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Keep in mind that many welding helmets support both auto darkening and non auto darkening lenses, especially the older, established brands.  So if you have a helmet already that is comfy and broken in that you can’t bear to part with, you may be able to swap out the lens and retain your existing helmet.   In some cases, though this may not be possible.  When you are evaluating a new helmet or filter, look at the ease of adjustment.  Is the shade adjustable without having to dismount your helmet? If it is, there will usually be an external knob on the side of the helmet, near the temple area

If you are looking around at the wide range of auto darkening helmets, you’ll notice that auto darks range from 39.00 to well over 500.00 dollars.   You have to wonder at what the differences are in a helmet.  Sure there are some that include grind and cut modes, but surely there is some way to measure the differences in quality and safety from a sub 50.00 dollar helmet for a 500+ dollar welding helmet.  Well, there is.  But surprisingly, not all helmets that you spend a lot of money on fair better in the ratings.

When it boils down to it, there are two basic kinds of auto darkening helmets.  The first is a fixed dark shade helmet.

Many people who are holding on to their fixed shade helmets are afraid that something could damage their eyes if an auto dark were to fail.  That is really an unfounded fear.  Most, if not all modern auto darkening welding helmets provide 100% protection to UV and IR light even in the clear stage.  That means if you were to accidentally flash yourself, you won’t be painfully searching around for potato juice that night.  And it also means that if you are welding around other people in production or repair situations where multiple welders are running, you can be protected fully without losi

If you consider yourself old-fashioned, or people tell you that you are stuck in the stone ages, you may not own an auto-darkening welding helmet and you may even dread a discussion about owning one.

One of the most popular inverter stick welders in the US and Canada is the Everlast PowerARC 200ST.  This unit is an excellent performer for using with either Stick or Lift start TIG. 

I often get questions about this all the time:  Do your stick welders weld AC or DC?   Actually in the last couple of months, I’ve received more than the usual amount.  I am not quite sure about the source of these questions, other than it must be some debated topic on an internet forum somewhere espousing armchair advice.    AC stick welders are a result of really old technology transformer welders.

They are cheap to make and can create an arc. A few rods are specially made for AC welding, and the rest just work ok or even not at all. 

If you’ve ever done much MIG welding in your life, you are no doubt familiar with what happens while MIG welding with less than desirable quality of steel, or while welding overhead or in tight corners.  Yes, the dreaded clogging of the nozzle with spatter is what turns many people off to MIG welding.  If you have an Everlast Power  i-MIG, this may be caused by having too small of a nozzle for the job.  Typically, the small Power i-MIGs use a small 3/8” nozzle.

Spot and stitch welding controls are a useful tools for controlling deformation caused by overheating during MIG welding.   People often mistake these controls for pulse welding, but it is not.   Spot welding is pretty clear.  The arc stays on for a pre-set amount of time and then goes off.  Stitch welding refers to the amount of time between individual spot welds.This is activated by holding the trigger down.

Well, I mean is your metal stock getting rusty and  you want to weld?  Of course if it is aluminum, it won’t rust, and while certain classes of stainless steel will show a few rust spots here or there, rust typically isn’t a problem.  What we’re talking about is good old fashioned mild steel.  You know, the stuff that litters most welding shops and home garages of hobbyist welders.