days (too dark to see through even on minimum setting.)
I see some cheap ones on ebay and I'm temped, but my sight isnt something I take a cavalier attitude with. Has anyone got one and had any
success, and if so, which one?
Cheers
I have recently stopped using a £75 mask as it was crap...........it depends on how much you are using it.
I used to do all my "home welding" with it and it was fine.
Now I am sometimes welding for say 6 hours in a day, and a huge amount of it being stop-start pulsed stuff, I get arc-eye from the auto mask, and I
have gone back to the old non-auto helmet.
I think I might get a proper one for christmas, but they are £175 for a decent one.
I got a cheap one off Ebay. Works fine. And my brand new guide dog likes the colour too 
Seriously I have never heard of a problem with the cheaper ones not protecting the eyes. I think the problem with them more is that they sometimes
require quite a bright spark such as MIG welding and don't do so well for TIG. But for MIG I'd personally say any cheap one is fine.
I've used my cheap-as-chips Ebay special for hours of welding and never had a problem. Your mileage may vary.....
I got one with my mig welder from weldequip last year - think it was about £60 (can't remember the brand but I'll check). It has worked
perfect everytime & never had a problem. Give him a shout on the mig-welding forums to ask what he supplies
This is my latest helmet, it gets used and abused on a daily basis, paid £55+vat from the local welding supplier.
http://www.toolnweld.com/6415/ESAB_OrigoTech_913_Automatic_Welding_Helmet_Black/
I posted on a thread a while back about solar powered head shields and the fact that if left in the dark they give up the ghost.
I've now bought a battery powered one that runs on a pair of CR2032's, the same batteries as car key fobs.
It's a Speedglas 100 Trojan Warrior.... OK, so that's a naf name but I can't recommend it highly enough.
It's small, lightweight, with superb optical quality, adjustable from 8 to 12.
A BIG plus is the light shade is 3, yup SHADE 3 
Cost ???
£108 from my local welding rep, personally delivered.
Cheers
Paul G
[Edited on 22/11/09 by 907]
I got an auto dimming one from ebay for £24ish. Had it for 3 years, build the whole chassis with it and have never had any problems. Batterys have
only just been replaced for the first time
Anything in front of your eyes will protect you from arc eye, the UV can't penetrate plain glass. I got a free cheapie screen with my new mig and it works fine but if I was looking at a new one it would be this Optrel, + vat but seriously good from all accounts.
I had a £40.00 from Newark Kit car show it lasted 3 sessions of welding before it went kapput
Mine was £40 off eBay 6 years ago, it's a solar powered one, and it's never let me down yet. I do a lot of arc welding, with rods up to 5mm, guess I got lucky.
I'm no expert but as with most things the technology seems to be improving and costing less at same time - bought first one about 8 years ago and
it was best part of £200, still in use all MIG stuff and OK ,
bought a Sealey one about 2 years ago - £75 it was better - so much so that the fabricator guy left and the mask "went missing" 
Just bought another from Clarke and it seems really good - much lighter and darkens even with red hot metal, if you wait til a VAt free day they are
pretty cheap and if anything goes wrong you know where to take it backatb
Mike
quote:
Originally posted by gazza285
Mine was £40 off eBay 6 years ago, it's a solar powered one, and it's never let me down yet. I do a lot of arc welding, with rods up to 5mm, guess I got lucky.
Parker Tools have got an offer on at the moment.
http://www.parkertools.co.uk/Product/620491/Solar+Powered
I've been using one of these for more than a year, and no probs. Branded as from a reputable UK welding equipment distributor, and 12months
warranty.
Cheers,
Nev.
Do the battery powered ones give any kind of warning when they go flat?
quote:
Originally posted by alistairolsen
Do the battery powered ones give any kind of warning when they go flat?
The Speedglas has a low battery warning LED.
The batteries are supposed to last 1500hrs
Paul G
I'm using a Parweld one - about 40 quid I think and seems to work fine.