Welding Helmet

[steve from staten island]

Pipe welding is getting into a different area. Especially any high pressure piping. Im not sure but some pipe that is welded by robotic would be some type of wire feeder but that is the exception. Ive never seen any steam pipe mig welded and i was a cert welder in a major utility working in power generation for over 20 years. I believe they tried but the weld would not pass a bend or a X-ray test and thats the reason why. TIG is mostly but not always done on X-ray joints,we used it for the first "root" pass,after that the pipe was stick welded. The other thing is equipment. With MIG you understand whats involved equipment wise. With Stick or TIG in your plant ,one welding lead and if TIG a bottle of Argon. No fancy this or that. Most plants have a grid type welding setup so no separate ground cable is ever needed and thats another reason. You get into MIG you need a separate CV machine plus the wire feeder and all the cables. Its not proficient nor practical,at least not when i worked at the plant. Still more reasons are this. I have a CV gas drive machine and i run 035 solid core wire all the time. My next biggest wire would be a 040, that would max out my machine. I can run 5/32 7018 all day and get a larger deposit rate with more peneratraition. My point is look at some heavy equipment,notice the welds, it looks like one pass and a large one. It takes a very big CV power source for that. Its practical for new stuff under perfect conditions but has many limitations. Don't discount what those welders are telling you why they don't MIG steam piping. I also think its NOT approved for ASME code work. Sounds like a lot of talk but trust me you want nothing but the best when your on the upper elevations opening a hammer valve with super heated steam at 2500 plus PSI behind it

 

[Richard Cranium]

Helmet shmelmet....

 

[Glenwood]

hahahaha! I think we had some millwrights wearing those in our shop!

 

[khryslerkid]

Helmet shmelmet....

Not recommended! Lol Too many UV rays bouncing around. Also UV rays can penetrate jean material and cause burns. Plastic and glass and leather will help to stop UV rays.

To add to Steve's comments about useing stick for pipe welding:

Mig welding outside, has a tendency to loose it's shield as the gas surrounding the arc will be disturbed when there is wind blowing around.

The stick weld can hold a better shield, not being effected by the wind as much, creating a better weld.

 

[rakort]

I am going to rename this thread "welding wars" with a sminge of humor!

 

[datblackchallenger]

Took the plunge and ordered a new millermatic 190 yesterday.

Question regarding a helmet...it seems every professional welder I work with does not use an auto darkening helmet. I would think that auto darkening is the way to go? Why then do they prefer a normal / non-auto darkening helmet?

What is everyone using?

Couldn't live without my auto darkening helmet. I have 2 some one always shows when I am ready to weld.

 

[steve from staten island]

I have a Jackson auto that i haven't used in awhile. I dusted it off,got new batteries and new lenses and have been using it a little. I don't care for the fact that when i grind the shield goes dark,also with the shield in light mood it still is very dark. These shields have there uses for sure but they will never replace my tried and true old style shield with the flip up lenses.

 

[Hemirunner]

I bought one of these for working in tight areas where the hood is too bulky.

 

[Hemirunner]

 

[steve from staten island]

Hey thats really nice! We had these things we called a monkey mask which was leather hood with a welding lense but nobody used them as they were hot as hell..... What we had and i still do is a old shield we cut down and put a handle on. I used it often in tight spots. Often when i was doing pipe work in the power house that hand held shield came in really handy

 

[khryslerkid]

I bought one of these for working in tight areas where the hood is too bulky.

Thats an auto dark? What did that set you back? With the pullover.

 

[ckessel]

For those whose eyes need more light to see, try the Optrel Vega View 2.5. I got one in may from USA Welding and man what a difference! Its allows more light to be transmitted through the lens making it easier to see your weld pool. As I've gotten older, I need more light to see what I'm doing, even wrenching/reading etc. When I was doing my TIG class, I was having a hard time seeing the pool on stainless and steel which caused me to cook the metal. Aluminum is no problem. By the time I could see the pool on the ferrous stuff, it was too late. I tried out a substitute instructors older Speedglass unit to compare to my Miller Elite and it was better than mine. I talked to the sales rep at USA Weld and let them know what I was experiencing and asked if the Optrel would help. Yes it did!

 

[steve from staten island]

I read some reviews on that shield and they all say its fantastic. One however points out its delicate and there is a major issue for myself. In my line of work generally speaking auto shields don't hold up well. The conditions are just to tough. Shields get dropped and beat up and very dirty. Every so often i have to take my shield apart and scrub it. I change the clear lenses regularly and the shades every so often. I wear reading glasses and i use them to weld. Id have to say the only problem with seeing the weld I've found was with MIG. Never had much of a issue stick or TIG but i have to admit id still like to try that shield especially on a pipe test.

 

[Hemirunner]

Thats an auto dark? What did that set you back? With the pullover.

It's autodark with multiple shades and has a torch mode for plasma or whatever. It comes with the soft hood and runs around $250. I just got my mag lens for it so those are available as well.

 

[ckessel]

I wear reading glasses under the helmet too. MIG isn't as bad as TIG as far as being able to see. For me, I need to be up close on the TIG. The Optrel gives me more definition so its a huge benefit for me especially when the amps are set low.