Welding Tips and Tricks

I'm looking to get a new welding hood that will help me see better than the Praxair house brand I've been using. I made the mistake of trying out my buddies Speedglas 9100xxi a couple weeks ago. It was like looking through the window of Pandora's Box. What has been seen, cannot be unseen.

I'm in Tech school right now, doing a two year program called 'Industrial Maintenance Technician', which I'll wrap up this May. I've done some basic welding: SMAW I and II, GMAW I, and now GTAW I, but I think I'm going to take the full welding program next year if I can find a way to work it in. Maybe night school. I plan to apply at several places where I may do a good bit of welding.

My problem is that I don't know enough to choose between the listed models.

The Lincoln seems like a solid choice, but Miller has recently come out with some new 'Clear Light' helmets that are very close in price, but also offer X-mode. I've already had trouble with welding outside, undesired dimming from shop neighbor's remote arc flashes, and getting flashed while using relatively low amps with TIG. X-mode should address all of those things, correct?

I think miller has just recently upgraded all of their digital helmets to 'clear light' lenses, but I don't know if they are all created equal as far as optical performance is concerned. Is the Lincoln still significantly clearer than the new miller offerings?

Also, Miller is currently running a $50 rebate on the t94 helmets, which would put the price withing $20 of the Lincoln, and the t94 offers X-mode, half-shade increments of adjustment, and side-view windows.

Then there is Optrel. They are a little bit more expensive, but the E684 and newer Lite Flip hoods have some kind of auto brightness adjustment that sounds like it would be great for low amperage tig welding. I think they only take proprietary cheater lenses though, and I often like to use cheater lenses for TIG, so that kind of annoys me.

I don't know if I'd actually appreciate any of the bells and whistles, or if I'd be just as happy with the analog dials on the Lincoln after all. It would be a lot easier to choose if I could see how an arc look through the various hoods, but that's not going to happen, unfortunately. It's really hard to guess which hood to buy.

Anybody have some sage advice for me?

It is up to you as I see it. Try to see if you can try out each hood yourself. I tried a speedglass and the optrel panoramaxx and hated them both. I personally use a miller digital infinity and love it. See if your welding supply store will let you try them or something.

Everyones eyes are better or worse than the next guys. Only you can make the call because in the end you can read everything you want, but you gotta look through the hood.

I've had everything and my take is this.....

Lincoln 4c glass cannot be beat. The end.

Miller digital infinity is nice real estate in size, and built like a tank, but aside of being heavy is nowhere near as clear and true tone as the 4c lincoln. Yes, thats even the clear light, which is nowhere close to 4c. A second complaint I've seen by several including myself is that the screen has waves of color like looking at an old 80s watch lcd screen sideways. It's so big you can look "across" the lens.

Optrel is nice overall, but the sides of the glass are curved and do the same thing prescription glasses do at the edges and bend light. I can't seem to get used to the peripheral vision anomalies that make me think i saw something beside me. I always thought i threw a spark somewhere it shouldn't be. It gets annoying.

FrozenTundra wrote:I've already had trouble with welding outside, undesired dimming from shop neighbor's remote arc flashes, and getting flashed while using relatively low amps with TIG. X-mode should address all of those things, correct?

X mode solved my welding outdoor problem, but it didn't solve the problem welding right next to someone in another booth. It took me awhile to figure out that the random darkening of my helmet was from the guy next door striking his arc. So I had to switch back to regular mode in those circumstances.

It would be a lot easier to choose if I could see how an arc look through the various hoods, but that's not going to happen, unfortunately.

I was able to try other people's helmets when I took a few welding classes at the local community college. Everyone was interested in trying other helmets. That helped me make a decision. I bought the Digital Elite, the only thing I don't care for is the locking mechanism on the headgear that keeps the helmet up when I raise it. I have to keep adjusting it to get it the right tightness. Standard cheater lenses fit, and I went through a few different lenses to find one that seemed the best.

X-mode is fantastic but as said if you’re next to someone it will go off especially if he’s tigging aluminum I’ve noticed in the next booth or like when I’m at work and there are guys welding inside the tank and it come through one of the holes to the outside where I am.

I was able to try on both the Lincoln 3350 4c and the Miller T94 helmets in the store. I've narrowed my choice down to these two helmets. Unfortunately I'll not be able to try welding with either one.

The Miller t94 has a noticeably brighter light state. This -- combined with the side viewing windows -- makes for extremely good visual acuity and spatial awareness with the hood down. I think this would really help for handheld fitting and tacking in the field. I was doing agricultural millwright work this summer, and I think a better view could have made a difference in those cramped, awkward positions, with no clamps or highly stable way to hold pieces.

On the other hand, I guess the trade off for the brighter light state is less forgiving viewing angle in the dark state. So the Lincoln may do better with out of position welding in this regard.

If I was going back to AG millwrighting, I think the T94 would be my choice. The lighter shade and grind mode would be handy for some of those tasks. As it is, I'm hoping to avoid going back on the road so I can attend college.

I found this relatively in-depth youtube review contrasting the T94 and 3350 4c. The author comes to an interesting conclusion; he is of the opinion that the T94 lets him see more of the periphery of the workpiece -- outside of the arc zone -- while in the darkened state.
https://youtu.be/BVAt0Fxb1Cc

With Millers rebate (until the end of the month), these helmets are more/less the same price: $229 vs $245 if ordering online.

Maybe I should just toss a coin......

I wound up ordering a Lincoln 3350.

In the end, I actually like the way it looks better than the Miller. I tend to appreciate simple, rugged, utilitarian esthetics. Hopefully it will be as reliable as it is plain.

I also like the way Lincoln has recently expanded its training and educational presence in the industry. They are seeming to invest a lot into closing the trade skills gap, especially through their new $30 million training center that they just opened. I guess that kind of thing matters enough to me that I'll buy one product over another.

Got the Lincoln 3350 4c and tried it very briefly on a Miller Dynasty TiG machine. I didn't really care for it. The weld puddle was clear, and the color was good, but the weld puddle was ALL I could see. I boxed it up and sent it back immediately.

There was no peripheral view to speak of once the arc lit. Even with my PraxAir ProStar hood (which is one of their nicer models, I guess), I can see much more of the periphery of my workpiece once the arc is lit, and the puddle isn't THAT much clearer. I can really understand what the reviewer--in the youtube video I posted above--was talking about now. To me, the view through the 3350 was, relatively speaking, like viewing the weld through a straw. A very clear straw, with a nice looking puddle, but still a straw. I couldn't see where I was going very well at all.

Although I admittedly didn't give it much of a chance, having only TiG welded very briefly with no other processes attempted, so take this for what it's worth, but I really didn't like what I saw.

Ordered the Miller T94. I hope it has some added clarity, without the severe 'tunnel vision' that I feel like I get in the Lincoln. That youtube review kind of implies as much, so here's hoping....

I'll update this thread when I get to try the Miller.

I was finally able to try out the Miller T94 today. I liked it. I certainly prefer it to the Lincoln 3350 4c that I tried.

I could see more of the periphery of the workpiece while welding. I'm not sure if everybody would perceive this difference in the same way I do, or perhaps some people just don't require as much visual information to orient themselves comfortably, but it made a big difference to my eyes.

I like the side windows on the Miller. My brain seems to find the extra visual information comforting in between welds.

I also appreciate that it accommodates the miller LPR-100 half-mask welding respirator better than the other hoods I've tried. I really like this particular respirator. It seals great, breathes easy, isn't big or bulky, and gives me peace of mind that I'm protecting my lungs from fumes as well as particulate. And I can even talk rather effectively compared to the bulkier 3M equivalent that I used to use.

I'll update the thread again after I've used the helmet for a significant amount of time.