WELDING HELMETS
A good helmet is vital to your safety while welding. Rob Marshall tests a quartet of auto-darkening types that can be bought for less than £100.
In years gone by, the best a DIY welder could hope for was a single dark glass plate embedded within a flimsy plastic visor. This meant that welding operations had to be carriedout not only single-handedly, but also partially blind; only after striking the arc could the work area be seen from behind the glass. Should the visor be dropped, the glass plate would often break, resulting in a cessation of activities until a replacement was fitted.
Within the last decade, auto-darkening masks have appeared on the market, which introduced filters that react as soon as they detect bright light. This negates any need to remove the visor before-and-after striking the arc. Unsurprisingly, prices have reduced significantly as the technology has matured and, today, you can buy a good-quality helmet for less than £100, making any inferior alternative a false economy. Testing methodology While both specification and price are important criteria, the head lecturers at Exeter College worked with CM to assess each sample. Comfort and a range of head-strap adjustments were considered, along with the ability to manipulate each helmet’s position hands-free after sudden head movements. When adjusted, the helmet also had to offer enough friction between its visor and head-strap to hold itself in position during welding.
To assess their safety parameters, the helmets had to allow the operator to view the work area clearly, yet darken promptly once the arc was struck. Manual controls for both sensitivity and delay were also checked for effectiveness, as was the sidemounted shade control. The size of the helmet was considered too, as physical size enhances neck and head protection, as well as reducing the risk of fumes seeping beneath the visor and being inhaled. We also factored extra provisions, including any brackets to accommodate prescription lenses, for short- or long-sighted users, who cannot wear their glasses while welding. As the visor is prone to damage from red-hot sparks and weld spatter, we also looked for an easilychanged and available translucent front lens.