Help! Welding Hoods

[RaTyBaStArD]

Ok, so I just got a welding job working on boats and my boss said I have to get a hood. My buddy that works for them said to get a speedglas, but they are spendy, nice, but spendy...are there better hoods out there that preform just as well?

What do you guys recommend getting?

[tresi]

the speedglass is really light weight if neck strain bother you. some the best oldtimers i know use fixed lens big window hood. the boss is nice but they're still having problems with them. the NextGen would be my choice if i were in the market. unless you have to have an auto drakening hood i would buy a fair big lens fixed hood until you what you want. no need to spend $200-$400 for something you end up not liking.

[Burnit]

Just out of curiosity, not tryin to be a jerk :waving: You just got this welding job but you dont have a hood, have you had a welding job before? what kinda welding ya doin?

[Donald Branscom]

The standard of the industry is the Huntsman 411P. And for very good reason.
You can get parts EVERYWHERE and they are very light weight (only 6 oz!).
Plus it makes you look like you know what you are doing.

Then you can upgrade it to auto darkening cassette that fits right into it.

If you have the bucks get the Miller ELITE.

[ironman715]

The Jackson NEX GEN EQC lens works in ANY standard big window(4x5) hood. If this is your FIRST welding job you may want to get something standard and not a big money auto hood. If you stick with it and like the job ect...you can buy JUST the NEX GEN EQC lens for about $250ish or less. A standard fixed lens hood with a shade 10 should do you. I myself liked the gold lenses. Lastly if I were you I would get a bunch of cover plates(clears) and have a few other lenses on hand, maybe an 11 or 12 in case you do some gouging or heavy Flux core type stuff. Never hurts to have spare parts at work.

'Mike

[RaTyBaStArD]

Just out of curiosity, not tryin to be a jerk :waving: You just got this welding job but you dont have a hood, have you had a welding job before? what kinda welding ya doin?

Oh its cool!!! OK like 3 months ago my welding teacher said that this guy is hiring for welders and he didnt care if they had their certifications or not, so....I talked to the guy, did a little practice test for him and he said I would be great!!! But then he asked, do you have your certification? of course I said no. He told me once I got my certification he would hire me. So I took my test and 3 months later I got my certification in GMAW (all positions). I called him up this week and he said Im hired and I start Monday; Thats why I ask what would be a good choice in hoods? So no, Ive never had a welding job (only like 6 months schooling) and I believe we will be working on barges (so structural welding) for this project, but they mainly work on making handrails and installing them.

What do you guys recommend getting?

[MatthewF]

The standard of the industry is the Huntsman 411P. And for very good reason.
You can get parts EVERYWHERE and they are very light weight (only 6 oz!).
Plus it makes you look like you know what you are doing.

Then you can upgrade it to auto darkening cassette that fits right into it.

If you have the bucks get the Miller ELITE.

Get the huntsman 411P

[drivethruboy54]

Oh its cool!!! OK like 3 months ago my welding teacher said that this guy is hiring for welders and he didnt care if they had their certifications or not, so....I talked to the guy, did a little practice test for him and he said I would be great!!! But then he asked, do you have your certification? of course I said no. He told me once I got my certification he would hire me. So I took my test and 3 months later I got my certification in GMAW (all positions). I called him up this week and he said Im hired and I start Monday; Thats why I ask what would be a good choice in hoods? So no, Ive never had a welding job (only like 6 months schooling) and I believe we will be working on barges (so structural welding) for this project, but they mainly work on making handrails and installing them.

What do you guys recommend getting?

well, what hood did you use while your got all those certs?

[RaTyBaStArD]

I used a Speedglas 9002X for my Certs. I think I might just buy an expensive one for the first time...no need to buy multiple hoods. My boss said at the shop we will be using solid wire and on the barge we will be mainly using flux core, but we will be gouging also. The Miller Elite and Speedglas 9002X caught my eye :dizzy: but I dont know, we'll see.

[RaTyBaStArD]

Oh and I dont really want to spend over $300 for one, but around that is ok, I guess!? :(

[Burnit]

I like my Miller Elites,

But askin what kind of helmet to get, whether on this forum or at a job somewhere Is like askin a group of guys what the best kind of pick up truck is. Your goin to get a couple different answers and they will all sit there nodding like "yup, this one is the best, these other guys dont know ****, just get this one" :D

Do you have a welding supply store near you where you can go try out a couple?

Cool, your first welding job. Keep your ears open, be safe and have fun!

[ironman715]

JAckson Nex Gen EQC is awesome. It fits ANY big window hood and uses standard size outside cover plates. It has a nice shade five burning mode and a shade three grinding mode and many other adjustments(sensitivity, delay, shade ect...). I use mine day in and day out welding heavy plate with 5/64 innershield and it has held up great and is worth every penny. For my money the jackson Nex Gen EQC is where its at. The optics are fantastic and it uses standard cover plates.

'Mike

[tnjind]

Also the NextGen has 4 sensors instead of 2, this helps to keep from getting flashed. I FINALLY remembered to pick up batteries for mine, used it lastnight, boy did I miss it.

My Miller is great but the NextGen is better, altho alittle on the heavy side.

[z0diac]

Oh its cool!!! OK like 3 months ago my welding teacher said that this guy is hiring for welders and he didnt care if they had their certifications or not, so....I talked to the guy, did a little practice test for him and he said I would be great!!! But then he asked, do you have your certification? of course I said no. He told me once I got my certification he would hire me. So I took my test and 3 months later I got my certification in GMAW (all positions). I called him up this week and he said Im hired and I start Monday; Thats why I ask what would be a good choice in hoods? So no, Ive never had a welding job (only like 6 months schooling) and I believe we will be working on barges (so structural welding) for this project, but they mainly work on making handrails and installing them.

What do you guys recommend getting?

If your'e going to be welding as a job, *definitely* spend the bucks and get a good helmet. If you're going to be under it 9+ hrs a day, you might as well get something good. The Miller Elite's and Speedglass are the best I've used. Myself I use a Miller Elite but my work's shop helmets are all Speedglass. I can't notice any difference between them.

[StillBoostin]

Miller Elite has the best balance and head gear. The Speedglas has vents to exhale so you don't breath that nasty coffee breath in the morning. Both are great. If you weld outside the Digital Elite is where its at. It picks up UV rays even if you can't see the for a split second(welding the back side of a pipe). Either one you will be happy with. Both are about $310 on Ebay. IOC is about as chrap as you will find it. Some used hoods show up from time to time. Never seen the Digital Elite used yet, too new.

James

[StillBoostin]

3M Speedglas just came out with a new hood. The 9100 series. Check them out they are sweet.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230272091509&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching

They made 3 options from what I've read.

James

[mnm4l1f3]

here is an auction going on now that seams good


http://cgi.ebay.com/Miller-auto-dark-welding-helmet_W0QQitemZ110272327013QQcmdZViewItem?hash=it em110272327013&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318

[Supe]

If you're welding a lot of MIG and Flux Core out of position, you'll go through cover plates pretty quickly. The Jackson NexGen hoods used standard size cover plates that can be found EVERYWHERE. The same cannot be said for Miller, Speedglas, Optrel, etc. They also have a new smaller, lightweight Jackson hood with the NexGen unit if you want something lighter in weight. If something goes wrong with the unit, Jackson also has some of the best customer service you'll ever deal with, and are made in the USA.

[Smoky.Joe]

Rat Bastard...lol read my thread about sunscreen if you have big ears and are thinking about buying a Speedglas. Hey, I love the hood! It performs awesome, and it's almost impossible to fog over the lense no matter how hard you're breathing/sweating.

[ace4059]

This has been covered several times so a search may help you decide on a hood. I have the jackson nexgen and I like it. I have had it for about 3 years. I had it for about 2 years and I broke the AD lens some how. I guess several drops could have one it, or the extreem heat in the summer and the cold in the winter of it been in my car, but anyways Jackson sent me a new lens with no questions asked.

I bought the jackson because it is a full sized hood and it covers my face completely. The clear lens are easy to find and are cheap in price. The hood is nice and sturdy. It seems to be well made. The head gear had sharp plastic parts on it that cut my ears, but I took a file to it and fixed the problem. The hod is a little on the heavier size but is not a problem for me. I wish the hood would stay up a little better but I heard all will slide down when they are up. I like that they are made in the USA. I would buy another one and I like my Jackson hood. Also has a crystal clear AD lens

I also had used a barrowed Miller elite for a few weeks. I did not get an elite because the controls on the inside were not as easy to use or adjust with your gloves on as the jackson. The lens clearity was about the same as the jacksons, but the clear outside lens is a special order item for my LWS and is much more. It was a little heavy and still slid down. The head gear was nice and is a good hood but I like the nexgen a little better.

I never used a speedglas, I did not like the fact they are not made in USA. I do not like the look of them. The outter lens is a special order item. the hood looks small. If I got a speedglas It would be the one with the resporator.


Hope this info helps
Ryan

[Jonesy70]

speedglass is a wonderful shield but it is too much money...the ellete is a great shield but cover plates suck...they are a good shop hood...the nexgen is a great all around shield...cover plates are cheap...they are durable ( I have dropped mine from a high reach 30 feet up) The millers and the nexgens perform the same...the millers grind mood is lighter than the nexgen but not enough to make a make a diffinative choice between on that reason alone...that is my 2 cents worth!!

If all else fails...buy a 2 in flip up fiber metal and use a regular glass lense of the shade of your choice!! It will never fail you!!!

[SR20steve]

Get the huntsman 411P

Thats what I got, I love it. I have a Optrel Nova auto darkening lens and its the shiiiit, lol. I can even watch my bubble on a level if I need to prior to striking an arc.

[Rojodiablo]

Oh and I dont really want to spend over $300 for one, but around that is ok, I guess!? :(

It's one of those things....I bet you are willing to spend $60-100 for nice sunglasses. Well, consider a welding hood the nicest set of sunglasses you'll ever buy. And, the good news is, you don't leave welding hoods on the car seat, where you will sit on them. You only get one set of eyes, I would suggest getting a GOOD hood. It really is the most important safety tool there is for welding. Congrats on the job.

[Engloid]

I'm not a big fan of auto darkening hoods. I won't divert the thread to that, but if you want to read up on that debate, a search will likely find it.

That said, you may want to just go buy a $30 fixed shade for now. It will allow you to learn the characteristics that you like in a hood (shape, fit, adjustments, etc), before dropping $300 on a more expensive one. Then when you take the dive, you will have a cheap backup hood.

Whenever you buy an auto darkening hood, my advice is to buy the best, which may not be the most expensive. The Nextgen, Speedglas, and Miller hoods are all among the top brands. When choosing between them, don't even consider the differences in price. Only factor in the features and fit you want. As mentioned above, look into the availability and price of clear lenses for it. You may find that your employer will supply clear lenses that fit one of them.

[RaTyBaStArD]

Ok, its been a while since I've been on here, but here I am and heres my story...

The first couple of weeks of working on the boats I was using a Lincoln auto darkening, 2X4 inch window, shade 10 hood and man that sucked!!! For one, I couldnt even see what I was welding with in that 2X4 inch window. Two, the shade 10 lens killed my eyes!!! and Three, the hood had some sort of problem and kept draining batteries, which made me flash myself more than once. Later on I used one of my co-workers hoods (which was a Jackson NextGen EQC) and I feel in love with it!!! I had my boss order me up one and that was that. Man it makes a world of difference!!!

I was leaning toward the Speedglas and Miller Elite, but after realizing, those were more expensive and didnt feature some options the Jackson hood did. The Grind and torch settings are really nice!!! Plus you dont have to track down the replacement lenses (it uses the same as the Jackson fixed hoods, which are more abundent). I guess the only things the Speedglas has on the Jackson is that its vented and a tad bit lighter. And for the Miller Elite, it was lighter, but that doesnt bother me.

So far Im loving this job! Im learning so much everyday and nothing is ever the same (which is cool, because I hate repetitive jobs). Im not only learning more about welding, Im also learning how to become a better fitter also. Fun stuff!!! Definately a dirty job though.

But all around, I would recommend the Jackson NextGen EQC to anyone buying a new hood.