[Pearlbluebird]

I'm more old school also. The old shields are cheaper and easier to maintain IMO. I do have an autodarkening shield but very seldomly use it. I use the auto shield only if I'm in confined spaces.

[BILTIT]

I think i have made up my mind on the miller 180, now to decide on an auto darkening helmet.

[Redta]

Hey Jim,
From one welder to another, stay away from the Miller helmets. I bought one last year and used it for 3 days before it went on Ebay. They are by far the worst helmet I have ever used. The arc sensors on them are poorly placed and they don't pick up the arc well at all. I was constantly having problems with the lens turning off because the sensors were missing the arc. I tried adjusting all the settings and nothing helped. I called our local supplier and they even admitted that they discourage anyone from buying the Miller helmets. The one I had was the top of the helmet. After I sold it, I bought a Speedglas. It works fantastic! However, it offers very little in the way of protection for the head, as it is small. I TIG weld all day so this is not an issue for me, but if a person were MIG or stick welding, you might get your head burned. I also have an Optrel Sattelite at home. It works just as well as the Speedglas, but offers more protection for your head because of it's size.
Hope this helps.

[Jim Doran]

Sheet, now you tell me :-)

I was bored and impatient over the Holiday ( we are away for Christmas ) and purchased via ebay a Miller Performance model auto darkening. Of course with the input from Redta, I'm now regretting my itchy fingers.

In my own defense, I will say that my many searches on the net and over at chevelles.com yielded positive feedback on the Miller helmets, but I do appreciate your personal experience RedTa. I'll post back my experience one way or the other so others can learn from it.

Hard to believe I only posted yesterday about the helmet topic and in just a day, I'm too damn impulsive and go and 'buy it now'. I kind of wanted the joy of having the UPS box waiting for me upon my return. Yes, I'm a child at heart.

[Redta]

The hood that you got might be ok for MIG or stick. The experience I had was all with TIG. I weld aircraft parts of various metals and thickness (aluminum, Stainless, Titanium, Magnesium, etc....anywhere from .015 to .030 thick). Everything was low amp. I was just shocked when I called our supplier (who is a Miller dealer) and was told the helmets are not any good. Hope you have better luck than I did.