Welding Tips and Tricks

Howdy folks. I am new to this forum and have been welding as a diyer for about a year. I found this forum on youtube while looking around. I am 60 yo and my vision is pretty bad. I have a Miller Digital Elite helmet and the ADF is pretty clear. In dark areas or if I am welding under my car it still is pretty dark and difficult to see. Its a pita to always have to grab the shop light. I found this product online and wanted to hear from anyone who has used it and can give some feedback. Was it bright, easy to install, quality etc. Seems pretty inexpensive. PS I am tech challenged so I just typed the link below.

https://illumiweld.com/

If you are the inventor/creator, you should just say so, I think. I don't think anyone will be upset The "I'm tech challenged" just sounded, eh, "iffy". Sounds like something the inventor of Illumi-weld would say so he can "get away" posting it on sites without fear of repercussion from site owners/people thinking the person posting was indeed advertising for themselves. (even then it would make no difference as posting a link is trivial since anyone can do it; one does not need to be an I.T. professional to do so). This forum is pretty chill, and I don't think this product infringes on anything it's owner/s already market/sell. I hope you don't think I'm being too harsh, it just looks a little "fishy" for lack of a better word.

If you are not the inventor/creator, then disregard the above paragraph, and thanks for posting the link. and keep on rocking on!



Hope everyone is having a fine Sunday morning and jamming out like I am!

Hi Oscar. Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I am not the creator/inventor, I wish I was that smart to come up with something like that. And yes as I stated in my original post, I am computer challenged so I don't know to much about forum boards or how all the bells and whistles work.

I believe as a first time poster here that you were indeed a little harsh. I will state my opinion as well so we can both be clear. If you didn't actually own the product, you should have moved on to another post to be critical on. Other than that have a nice labor day. If anyone else out there ACTUALLY owns the product I would love to hear about it. BTW I went ahead and ordered it anyway. So I don't get accused of making money for the people at Illumi-WELD is there a proper place to leave a review after I use it?

My bad! My apologies if my conditional statement was taken the wrong way. It does look like a fine product to help with aging eyes and less-than-ideal lighting conditions. As for reviewing you can most certainly review it in this sub-forum right in this thread, or pretty much any section really, since wearing a welding helmet applies to pretty much any welding situation.

colddainhell wrote:I believe as a first time poster here that you were indeed a little harsh. I will state my opinion as well so we can both be clear.

While I have taken some of Oscar's comments the wrong way in the past, I don't think his intention is to belittle anyone in any way, I think his posts are well intended and he tries to look out for the forum. He also doesn't need anyone to defend him, he's a big boy.

There are people that shill their products in a similar fashion, which is most likely why he posted the response he did.

I didn't take your post as being a shill myself.

If you want better vision, consider getting a better helmet like an Optrel Cyrstal 2.0. Oscar does have one of them and you can read his review in another thread. I'm not sure I buy into the light solution on the helmet, it all depends on where the helmet is facing and how the light hits your welding area. For some really tight spaces I see the light as being useless. My opinion.

I try to keep as bright of an area in my shop as I can for welding, I have 3 x 4' LED fixtures over the area I weld, but even so there can always be more light. Granted an Optrel is an expensive helmet but probably one of the better helmets on the market at this time. I also use a Miller Digital Elite w/2.5 magnifier (some call a cheater lens). If you don't have a cheater lens you should consider that before upgrading your helmet, it might help you.

Products like that are very handy for working where there is limited to no ambient light or shop lights around. I hear ya about welding under a car and having to drag cables, cords and lights around to get light to see by. Distance to the work is always a major challenge when on your back.

I honestly don’t think any helmet will resolve the issue. You could always lower the shade a bit, but then if you’re welding for long periods, it turns out to be counter-productive anyway.

I’ve seen plenty of folks use helmet mounted light sources. If I didn’t prefer bitching about the conditions and using them as excuses for crappy welds, I’d probably order something like that too.

By the way, welcome to the forum. Ignore the pundits. Just post, ask or offer insights. It’s a public place and you’ll encounter all types. Just like walking down the street

Update: I got the light kit and free replacement lenses 3 days after I ordered it. I also wanted a new helmet as the one I use was a hand me down from my son and pretty beat up, so I bought a new one over at Airgas. Wow helmets are expensive. I got to say the light was pretty easy to install after watching the video on their website. The kit came with an extra screw, screw bit and a drill bit for the holes. The front cover plate was used as a template. It feels very sturdy and looks like it came with the helmet. This little sucker is frigging bright. You can't look at it without seeing spots. It also turns off automatically when welding to conserve battery juice. I can literally walk around in my shop with the helmet down with no lights on and see where I am walking. I will try and take a picture looking through the ADF when I get a chance. All in all I am happy with it and got to ask why doesn't Miller or any of the big companies have lights in their helmets? It definitely helps me a lot and I just ordered another to give to my son. Just so we are clear, I am not the owner, a dealer, an affiliate, a friend or even an enemy of Illumi-WELD. Just a guy who found the product on Google and bought it. I took some pictures and have no idea how to add them to my post. Any help with that would be appreciated.

cj737 wrote: It’s a public place and you’ll encounter all types. Just like walking down the street

colddainhell wrote:Update: I got the light kit and free replacement lenses 3 days after I ordered it. I also wanted a new helmet as the one I use was a hand me down from my son and pretty beat up, so I bought a new one over at Airgas. Wow helmets are expensive. I got to say the light was pretty easy to install after watching the video on their website. The kit came with an extra screw, screw bit and a drill bit for the holes. The front cover plate was used as a template. It feels very sturdy and looks like it came with the helmet. This little sucker is frigging bright. You can't look at it without seeing spots. It also turns off automatically when welding to conserve battery juice. I can literally walk around in my shop with the helmet down with no lights on and see where I am walking. I will try and take a picture looking through the ADF when I get a chance. All in all I am happy with it and got to ask why doesn't Miller or any of the big companies have lights in their helmets? It definitely helps me a lot and I just ordered another to give to my son. Just so we are clear, I am not the owner, a dealer, an affiliate, a friend or even an enemy of Illumi-WELD. Just a guy who found the product on Google and bought it. I took some pictures and have no idea how to add them to my post. Any help with that would be appreciated.

Pictures or not seams like an honest review.

18650 batteries perform well but I'd find it a pita to take it out and charge it every day. And if you happen to flatten it, throw it away and get another one.

i registered just now while looking for info on the illumi weld light wondering how effective and mostly cost. their website is down till sometime in october. Also Oscar sounds like a guy I would like having my back. Colddainhell thanks for the review. can you say the cost?