If you are searching for the best Jackson welding helmets, this guide is a must-read for you. Jackson welding helmets are designed in order to keep the welder safe, and protect his hade and face from serious injuries caused by sparks, flames and harmful fumes.
Out top recommendation among the Jackson Safety welding helmets, is the Jackson Safety BH3. Apart from its magnificent and very eye-catching design, the Jackson Safety BH3 has a high quality ADF, lens and top notch optical clarity every professional welder needs, no matter the difficulty level of the welding process.
When you are about to purchase a welding helmet, you need to be aware of your budget’s limits, and acquire the best auto darkening helmet for the money you have available. In this article, we have gathered useful information regarding welding helmets of various price ranges.
Aside from the price, you need to make sure the welding helmet you are going to choose is the most suitable for the type of welding you need it. There is a number of different welding processes, such as TIG or MIG welding, so take up some time and search for a helmet with the appropriate specifications.
Best Jackson Welding Helmets
Although there are several Jackson welding helmet models waiting for you in the market, not all of them come with the same features. In the list below, we have tested and reviewed them so that you can decide which one is the appropriate for you.
1 – Jackson Safety Balder BH3
- Jackson Safety BH3 Auto darkening filter lens...
- The Jackson Safety ADF has a variable shade range...
- The lightweight, high-density plastic shell helps...
- Meets ANSI/ISEA Z87.1+2010 standard for high mass...
- Comes with three headgear adjustments for the...
The particular auto darkening welding helmet model by Jackson Safety is one of the best helmets I have ever come across. Even the Jackson Safety Company characterizes it as one of its best welding helmets, both regarding the structure and the design.
If you had to focus on one main advantage of this amazing welding helmet, would be the optical clarity it provides to the user. It is considered one of the best in the market, and along with its significantly large viewing area it makes it one of the best assisting tools for every professional welder out there.
The Jackson Safety BH3 is an extremely comfortable headgear that is going to fit almost perfectly in every type of head. It stays in position, has great stability and it allows the welder to move conveniently with pressing the head or the neck.
It has light sensitivity and delay control in the interior part, and you can use a replaceable lithium battery as a power source. I personally rate it as a 5 star welding helmet, that will satisfy every demanding professional welder. You can find the Jackson Safety BH3 on Amazon.
2 – Jackson Safety SmarTIGer
- Clean View: With variable shades from 9 to 13,...
- Material: This helmet has a high density,...
- Features: Protecting user's eyes during MIG, WIG...
- Certified: Meets ANSI / ISEA Z87.1 + 2010 Standard...
For the welders that are looking for a high quality welding helmet at a very affordable price, the Jackson Safety SmarTIGer is one of the best options for a number of reasons. Lets dive into the details of this amazing auto darkening welding helmet.
First of all, it is incredibly useful for the user that the Jackson Safety Company devotes so much time into redesigning the initial welding helmet units, and adjusts them to the needs of the modern welder. This is the reason why the re-designs are much more improved and convenient.
The Jackson Safety SmarTIGer which you can find here, managed to become one of the most comfortable welding helmet in the market. It fit beautifully on the head, making the movement as easy as it gets, especially when you wear it in small, tight places.
The stability of the helmet allows a more balanced workflow for the welder, by allowing him to move around with a clear view, and the minimum pressure on his neck. The viewing area is fairly large, and it will allow the user to work properly with every type of welding process, such as TIG, MIG or Stick.
3 – Jackson Safety TrueSight II
- Features: Helmet built with four independent...
- Design: ADF helmet has viewing area of 4.0" x...
- Clean View: Variable shades from 5 to 13 protect...
- LED Indicators: Including large separate buttons...
- Certified: Efficient and intuitive product meets...
The price range of around $400 is going to reveal some spectacular welding helmets for every welder. One of the greatest I have seen is the Jackson Safety TrueSight II. It is considered to be one of the most lightweight and comfortable to wear auto darkening welding helmets.
If you are focusing on certain welding processes like TIG welding, you are gong to find out that this model will be the perfect fit for you. It offers amazing clarity, and has a nice large viewing area that allows you to control your tools while interacting with the environment around you.
The nice filtering of the lens and the light sensitivity are only some of its huge advantages. This welding helmet focuses on detail, so that you can work and inspect accurately your projects. One of the best options for under $500. Visit Amazon to find out more info about Jackson Safety TrueSight II.
4 – Jackson Safety NexGen
- PATENTED TECHNOLOGY: This Jackson Safety Welding...
- BEST VIEWING: The helmet is built with 4 sensors...
- DIGITAL CONTROL: With variable shades from 9 to...
- MULTI-USE WELDING: This variable auto darkening...
- SAFETY CERTIFICATIONS: It offers a versatile...
The Jackson Safety NexGen by the Jackson Company is one I have personally used on multiple welding projects. I am completely satisfied with what you can achieve with a helmet like this that costs around $300, and I am sure most welders would be satisfied too.
You can take full control of your work by using the adjustment controls of this welding helmet. Adjusting the light sensitivity and the delay of the filtering, will play a major role into boosting your productivity and the quality of your joints.
Make sure you take full advantage of them, as I find them extremely useful and easy to use.
You may need to take some tip to get used to the helmet, although it sits fairly comfortably on the head. It has very good stability, so you are going to keep it in position very easily. It offers awesome clarity and nice viewing area, and you can check the Jackson Safety NexGen here.
5 – Jackson Safety Insight
- UPDATED MODEL – This Jackson Safety lightweight...
- BEST VIEWING – This ADF helmet has a viewing...
- DIGITAL CONTROL – With variable shades from 9 to...
- MULTI-USE WELDING – This variable auto darkening...
- SAFETY CERTIFICATIONS – Auto darkening welding...
If you are on a tight budget, you can find some amazing affordable opportunities regarding Jackson auto darkening welding helmets, like the Jackson Safety Insight which you can find on Amazon.
The helmet has a significantly comfortable headband, and it offers great stability when worn. It sits nicely on the head, and allows the welder to move pretty conveniently when working in tight spaces, as it doesn’t press the neck at all.
The visibility provided by the welding helmet is very nice and clear. It has a decent viewing area, and it is made of very sturdy materials which will ensure that it is going to last over time. A great, affordable welding helmet for around $200. Check the Jackson Safety Insight out on Amazon for more information.
Why choose a Jackson Safety Welding Helmet?
The main reason for choosing a Jackson welding helmet is safety, as the name states. That goes the same for all welders, no matter how experienced they are. You need to find a welding helmet that is going to keep your face and eyes protected during the welding process, and will allow you to work effectively.
This is why auto darkening welding helmets are so famous nowadays, and this is why the majority of welders prefers them over passive helmets. They operate automatically, and change into the appropriate shade when needed for perfect eye protection.
Since they have evolved massively in the last years, auto darkening helmets are made of sturdy materials, which make them durable over time. Although they were considered an uncomfortable headgear for the welder, manufacturers took care of it and have invested in making them really convenient for the user.
In addition to the above, if the appearance of your tools and accessories is important to you, then you will be glad to hear that welding helmets come in various different sizes, colors and designs. Some are fancier and significantly more impressive than others, such as the Jackson Safety BH3. It all comes to your personal taste.
What are the benefits of Jackson Safety Welding Helmets?
Auto darkening helmets have a number of advantages that passive welding helmets don’t. For starters, you don’t have to pick up your helmet every time you need to inspect the joint or the details of the weldment.
Since the shades of their lenses automatically turn darker every time they sense the arc, they are capable of making most of the boring job for you. What is more, this way they keep you far more safer than a passive helmet would, in case you accidentally dropped it or forgot to put it back on.
Having to put the helmet up or down every time you start or stop the welding process, is an extremely harmful and tiring combination of movements when you repeat it hundreds of times during your work hours. It can really hurt your neck and head after some time, and it will most likely reduce your productivity.
Jackson welding helmets are also a very convenient tool when you have to weld into tight spaces. Since you don’t have to remove the helmet, less moves are required, so you need less space to work. They also come in very compact sizes like the Jackson Safety SmarTIGer, which are extremely comfy especially for people with smaller heads.
Regarding safety, both passive and auto darkening helmets are a necessity for all types of welding processes. Auto darkening welding helmet make it a little easier, especially for less experienced welders, because of their automatic features.
Are Jackson Helmets fit for beginners?
The short answer is yes. Jackson Safety helmets are absolutely suitable for beginner welders, because being automatic, they offer them the opportunity to take the time and learn about welding, how to weld safely, and how to properly use the welding tools without causing dangerous accidents.
When starting out, it can be difficult to keep the stick electrode to the right position. The same goes for the MIG gun or the TIG torch. In addition to these difficult tasks, if you have to keep putting your welding helmet on and off, it is not hard to imagine that you are not going to work properly at all.
Jackson welding helmets allow you to keep the welding on your head at all times, staying tight in the right position. This way, your face is protected the best way possible, and you can focus on learning the rest of the process required to weld a joint.
What is more, as a beginner you wouldn’t know which shades are the most suitable for various types of welding. Auto darkening welding helmets, adjust their shade filtering according to the power of the arc created during welding, automatically determining which shade will protect your eyes best.
As you can see, inexperienced welder can benefit from the various advantages that auto darkening helmets have to offer, and keep themselves safe from hazards and accidents while focusing on learning how to weld properly.
What budget do I need?
There are various prices from which you can choose, starting with welding helmets that cost around $200, such as the Jackson Safety Insight, and going up to extremely high quality helmets that cost several hundreds of dollars, like the Jackson Safety BH3.
Keep in mind, that no matter how cheap the price of a welding helmet might be, it is absolutely certain that it is going to keep you safe. The reason behind this statement is that all welding helmet models have to pass the National Safety Standards before they are available for purchase in the market.
So, it is really up to you. If I was beginning welding today, I would start with an affordable auto darkening welding helmet such as the Jackson Safety SmarTIGer.
This way I wouldn’t have to spend a fortune, and I would be sure that I am purchasing a high quality product from a trustworthy manufacturer such as the Jackson Safety Company.
Make sure that you always set aside some of your money, in case you need them for extra accessories such as batteries, power sources and welding gloves.
How to repair a Jackson welding helmet
If you are in welding for a long time, you probably have changed your welding helmet a few times to get a newer, more effective helmet with better controls and a high quality Auto Darkening Filter.
This means, that you have an old welding helmet stored somewhere in your house or your workplace, collecting dust and taking up space from your storage room.
Well, what if I told you that you can repair your old Jackson welding helmet? Auto darkening welding helmets are not as simple as passive helmets to revive, because there is more technology involved than having to replace the lens.
If you follow my instructions though, it is more than certain that you are going to be able to bring this useful headgear back to life, making it trustworthy of protection and ready to help you work on your welding projects in a short amount of time.
What tools you need
The things you need are an old welding helmet that you can repair, a rotary tool kit for all the essential tools. I use the Dremel 4000-4/34 High Performance Rotary Tool Kit which you can find here. It has all the necessary tools that I need for the repairs of my welding helmet.
Batteries. Don’t forget to acquire two or three sets of batteries. You can use either 4AAA or 4AA. They are pretty cheap and you are going to need them for replacement sooner or later too. Better be prepared. I use the Energizer Max Alkaline AAA Batteries, or the Panasonic Heavy Duty AA Battery.
To place and hold the batteries mentioned above, we are going to need a battery box holder. For instance, you can acquire the Gfortune 2PCS Black Plastic 2 x 1.5V AA Battery Box from Amazon, which is a nice quality battery holder.
Another essential tool for our process is the soldering iron. The one that I have purchased and works great for me is the ANBES Soldering Iron Kit Electronics from Amazon. The particular product is a complete kit, so you have all the necessary accessories you are going to need instead of purchasing them separately.
In order to join the broken parts and make them stick together, we are going to need a hot glue gun and glue sticks. The ones that I personally prefer are the Hot Glue Gun by Cobiz that I get from Amazon. In the package there are also included 10 pieces of glue sticks, which is convenient. It comes at a low price too which is convenient.
Test the welding helmet
To understand the level of dysfunctionality regarding our welding helmet, we need to test it properly. What I recommend, is using the sunlight to test the lens and the Auto Darkening Filter of the welding helmet, and determine the issues.
Wear the welding helmet and go outside. Try to look directly at the sun, and place a thick piece of paper or a notebook in front of the lens. Remove and reposition it in front of the lens several times to see how the lens reacts.
If the lens doesn’t react at all and the ADF doesn’t get activated, we need to fix the welding helmet. If it the ADF is too slow, we need to repair it and make it fast again, for proper protection of our vision.
How to find the old batteries
First things first, we need to find where the old batteries of our welding helmet are placed. Usually, at the top of the helmet there is a solar cell (if your welding helmet is solar-powered). If you leave the welding helmet in a place with direct contact to the sunlight, the solar cells charge the battery (depending on how functional they are).
Now, you have to start looking for the batteries around that area. The battery storage is usually within the helmet, specifically inside the lens. Most manufacturers use coin cell types according to the thickness of the lens, so you must look for a place that the batteries could be placed.
To start looking, you have to acquire the Dremel from the rotary kit mentioned before, and use an appropriate attachment. In this case, I would recommend that you go for wheel arbor combined with a thin abrasive disk. This way, you will most likely avoid damaging the lens.
In order to find and expose the battery, we need to use the dremel tool to cut the surface of the lens as deep as we need in order to find the coin cell (you might need to estimate the depth of a coin cell thickness).
You need to stabilize the lens of the table so that it doesn’t move, and preferably cut it in a square shape no bigger than a match box. Do not throw the square piece of the lens away. You are going to need it later so that you can glue it back together with the rest of the lens.
Identifying the position, place and polarity of the battery is essential. If necessary take notes so that you don’t forget them as they are important.
Next, we need to separate the battery tabs from the battery. I usually use a small screwdriver or a normal screwdriver with a very thin blade. This way, I can apply it in tight places. For this job and other tasks, you may need to acquire a screwdriver set like the Jakemy Ratchet Screwdriver Set, which has all the necessary blade sizes.
You need to place the blade close to the battery, between the battery and the battery tabs, and place it with precision. Now, put just enough power to separate these two parts, and take the batteries out leaving the tab empty.
I must stress out that you must not make any abrupt moves or put too much weight, because there is a high chance of breaking the lens or the tabs. They are the connection to the PCB, and you might need to put extra effort to repair that part too if it breaks.
Now you have separated the batteries from the tables, and you have left this area exposed for our next step.
Replacing the batteries
After separating the batteries from the tabs, we need to solder the battery leads. Position the positive and negative leads where the battery was connected.
In order to expose the leads of the holder in the exterior part of the LCD case, we must cut a small-sized slot to pass them through. Next, we need to glue the lead wires and the slot with the hot glue that we acquired, and use the plastic that we cut in order to tap them.
Finding and replacing the second battery
Most of the Jackson helmet, like the majority of auto darkening welding helmets have a second battery usually at the other side of the lens.
The first battery is used as a power source for the analog circuitry. The analog circuitry is responsible for processing the light levels and the control of the drive to the LCD, which results to the automatic darkening of the lens.
As far as the second battery is concerned, it is responsible for the levels of darkness regarding the lens. It is the contrast voltage of the LCD, which is extremely low current draw. Contrast voltage is usually negative, so that it doesn’t interfere or disrupt the work of the other circuitries.
These two coin batteries which work together, are wired in series. That means that the negative of the first battery connects to the positive of the second battery, using the PCB as their connection. The result of this connection is a bipolar supply for circuits of both types: analog processing and contrast.
To find and expose the second battery, you need to follow the exact same process as with the first. You must place the second battery holder and a second set of batteries to make it functional, and glue the slots, wires, and place the square tap over them.
This way, we make both batteries functional again for maximum power supply. The auto darkening filter of the lens is going to work properly, reaching all the required darkening levels and shades with the help of both batteries.
Make sure that you do the same test we did in the beginning for the lens, with the sunlight. You should make sure that it works properly so that you don’t expose your eyes in the arc and get flashed if it still doesn’t work.
After the repair
Repairing your Jackson welding helmet is not impossible as we can see. You need the appropriate set of tools, and to follow the instructions for exact process. Make sure that you work in a safe environment.
Before using the welding helmet for your welding projects again, make sure that you test it multiple times. This way, you ensure that you are going to be protected from the arc light.
What is more, make a case of inspecting the surface of your helmet for cracks or damages, and clean it properly before you use it for better results.
Conclusion
Jackson Safety welding helmets are consider a necessary tool of protection for welders. There are various welding helmet models in all price ranges, which allow you to purchase the right helmet for your welding projects no matter the available budget.
Search carefully, and learn about the specifications of each welding helmet model before you decide to buy it. It all comes up to your personal taste in the end. Safe welding!
For more information, check out the review of the Jackson Safety Balder BH3 here:
