So Santa wants to bring me a new helmet. I have had a solar powered unit for years with no problems. I kinda like not having to deal with them. How often are these batteries taking a crap? I don't weld a ton and would like to put my helmet on and weld without having to go pick up batteries. Is than an advantage to battery style?

I've had both and I've never had an issue w/ my Miller battery powered. Just keep a spare set of batteries on hand. Dead batteries = shield stays completely dark. It's really obvious when it's time for new ones.

Ditto on the Miller battery powered helmet. I remove my batteries and most batteries have a shelf life of 4 to 5 years it seems (on the package)

Mine use the CR2032s. Haven't used it in over a year, now curious if batteries are still good.

The cheap Lincoln solar helmets still have batteries but they're not replaceable. Guys that have taken these units apart (search YT) don't see how they are solar rechargeable because the batteries in them are not the rechargeable type. The consensus is the solar takes some of the load off during continuous welding, but they still need the battery to start the shade. Many brands of helmets use the same shade unit as the Lincoln.

I've had two cheap Lincoln solar helmets fail on me , they last about 5 years and the batteries die. The helmet I have now ($50 more) is solar, but it has replaceable batteries. Only had it a year so I can't comment on it yet, but it's still on the original batteries.

This is excellent information. I had assumed if the batteries failed the helmets it would suddenly go transparent. Did you guys that had solar helmets store your them in a dark bag? I am almost embarrassed to say, but my 14 yo solar powered autodarkening Harbor Freight unit still is totally functional. It has over the last couple years of my part time use become difficult to see out of despite cleanings and replacing the clear cover. The helmet just sits on a shelf in a my garage and gets daylight. By the way, my eyesight is still really good.

Had one solar helmet ,non replaceable battery,took a dump after 2 years,bought a more expensive one with replaceable battery,so far so good.

If you get a solar rechargeable helmet, don't store it covered up. Just like keeping a car on a trickle charger to maintain the battery, the solar cell should be exposed to light whenever possible to help keep the battery charged up and ready to go.

I found that out too late,mine had little use really,wasn't mentioned in the instructions .

It is also a good idea to not leave them out in the cold.