Welding machines and equipment are used both in manufacturing and in the automotive workshop, and in a private garage or at home for repair tasks, minor construction and so on. Working with welding equipment involves certain risks for the operator, so it is very important to use special protective equipment and accessories.
Read more: Best Welder Machines for Beginners
The first and most important is a welding mask to protect the eyes, face, and respiratory system of the welder.
There are three main types of welding masks: standard masks with fixed filter, welding mask with elevating filter, and welding mask “chameleon” with automatic filter.
A standard welder mask is the most common and the simplest by its design. In addition, it is the most affordable option. This mask is best used for light domestic work. Most of all this variant will be suitable for the performance of MMA-welding.
The protective filter of a standard mask consists of a special cover glass, then a tinted glass and finally a plexiglass backing. When necessary to check the seam of the mask if lifted, and when it is necessary to continue the work is enough to nod so that the mask covers the face. There are variants of standard welding masks with a handle, when the mask is put to the face during work. Of course, it is not very convenient because one hand of the welder is constantly busy with the mask.
A more convenient and practical option would be a welding mask with a lifting filter, which would provide more comfort and better protection. The operator’s face and eyes are protected with the mask even when the filter is up. You can immediately get to work with a grinder or get to work cleaning the slag. When choosing this type of mask, make sure there is no light coming out of the filter.
If you want to get not only the maximum protection, but also maximum comfort, then we recommend buying a welding mask chameleon with a fully automatic filter. Of course the price of chameleon mask is higher than the price of more simple and standard designs, but every welder leaves only enthusiastic and praiseful reviews about it. Let’s find out what are the main features and advantages of this mask and how to choose a welder’s mask chameleon. So, the main difference between the mask “chameleon” – it is an automatic filter, it is the main advantage of this means of protection, reacting to changes in light intensity. The automatic light filter triggers almost instantly in a fraction of a second (0.00005 sec.), which provides maximum protection for the eyes. As a rule, a good light filter has a layered structure; manufacturers try to use 2-3 layers of LCD type (liquid crystal).
In order to make a competent choice of a welding mask, consider the following parameters:
- The most important and most basic – the response time of the light filter. As a maximum, this value should not be more than 1 ms. A good chameleon mask will be equipped with a light filter with a minimum value of its dimming, but keep in mind that very often in working conditions in cold weather or rooms with low temperatures the filter operates a little slower.
- Availability of a variety of adjustments. This can be and adjust the degree of shading (ideally it should be in the range of 9-13DIN), and adjust the degree of sensitivity (depending on the temperature of the heated metal or electrode), and adjust the delay time of the opening at the finish of the welding process. All these adjustments are on the body of the mask, or directly on the filter. It is worth noting that depending on the type of switching adjustment can be step (each level – a certain index) and smooth, where the operator himself adjusts with maximum precision all the working parameters, by the way, it is possible to achieve the best level of shading just with the smooth adjustment. By the way, dimming degree directly depends on the welding current parameter. So, for example, glass C-4-9DIN – for welding current up to 40A; glass C-5-11DIN – for welding current from 80 to 175A; glass C-6-12DIN – for welding current value ranging from 175 to 300A; glass C-7-13DIN – welding value from 300 to 500A.
- The size of the visible area. Many believe that the larger this figure, the better. However, this is not always the case, in addition, it should be taken into account that the filters in such masks are more fragile and more susceptible to breakage and negative factors.
- Type of filter depending on the specific type or type of welding. Each filter is designed according to certain types of welding works, of course, this factor must be taken into account. There are also more universal masks Chameleon, for example those that are designed to protect during argon arc welding (TIG), then you can safely use this mask during manual arc welding with MMA piece electrode and during the works on automatic or semi-automatic welding type MIG / MAG.
- Weight of the welding mask, its design and other external parameters should also be taken into account before buying a chameleon welding mask.
All these parameters are determined individually. It is desirable to try on the mask to finally make sure that the mask fits properly, does not cause any pain or discomfort. Do not forget that the efficiency and productivity of your work are directly related to the comfort and convenience of the operator.
Read more: Best 110v Stick Welding Machine
