Auto Darkening Welding Helmet - Important Aspects You Need To Know

Welding helmets have proved to be the most vital piece of protective gear if you are practicing welding whether as a hobby or as a profession. They are available in a wide range of colors and configurations, thus making them a welder’s most personalized accessory. It is a fact that the helmets visual features are what will mostly catch your attention, but it is advisable that you overlook such features and consider its other features that will best protect your eyes.

Auto darkening helmets

Since they were invented, they have proved to be the most efficient types of helmet used for welding activities. These helmets make the task very easy as you don’t have to keep flapping the lens every time you start working. This characteristic of these helmets helps you to ensure that you weld right along the seam. The distraction that comes to flipping the helmet results to starting to weld in the wrong location. Without any further explanation, all the above summarizes the efficiency that comes with using this kind of helmet.

The good thing about these helmets is that, they are sensitive to bright light from the welding machine. During welding, their tints adjust automatically to safeguard your eye.

Factors to consider when choosing welding helmets

Among the many factors that you must put into consideration when choosing an auto gardening welding helmet include:

The weight

Choosing one that is heavy will probably cause you fatigue due to neck strains which could later lead to long term injuries.

On the other hand, a lightweight helmet will by a greater percentage reduce the chances of you injuriers your neck while at the same time increasing your comfort. Although it might be tricky to distinguish a light from a heavy helmet because of their small difference, it is important that you take time to figure this out. In most cases, genuine manufacturers will indicate the average weight of all their helmets to make the shopping process simple and easy.

Type of welding lense

There are two types of welding helmet lenses to choose from, hence you have an option to select one, which is best for you. There are the auto darkening and the standard glass lenses. The standard also called passive helmet lens are made of thick plastic or leather and were commonly used earlier before their advancement.

 

The auto darkening lens will be best for your eyes and they also prove to come in handy where there are flashes when you weld. They are equipped with sensors which automatically switches on the shades on the helmet which then protects your eyes from the flashes. It therefore will be wise if you overlook the price of the auto darkening helmet and go for what will keep you safe.

The lense switching speed and reaction time

You will discover that most companies that deal with auto darkening helmets mostly focus on the lens switching speed and the lens reaction time. Lens switching speed explains the average time that the lens takes to switch from its natural light state to its dark shade that very moment when welding begins. It is important that you choose a helmet with a high lens transformation speed for the purpose of your eye condition. 

The quicker your eyes are protected from these flashes that have a very a high light intensity the better. There is the entry level lens switch speed and the professional level switch speed, which slightly differs from the other by a very small time limit. It is important that you note that those helmets with a greater speed are quite more expensive than that of a lesser speed.

The cost vs. safety

Because your health is more important than the finances you make from your welding job, you should not think twice about purchasing an expensive welding helmet at the expense of your health. If you spend the better part of your day welding while using a helmet with a lower switching speed, you will end up experiencing fatigue in your eyes and this can have a long term effect on your vision.

The power source

While choosing a good auto welding helmet, it is important that you consider its power source. This is among the trickiest part as there are those that come with a fixed power supply while there are those that come with a replaceable power supply. These helmets come in a variety, some are installed with solar panels, others are powered by battery energy while others are installed with both solar energy and powered battery.

All these helmets categories have their advantages. Those fixed with solar panels have proven to have a longer lifespan compared to those with the power battery energy. Good welding helmets are those that are installed with both solar panels and batteries. Such has proven to extend the length of your batters,despite the fact that the solar panels cannot be replaced.

 Therefore, it is advisable that you choose a helmet with an AAA battery because such is usually economical while replacing and also they are very much available in majority of the outlets. If you want an extended battery life, then you will have to go for lithium batteries, although they have a high replacement cost and also they have a limited availability.

The headgear

Before making choices on the kind of helmet that you want to purchase, it is vital that you consider if the headgear fits your head. This is important, especially in the case that you are dealing with the ultraviolet rays or wherespatters occur during the activity. A fit helmet will cover you from burning your skin up. If it happens that you are using a quite large auto darkening welding helmet, then it is important that you fill up the exposed part of your face with a helmet bib as it will provide additional protection.

Conclusion

Above all these, your safety is what comes first and therefore, whenever you set out to purchase an auto darkening welding helmet, it is important that you acquire one that meets the national safety standards. These standards demand that the manufactures of both the helmet and the auto darkening lens to validate their advertised specifications through an independent laboratory test.

You also should ensure that you purchase a helmet that can survive the impact of a high velocity object in case of an accident. Also, you should lay your hands on one that provides a hundred percent infrared and ultraviolet filter regardless of the lens settings. This is an important equipment that any welder cannot live without.