ive spent the day today tig welding for the first time in a cople of years but discovered my helmet isnt really up to the job so what ones do everyone else use or reccomend?
Things to look out for are sensitivity or the minimum amperage the lens will respond to. Many of the cheaper ones only work with TIG above 20 or even 40A. I think this is the budget one that many like... http://www.weldequip.com/swp-welding-helmet.htm
Personally i like Speedglas but their entry level models aren't really suitable for TIG. They're not the best in that while the lenses are as good as you'll find the headgear is crap. I can forgive them for the headgear though as they're so light and airy because of the side windows and the way airflow is managed (breathing ducts/vents)
my last helmet when i was buildng race cars was a speedglass but i did find if flashed up sometimes when i was in the middle of a weld , im prepared to spend good money to get a good helmet tho if needs be as i will be doing a lot of tig work again now on some very thin materials at times too
Never had any issues with my 9002x, even stupidly low amperage stuff and partially restricted view. Before i bought it i used to switch to a regular fixed shade bucket with a gold lens for restricted view stuff, don't bother now. It does NEED to be set to max sensitivity or it will bug out with TIG though.
All of the big brand names have nice masks if money isn't a priority. Some of them are using 3 or 4 sensors these days which'll help as it's harder to block 'em all while welding. If you read around you'll find pros and cons for Optrel, Speedglas, Jackson, ESAB and Miller
I personally prefer a standard ie non reactor type screen with the appropriate shade glass for TIG work.
As stated above a lot of reactor type screens, even the £250 models have a tendency to flash or "strobe" when you use them on TIG, also if the outer lense gets scratched the view of the arc becomes distorted
I bought the red SWP helmet from Weldequip a couple of weeks ago and just yesterday my friend's son brought me a little job to tig, a laptop hinge. I told him to buy a new one but when we looked on ebay they were £40 second hand so weld it was. 12 amps was enough and the helmet didn't strobe or flash or anything, just darkened as it should.
I own an optrel rebrand (as Lorch). It is a nice mask and hasn't shown any weird behaviour. I only use my helmet for TIG and put my gloves over the screen to prevent it collecting dust. This way the screen remains virtually scratch free. I also have a spare pack of screens. If it is too scratched, I replace the screen. Optrel is used by many of the welder manufacturers.
I don't know the answer to your question, andytm. I've had an eyetech 2 (5 - 13) for 3 years now. Used for MIG, TIG & ARC. It gets; burnt, thrown around, it's been stuck in storage for the last year (with no light); 2nd week with it today, sweet as a nut! Comfy (with a cap). Light weight. Quality build. Covers are cheap enough.
Being a high volt mig welder who welds structural steel most days I use a speedglas 9002 adflo, yes it flashes some times but it is a good lid but not as good as my old speedglas brought 2000ish (sorry i cant remember the no.) But when I tig I use a fixed shade lid I got for 30 quid and it out performs all the vari shade lids I have ever used.The next vari shade lid I buy will not be a speedglas!