Welding Helmet Guide

Find A Welding Helmet That's Right For Your Welding Shop

A guide to buying a welding helmet, and an overview of what to look for:

Be under no illusions, welding is a risky, dangerous occupation which has a grisly array of crippling health risks for the careless or unlucky welder. Fortunately, there is a great deal of safety equipment intended and specifically designed to minimize and in so far as possible, to eliminate risks. One of the most fundamental pieces of safety equipment is the welding helmet, which is designed to safeguard the eyes and face from the various risks of welding.

The very nature of welding means that there is huge amounts of light generated during each of the chemical reactions that occurs. This light is also incredibly intense, so intense in fact that even a brief exposure to it would be sufficient to permanently blind a person. This is because the radiation contained in the light burns the retina of the eye, and damage can also arise due to prolonged exposure to the light. This condition is referred to as "arc eye" and whilst the effects are severe, it is readily and easily prevented. The light also carries another danger, in the guise of the UV (ultraviolet) radiation contained in it, and this UV light is known to cause skin cancer. Whilst protective wearing should be worn around the whole of the body so as to ensure that no part of the skin is exposed, particular care should be taken with the face which is even more susceptible to the effects of UV rays.

The actual design of welder helmets has changed and evolved as the years have passed, before, the design as primitive and ineffective, a helmet like piece of apparatus which had a darkened visor and which was grossly ineffective because the user had to remove the helmet in between welds. When confronted with dark situation such as underneath a car, it made it exceptionally difficult to see what they were doing.

Fortunately the design of the welding helmets have evolved dramatically in order to become ergonomic. The latest feature of welding helmets is a totally adjustable view screen by which the user can toggle and adjust according to their requirements the level of darkness/light they need, meaning that if faced with a high intensity light environment then they are so protected. There is also the option of helmets with fixed eyeshades, these are options best suited for those welders who deal routinely with the same materials, ampages and processes.

Some welding helmets are battery operated, with the batteries fully chargeable, others are solar powered, and best used for outdoors. The bottom line is, regardless of what your needs are, there is bound to be a welding helmet best suited for you!

Make sure that whatever welding mask/helmet you choose, that the helmet has a large visor so that your peripheral vision is not compromised.

One last side note, many Auto-darkening helmets don't darken until the welding arc is struck the reason for this is very simple, it takes the human eye 4/10ths of a millisecond to make the distinction between light and darkness, so your eyes won't be compromised.