Harbor freight welding helmet... any users?

I went to a buddies shop and saw one of those $49 Harbor freight auto darkening welding helmets.I was like... dude, seriously? He said that he loves it and uses it all the time. I borrowed it to weld in the pan hard Rod, and it was amazing. I could see! I no longer had to give the cool 'what's up' nod to the work before I strike an arc. So I bought one.
Long story short, I'm holding the results of a CAT scan that says I do not have a brain tumor. I started getting really gnarly headaches that would come on at night while I slept. Thinking back on it there may kind of be a pattern between headaches and days of heavy welding. I'm now marking on the calendar when I weld and when I get headaches to see if there is any correlation.
Any of you guys use these things? Have any of you had issues or headaches with them? As far as functioning goes, it works and is not broken, which is the usual Harbor freight MO.
Any advice?

 

Stop using it. Where your eyes are concerned never scrimp.

 

I use mine happily, but I don't weld a lot. It's worked every time for me.

Did you see Gene Winfield in Flt-Blk's posting today??? I'm sure he would be more prone to getting headaches!!


On a serious note, what are you breathing all day? Your lungs may not be getting enough oxygen to your brain at night. Also, are you a heavy coffee drinker? Haven't had as much coffee or caffene lately? That will do it, too.

 

You only have 1 set of eyes, man; and when there gone.....well....you'll see...or you wont see. My helmets come from Kirk Welding Supply here in KC KS. Carl Hagan

 

its junk.
even if you could trust the chinese lense to protect you, and I'm sure you can't, but even if, the whole assembly is cheapo plastic crap.

I speaketh from experience, you will be happier buying a real hood from a reputable welding supply source, not harbor freight.

 

Get a better shield, sometimes cheap isn't good. Harbor freight is great and all, but your eyes are worth much more than $49.99.

I use Jackson Nexgen shields. They're pretty expensive at about $270-$300 but they really are worth it. I had a Harbor Freight shield for a little bit but I hated it...for some reason it had trouble auto darkening and it was just generally uncomfortable. Jackson shields are the shit though. I got them at a local welding supply company for $275, but maybe check cyberweld.com for them.

 

I wouldn't risk my eyes w/one of those. Spend a few more dollars and get a good one (auto darkining) from a reputable welding supply house. This is not like a cheap pair of pliers or screwdrivers. You can't put a price on your eyesight. Remember, you get what you pay for!

Bernie

 

Considering the trow away quality of HF tools why would you risk your eyes? Get a good helmet. I use a Jackson Executive & love it. Big view window & auto darkening. I even went one step darker on the lens due to my blue eyes. NEVER scrimp when it comes to personal safety.

 

I've had one for the past year, no problems. I don't weld alot in only in very sort bursts. I do plan on getting a nicer one but for now it's doing the job just fine.

 

This is HF's latest model.

 

I had one. When it woked it wasn't great. It died after very little use. I recently bought a Kobalt at Lowes for about $130, and it's great. I wish I would have spent the extra cash the first time.

 

I had one and it worked fine, but stopped working after two years. When it does break it defaults to the tinted lense. At the time I didn't have cash for a nicer helmet.

 

It's your eyes that would be hurting if the hood didn't work. (May get a headache, too.)

 

I love mine. 2 years and several bottles of gas later, it has never let me down. I did paint it with a hammered metal finish to hide my cheapness.

 

I have one....worked fine for me.... welding for a few hours every night at class...... worked good, except when my friend would strike an ark right infront of me with my shield off...........ass hole.....

 

I have a Miller.
Wasn't worth the risk to save a few $

 

I bought a budget one from Praxair when I got my welder...

Was way more expensive than $45 bucks and was decent but kind of poorly designed...

Sprung for a Miller when it died... Night and day difference.

Worth every penny...

Save a buck by skipping the fancy-a$$ paint job... It's a welding helmet... Not a racing helmet...

 

I have one and it works great. No problems. It is better than the high dollar one it replaces. I have a friend who is on his second one. First one he used for 4 years and is two years into this one.

John

 

Thanks for all the input guys!Since I came up with the idea that the headaches and the helmet may be connected, I started blinking my eyes right as I would strike the arc. It's still a lot better than the what's up nod! I don't know though if the arc is bright enough to burn right through the thin skin of my eyelids though. You're right though about the skimping on safety stuff. (With the exception of shields on grinders... I hate them)
the darkening rate on the Harbor freight helmet is supposed to be 128 thousandths of a second. What is the darkening rate on the better models? Or is any spec written on any Harbor freight tools not worth the paper it's printed on?

 

I bought one, and I was thinking WOW I can see what I'm doing!

Hold it!

"If you can see what your doing when TIG'in or MIG'in then it's not dark enough" -- Welding Instructor

 

Jeez, you can get a Hobart like mine for around $100 if you shop around.

 

I have one.. At first I thought it was great for the money, Untill I borrowed a good one and the diffrence was night and day.

 

I have Two Millers, one was a replacement for a broken one and the one I sent in for them to verify it was broke showed back up in the mail with a new lens. I love mine they work great!

 

It doesn't matter how fast it gets dark, your eyes are proteced before it darkens. The actual darkening is just so you can see through the glare. Or so I've read.

P.S. I'm not endorsing Harbor Fright, my motto is, "Fuck Chinese junk!"

 

It is pretty well established that the smoke and fumes from welding are the culprits when you get headaches like these. If you were damaging you eyes, the damage would likely be done by now. Try wearing a little filter mask under your welding helmet to see if that helps.

Check this site out for information:

http://www.cdc.gov/elcosh/docs/d0100/d000026/d000026.html

 

I'm got a $100 Redtail auto hood that works pretty damn good. it gets used for 4-6 hours every other day. And I bought it used.

The only harbor I've used i didn't like to well,it was mostly fitting cheap materials though.

 

I used one of those Harbor freight helmets for about two years and I was perfectly happy with it. It fit the budget at the time. However, about a month ago a sprung for one Miller’s top of the line Elite helmets. OMG - what a difference! It’s well worth the money! If anyone needs a POS Harbor freight helmet PM me!

 

Had one for a year or so, never again. My eyes started giving me issues (Itchy eyes after every use and really dry). Thought nothing off it so, purchased a new Lincoln helmet a few weeks ago, and problem solved. I say spend the money it’s worth every penny.

 

Thank you so much for that info. I have already suspected the smoke and gases as a culprit and have started wearing a mask. Especially with the flux core wire! My good mask is too big to fit under the hood, so I end up using one of those Michael Jackson masks. He he. Maybe I should only use one welding glove and be really cool like Michael
I will even scooch out from under the car amongst a plethora of metal shavings to don a mask now.
Old dogs can learn new tricks

 

I used a harbor freight hood for about a year, until it died. I had to run a few shades darker on the dial than a normal hood because it never seemed dark enough. Sure it only costs $49, but you'll be throwing it in the trash within a year. I switched to a Miller auto-darkening hood and all I can say is that there is no comparison! You get a much larger clearer view of the weld and it's whole lot more comfortable on your head. I use mine pretty much 7 days a week. You can pick them up for around $120 and they're worth their weight in gold!