Cheap Wedling Helmet or Scam?

[sd455dan]

Maybe I'm silly but B4 welding I like to flick my lighter to verify my helmet's response.
If the spark from the flint activates the helmet then I feel protected.

Yeah, should have mentioned we opened the box in the house- and son did that test before it made it to the garage.
Also did the battery test which dims the display and lights an LED to confirm the batteries are ok.

Did find one thing that I will have to get used to, was doing a low amp tig test welding #12 gauge copper wire ends together and needed a little more light so while welding twisted the light control- and rotated it right past the detent to the OFF position :ashamed: The old HF helmet did not have an Off position... Will remember this new (feature)

 

[LD1]

Yeah, should have mentioned we opened the box in the house- and son did that test before it made it to the garage.
Also did the battery test which dims the display and lights an LED to confirm the batteries are ok.

Did find one thing that I will have to get used to, was doing a low amp tig test welding #12 gauge copper wire ends together and needed a little more light so while welding twisted the light control- and rotated it right past the detent to the OFF position :ashamed: The old HF helmet did not have an Off position... Will remember this new (feature)

That actually may be a feature of the helmet.

None of mone have knobs, they are all digital. But the ability to turn the shade "off" assuming that means it lightens up to the standard 4 or 5 shade? If so, thats good for cutting torch work.

 

[sd455dan]

That actually may be a feature of the helmet.

None of mone have knobs, they are all digital. But the ability to turn the shade "off" assuming that means it lightens up to the standard 4 or 5 shade? If so, thats good for cutting torch work.

This helmet does have a grind mode ,but it actually goes a little farther than that.



It allows you to chose 5-9 or 9-13 inside the helmet and then adjust brightness on the outside knob

I hadn't thought about it- but you are right, this might work for the oxy acetylene torch to

bonus if it works :thumbsup:

Now i have to read up and see what turning it off does since the mode switch works for 5-9

 

[LD1]

Off probably just returns it to a 4 shade, which on mine helmet is what is listed as "grind".

For torch work, mine puts it to a 5.

But IMO, I can see my line when torching much better with a 4 shade.

And I dont need any shade for grinding. Just a clear and cheap face shield.

 

[LD1]

Off probably just returns it to a 4 shade, which on mine helmet is what is listed as "grind".

For torch work, mine puts it to a 5.

But IMO, I can see my line when torching much better with a 4 shade.

And I dont need any shade for grinding. Just a clear and cheap face shield.

 

[California]

The $46 [Antra AH6-260-0000] hood showed up today and all I can say is WOW what a difference!

Now I am kicking myself for not replacing the old HF hood a long time ago ... :thumbsup:

Reading this thread left me re-thinking about the dim view through my HF 'Blue Flame' helmet that has a minimum setting of 9. The HF manual says the Blue Flame is suitable for flux-core from 125 amps on up. This explains the dim view I see when I weld using my Century 130 (110 volt DC flux wire welder) which has a practical maximum of only 90A.

The lower settings available on this Antra seem to make it a worthwhile replacement for the HF. After reading your review and many on Amazon, I just bought one!

Another feature of the Antra is a slightly larger window than the 'big window' Blue Flame. the Antra window is about 1/16" taller.

Thanks Dan!

 

[dragoneggs]

I believe I mentioned earlier that the HF don't work with tig.

My HF hood didn't work for me so good on MIG! I returned it and got the cheapest Miller helmet. Much better. I wonder if my HF was a lemon because I hear many have good experiences with them.

 

[California]

My HF hood didn't work for me so good on MIG! I returned it and got the cheapest Miller helmet. Much better. I wonder if my HF was a lemon because I hear many have good experiences with them.

My HF was fine for stick welding. But I couldn't dial it down to a light enough setting to see well with the HF-90AC flux welder or the similar Century 110v DC using flux wire. The manual explained that, said it was suitable for 125A and up using flux wire. Also, I was surprised it can come out of months of storage in the dark and it works immediately, no solar charging needed to restore the power. Not a bad beginner's helmet, just not suited to low amperage work. I'm looking forward to this Antra.

 

[sd455dan]

Off probably just returns it to a 4 shade, which on mine helmet is what is listed as "grind".

For torch work, mine puts it to a 5.

But IMO, I can see my line when torching much better with a 4 shade.

And I dont need any shade for grinding. Just a clear and cheap face shield.

You were right the off mode sets it to a locked in shade that works great for the oxy acetylene torch set up.

I tried it in 5-9 also but it would trigger and be a bit dark... Works better in the off mode than any goggle set up I have tried to use.

thought Id mention a couple of other neat things about this unit.
The company included 5 or 6 ? extra lens covers with it- and the inside is set up to accept a magnifier lens which I had to tape into my hf hood.

California - hope you like the new hood as much as I do, The only thing that I can knock possibly in comparison to my old hf is the material thickness of the Antra hood although it is lighter than the HF it may not be as impact resistant. I'm not planning on throwing it around but the Hf was knocked around quite a bit over the years, hope the thinner material holds up well.

 

[GoatDriver]

I have a Northern Tool auto-darkening helmet, also have a Miller Elite Series auto-darkening, like them both but have been flashed a whole lot while tig welding with both AD helmets. I then got an Accu-Strike helmet and really love it, it does take a little getting used to but it is the only helmet that I have used over the past year and a half since I got it. I do not even pick up the NT or Miller Elite any longer, they are just collecting dust. The folks at Accu-strike are great to deal with also, here's a link to their website Home - AccuStrike Welding Helmet they have some vids of the helmet in use on their site.