Cheap auto-darkening welding masks ...

[Lightweight_911]

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Are cheap auto-darkening welding masks for ~£25-30 (eg Parweld WH-1) any good ?

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[Gary71]

Don't know about ones that are that cheap, I thought I was already bottom end when I bought mine for £80!
It's a Ryval OEH410 and has served me well for a couple of years, probably could do with a new filter/shield now as the splatter I make takes it toll after a while!

[sladey]

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Are cheap auto-darkening welding masks for ~£25-30 (eg Parweld WH-1) any good ?

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Depends if you like seeing

I think you're best off research on the mig-welding forum - https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/ -I'm sure it will have been covered on there.

If it isn't darkening quickly enough it could give you problems. Having said that I used a parweld one for years and unless I was doing loads of welding I didn't have a problem - and even when I did it was just that my eyes felt a bit tired.

I then bought an £80 jobbie that seemed better but I had to switch it on which I often forgot and got a shock when everything went white.

Most recently I've bought a £250 jobbie that is really nice. You can see everything really clearly and it's very comfortable

[911hillclimber]

Bought mine from a pro welding supplier at the NEC Classic Car show about 6 years back. (based in Telford)
Variable time/darkness adjustments (why?) so set mine to max dark x asap

In some lights, can be awkward to see where you are going with the torch, but I prefer it that way.
Never a 'residue' of the ark in my eyes after welding which to me is the Test.

I leave mine out in the direct sun to charge it.
IMHO, I would not trust a £30 job, £100 sounds about right, but, like race helmets, full carbon at £1200+ or a 'clubmans' at £200, both approved for motorsport.

[Gary71]

Mines solar, never had a problem with it running down. Guess the masses of uv welding causes is enough

[Psw1811]

I bought a cheap Leopard brand one from eBay - about £25!! It has good reviews on mig forum - it works great, but I’ve never tried a £250 one.

[911hillclimber]

The function is simple, clear view then correct tint the instant after the arc is struck.
The issue for me is the reliability of that happening every time.
Not sure money assures that.

Comfort and cover are important, a comfortable welder is a good welder.

[Phill]

I paid about £40 for mine off eBay years ago and it's never let me down. They are easy to test, simply put it on, look at a bright light (close bulb, the sun) and it should darken straight away. Mine is adjustable in darkening and reaction time.

[camperco]

How would you feel if your doctor was on a forum right now looking for cheap syringes or a cheap heart rate monitor? Buy the best you can afford would be my advice.

[Bruce M]

I bought a “hobby” grade model many years ago and treat it very carefully. The pro grade versions can take rough handling and never fail (electronics / darkening LCD). I’d suggest hobby grade kit needs kept in the box and treated nicely.

I engage “safety squints” for the first tack of a job, just in case...

[coomo]

Had plenty of cheap masks.Knowing latest project will require A LOT of tigging,I spent £200 on a Lincoln mask.Its a complete game changer.I would say night & day difference,if i was looking for a daft pun.Your work WILL suffer if you cant see it!

[smallspeed]

I've got a cheap one and an expensive one - personally, unless you're doing a lot of stop-starts I don't think either are better than a decent "fixed" mask with a hood and good workspace lighting

[Barry]

Old thread I know, but I just happened to be passing by ( ).

I'm assuming we're talking about MIG welding here.

I use a range of masks: the cheapest is just a basic one (Draper I think this time), all the way up to a £1200 Adflo / Speedglas system.

The expensive one renders colours, has side windows and a huge, crisp screen. It's fab. I probably use it for 15% of the time.

85% I just use cheap ones: they seem to react just as fast as the very best, have the controls you need and initially, are perfectly clear (albeit not in colour). I'm not loyal to any really: just grab whatever's on sale locally for £40 or so. Pure solar react a fraction slower than battery ones. I slightly prefer the latter but it's no biggie either way.

The lovely thing with the cheap ones is they are so easy: pick it up, do a little weld, put it down. The Adflo / Speedglas has a whole breathing system so is a real arse to put on in comparison, and actually, most of what you do on a car is tacking things into position. The final welding rarely lasts more than a very few minutes. Therefore something really handy and easy to sling on and off is really helpful.

The mode of failure on the cheap ones is when they are in their un-dimmed state (i.e. no arc), they gradually get darker and darker until you realise there's little difference between light and dark. At that point I down-grade them to back-ups for the home workshop or hand them to anyone wanting to watch me demo some welding. I get about two years out of them before they get semi-retired, but they seem to degrade with use rather than time so I have no doubt a DIY'er would get many more years out of them. If you have an old one however (say seven-ten years) you'll probably find a new one will be easier to use on several levels. They'll appear much brighter in the un-dimmed state and clearer (cleaner) to see through as well.

The Speedglas is a wonderful thing (actually I have a pair), but honestly if you're DIY'ing, spend your money on a better welder and a 10" extractor and hose.

TIG welding? That's a whole different thing: you'd definitely want to run a battery operated helmet of some sort and make sure it's happy to handle TIG. My experience is that cheap solar masks (and some battery ones) are very prone to flicking in and out of darkened mode. Therefore I always use the Speedglas for TIG as I don't have anything in-between cheap and expensive. If you're buying for TIG therefore, make sure any helmet is guaranteed to be TIG compatible.

Fixed lens masks? Fine for demo'ing to students, fine for long simple runs in heavy metal (welding a skip, workbench or narrow-boat). Reliable for sure and better than squinting. Utterly useless for precision work such as a car body. You'll waste so much time overcoming their shortcomings any savings will evaporate within the first 20 welds.

Oh yes, one more thing: out of interest for the last fourteen years, all of my bodywork MIG welding has used .6 not .8mm wire. It'll handle way more power than you'll ever need and is so much more precise. It's a scalpel vs a Stanley blade.

[911hillclimber]

Last para the best!
I've only used 0.8mm, never 0.6mm, always assumed its use would be more critical and awkward for one like me, very diy.
Must try some.
Can you get away with 0.8 tips?

[Gary71]

I use 0.6, but with my technique it’s not a scalpel

Only starts to go wrong when you wind it up to 200amps and it burns back into the tip a little easy.