Miller CoolBelt Welding Helmet Cooling System 245230

I've had my CoolBelt system for 5-plus years!

In the summer months; welding at or near a table, with a great assortment of mid-to-lighter gage material, this thing always works great in keeping me cool, and my safety glasses & inside lens cover free of fog.

The batteries (one came with the system, while I purchased another for" near-zero" down time with product usage) have finally gone Ka-Püt, as I do not recall how many charge cycles they've achieved! Time to buy new ones!!

& Do Remember:

**This is a "mildly filtered" Cooling System!**

If welding in confined areas; such as inside tanks/large canisters, A person NEEDS A SUPPLIED SOURCE Of CLEAN, FULLY FILTERED AIR via a PAPR (Powered Air Purifying Respirator); with a tight/or Very Snug Face seal to Keep 100% of the particulate AND fine Fume from reaching ones lungs!

And, Miller offers this! (Along with a few other advanced, safety-minded companies).

Replacement parts are available. My headgear broke three years in, and my company was able to get just a headgear.

A coworker's air hose got pinched and cut, and we were able to get him a replacement hose.

-Now, it takes a little digging to find the replacement part numbers, but individual replacement parts can be found.

Basically, remember to change filters according to the work you're doing (how much fume is "hanging around" you), try to have another small fan blowing "cleaner"air towards/across your back (but not affecting your welding shielding gas); as this will ensure the…

So... after modifying this to fit into my (other brand) welding helmet, it worked fine. It just didn't produce much air flow. For a unit, I could barely feel the air. When I looked under the filter, I saw that the intake had been designed to seriously restrict airflow, by only allowing air to enter the fan through about a 1 inch central hole. I drilled a dozen holes in the plastic casing so more air could get into the fan. Now, it works well. I bought an extra battery, once I decided I liked it, so I can work long shifts.

I did still get bronze poisoning while mig welding silicon bronze. This unit is not a fume extraction device. It does, however, feed cleaner air from under the smoke layer when welding at a table.

Its heavy, and is not comfortable to have it pulling backwards on the helmet, but that might just be my Jerry riggn at fault.

Overall, I'm glad I bought it.