If you are a professional welder then perhaps the welding helmet is the most important equipment for protecting your delicate eyes. With the advancement of technology these days, new auto darkening welding helmet have substituted the old traditional helmets, which had some drawbacks. It helps to protect your eyes from major sparks and the harmful ultraviolet and infrared rays, which can otherwise cause a severe damage to an eye. Moreover, these helmets are light and you can wear them for long stretch of hours without any discomfort. Therefore, for a professional welder it is necessary buy as it not only provides a protective layer to the eyes and skin is durable and easily adjustable.
The traditional welding helmets have several disadvantages. They have standard glass lens with fixed shades. You have to flip the glass before beginning your work. Moreover, it remains darkened all the times. Although they are easy on the pocket, they are not very suitable for welding purposes and thus, most of the welders prefer on buying auto darkening welding helmet. However, you should have some knowledge on how to choose an Auto-Darkening Welding Helmet, which enhances your work prospects.
Initially, it is better to start with choosing the appropriate size. The quality of the lens should be such that you can view clearly in any light condition. The position where you perform the welding also determines the amount of viewing area required in the helmet. It is extremely essential to examine the sensitivity settings of the lens. Nowadays, the manufacturers are manufacturing such auto darkening helmets, which provides shades ranging from six to nine or nine to thirteen. This places the welders in a comfortable position as they can optimize the shades on any application. They can make changes in the welding machines quite easily following the application with respect to voltage, amperage or wire feed speed settings.
The next crucial aspect to check is the reaction time of the helmet. The auto-darkening helmet should darken quickly if there is a spark. The best quality helmets will darken within a fraction of a second, which is as quick as 1/25,000 of a second. However, the speed of darkening may vary according to the model of the helmet. Apart from these, you need to consider the number of arc sensors on the helmet. The traditional helmets usually have one or two arc sensors, while the optimal quality of auto-darkening helmet has four arc sensors. The helmets does not get darken if it has more sensors.
The next point, which the welders have to take into account, is medium of power operation. You can operate the auto-darkening helmet using solar power or thorough lithium batteries. However, there is a debate regarding which is better. To answer that, both have their pros and cons. It solely depends on the preference of the individual welder what he wants to use. Finally, the weight and flexibility of the headgear is also a vital criterion, which you cannot ignore. Always opt for a lighter helmet as it makes the job safer, easier and comfortable.