Welding Helmet with built in lights? Or Not?

[redlig]

I have some LED lamps with a strap, intended for use on the head but will go around the welding helmet. Aliexpress tat so cheap enough to replace when burnt.

A bit of imagination can save a load of money.

 

[trigger3]

dont over complicate it. if your just welding once in a blue moon then just glue a alibaba light to your helmet and call it a day. probly wont be real comfortable and have wonky weight distribution but hey atleast it will brighten the work area at the very lowest cost

 

[Blue Chips]

I experimented a bit with an LED torch for supplementary welding illumination several years ago. Here's my POST about it. (Note: The photos in that old post were taken through my previous welding helmet. Since that post, I have upgraded to an Optrel Crystal 2.0 helmet, which helps quite a bit.) The supplementary LED light does help, and I still use it occasionally if I'm having difficulty seeing the path of some particular weld. It's a bit fussy, though, as you have to aim it carefully for each weld to get the best angle for good contrast along the intended welding path. Clipping it onto a helmet or welding torch could also be done, although those approaches could have their own idiosyncrasies. Sometimes I'll draw a couple of parallel lines along the welding path with a soapstone or something that contrasts with the metal to act as guidelines.

 

[Martin Brody]

As an addendum to this thread. I have a couple of these Sealey lights and they have rubbish magnets on them, Earlier today I removed the magnet from one to find it is 1.3mm thick although the hole it sits in is effectivly 8.5mm deep (the extra is made up by some "ribs" moulded into the plastic. No wonder it was so weak. I have ordered a couple of much thicker magnets which I will epoxy into the holes in them. Hopefully that will help and if it does I will remove the magnets from my other lights that have poor magnets in them and replace with better ones (if there is room)

Thanks again everyone for the comments

 

[Mark 5]

Can a welder answer a question I have been meaning to ask.

Does the light produced by what ever torch used for welding have to be as bright or brighter then the light produced by welding to be able to see your way/path of weld?

 

[ajlelectronics]

Can a welder answer a question I have been meaning to ask.

Does the light produced by what ever torch used for welding have to be as bright or brighter then the light produced by welding to be able to see your way/path of weld?

No because you only need to see in the absence of an arc.

 

[Mark 5]

No because you only need to see in the absence of an arc.

Thank you.

 

[Blue Chips]

Does the light produced by what ever torch used for welding have to be as bright or brighter then the light produced by welding to be able to see your way/path of weld?

I don't think it has to be quite as bright as the welding arc to improve the view while welding, but it does need to be quite bright and concentrated/focused. Basically, you would adjust your helmet's filter density to allow you to see some detail in the weld pool and a small area immediately around it, and then aim a bright, narrow supplementary light beam at the darker area ahead of the weld pool along the intended welding path. Have a look at the photos in my old POST, which demonstrate that. I don't think the light from the LED torch I was using was as bright as the welding arc, but it was very bright and concentrated. Note: the 'without' and 'with' photos in that post are slightly overexposed; there was actually some detail visible to me in the weld pool when I was making the welds. As mentioned, I've since upgraded to an Optrel helmet, which further improves the view.

 

[trigger3]

dont often work at night but when i do its nice to have good equipment. g5-01 with factory light

 

[marlinspike]

You might find that just a change of helmet alone helps. We bought a basic flip down automatic darkening one to start with. More recently bought a Lidl automatic one and it's much better, much clearer.

These little workshop lights are handy too. The battery/rechargeable ones are less faff when you're under a car obviously.

Work Lights | Rechargeable Torches & Site Lights | Toolstation

Buy work torches & lights at Toolstation • Free delivery on all orders over £25 • Click & Collect from your nearest branch • Shop work torches & lights today!

www.toolstation.com

 

[George Erasmus]

If you have helmet do what this guy did

Cheap head torch £9 sticky velcro tape and bob's your uncle

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Energizer-Amazon-Headlight-Batteries-Included/dp/B08LX5Y757/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=52743686763&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.p3fG6xFSCaJAZTqYcxxn1waKP0ONoceqP8ot49p1uwfm3TDVW3t2bEa6hX_ucvWNn_fxEuKGGTz8IxDUBa8hBJyAMflSCfvpukIMVgKzQkzSBXp22cYq2GP_II9P908eo3ZE1yT1kKz1YIaExSH9mGAhSZ5ZVRlkPL99GJgOv94Jx9HQMyzr0EAEJmJMCu7UPEpWQ3FhS5JyDDncMjACBuRJkfmAkncEPLHVW4byOlITfNkmj83RUSmERz3unkdsFZU9QVuY2nlVr8cAwISqDW-vggfaGw9USS4zcACn5xM.ujH2heoUT4-TKeoLhZDFeK5ri7rMRnRacX3lFC9JnQM&dib_tag=se&gad_source=1&hvadid=606113982649&hvdev=c&hvexpln=0&hvlocphy=9045818&hvnetw=g&hvocijid=7940629985135866317--&hvqmt=e&hvrand=7940629985135866317&hvtargid=kwd-345613762764&hydadcr=27352_2308008&keywords=head-torch&mcid=c6cd83ac595d3d5da0758214c77208c5&qid=1752078128&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1