Get the inverter model if you can, will be more energy efficient and shouldnt pop 13A fuses at max setting.
Also will have a more stable Arc making it much easier for a beginner and provide a more uniform weld.
Contrary to as said in earlier posts, Inverter sets do provide a better weld.

Duty cycle should also be better so you don't need to let it cool as long between welds or deal with thermal cutout continuously.

Normally Inverter sets have a higher open circuit voltage making it easier to strike an Arc. According to Lidl both have 68v OCV which is fine.

Few tips.

Get decent rods and leave them indoors in a cool dry cupboard, nothing worse than trying to weld with damp electrodes.

Also ditch the face shield and get a proper mask, will make life much easier learning if your not holding a shield.

Get decent gauntlets, UV burns on wrists are no fun.

If using an extension lead fully unwind it as these will definitely overheat it.

Get a pair of safety glasses for when you have finished welding. **** has a habit of pinging off in the direction of your eyes as it cools or as you chip it.

Be prepared for a few burns as sparks find there way down your back, it's almost guaranteed.

Personally I hate Arc welding but if had to chose one of those it would be inverter.

My dad taught me to weld stick when I was a kid, he said if you can weld with that you can weld anything.
We spent a summer welding a Triumph Herald convertible, Dad got sheet steal from work and cut it with tin snips and made floor panels. He refused to buy ready made panels lol. We got a MIG at some point for welding other cars but we managed to do this car with an Arc. Ahh bless him, miss my pops! Taught me everything.

Whichever way you look at it, it's pretty exciting welding some handlebars to a metal plate

Carrots
Peas
Yorkshires
Arc Welder
Bread
Milk

Bought the standard arc welder @ £39.99 a couple of weeks ago with a view to repairing a car trailer.
Am really pleased with the quality of this welder, had not arc welded for maybe 15 years and after a few attempts started to produce some quality welds.
Used grinder to clean up metal and area for earth clamp than used the Lidl 2.5 rods on 3mm steel, worked a treat - bargain!!

I have just ordered a spare battery charger for a Parkside drill from Kompernass its over 14 dAY.stillnot appeared any one know if this firm. is reliable please

no

wrong !?

Definitely! There are a lot of good welding forums on the net, so its best to start there

Great post OP - been looking for a present for the Mother-In-laws birthday. :smiley:

Screwfix do some.
Cheap and cheerful, should get you started.

2.5mm 6013 electrodes

.[/quote]That's a lovely story, I know exactly what you mean. We lost dad in 2014, he had been diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. He started Chemo but he would not rest as Dad was not used to that having worked almost every day of the week, he got a lung infection and they couldn't treat it. The only thing that comforts me is that if he had survived he wouldn't have liked having poor lung function and he certainly didn't want to ever be an old man.
He taught me everything, brought batteries home from work when I was about 4 and taught me how to make a circuit, that moment forward I was fascinated by electronics. Brought an old 2 stroke engine home and gave it to me, to take apart and get running. So I learned all about engines. Helped him fix cars etc. We never had anyone to the house to fit or repair anything as Dad would do it all, we still laugh now about some of the bodges LOL but they worked.[/quote]


It sounds like we had similar dads. Funny though as my own son has no interest whatsoever in wanting to fix or repair anything and even rang me last time he had a puncture on his car which I went out and fixed as dads do. He has his own place now and as I am in my mid-50's I said to him he had better think about breakdown insurance as I am not going to be around forever, to which he said, no probs dad, I have breakdown insurance !!!!!! I was none too happy as you can imagine. He said but dad you always said to call if I had a problem. My son in law on the other hand wants to be able to do things in the house and I have enjoyed passing on my building and joinery skills onto him and we are both currently refurbishing my dads house. Nobody had ever taught him how to centre punch aluminium or steel before trying to drill it. Don't they teach kids basic stuff in schools these days. He didn't even know to use a punch to sink a nail head. Basic skills are getting lost and I see it in the work place too. We had a site joiner come to work in our factory recently and he snapped some hinge screws on some oak doors. He hadn't pilot holed them first and suddenly realised after he had snapped about four heads off trying to ram them home with his impact Makita screwdriver. This guy had served an apprenticeship for 3 years!! Now I am not a joiner by trade but I know when I need to use a bradawl, when to pilot a hole. Where has that info come from. It's not from a City & Guilds Apprenticeship, it's from my dad and it's those basic skills of making something easier to do that creates a job well done. My dad was master craftsman in engineering but his thought pattern applied to anything he undertook. I still remember him saying to me once when I was trying to do something, never to force it. I remember if I had a nut or screw I couldn't get off the motorbike or car I would go round to dad's and he would get it off. No burning gear. No grinder. Nuts off and no damage. He would split the nuts with a small cold chisel. I rang him once when I was struggling to seat a wheel bearing on my son's fiesta. Bloody thing wouldn't go in and no way was I going to use extreme force on a bearing. He had the solution. Put the bearing in the freezer and heat the drum well with a blow lamp. What a neat trick. Bearing dropped straight in with hardly touching the sides and as the two metals reach normal temperature they become a nice snug fit. Tricks of the trade isn't it.

My dad had a major stroke. He had a couple of minor ones starting a couple of years ago which stopped him driving and being independent so its been a bit hard on me and the family for the past couple of years but I miss him. I did what I could for him and he was always happy to see me and eager to hear my news and what I had been up to. We knew he was going to die and he was put on end of life care. Not nice to see but his quality of life had he survived the stroke would not have been good.

I wouldn't say dad bodged many things, quite the opposite in fact as everything was over engineered. That must be where I get it from. Trying to disassemble some of the things in his house have been a challenge.

Sorry mods if this is slightly off topic but if my dad was still alive I reckon he would be giving this post some heat as he could weld and always appreciated a hot deal.

hopefully they will be in store on the day. not showing on thier website.

lidl was selling them beside the welders for only a few quid.

can anyone recommended where to get electrodes.l?

That is extortionate!
Last time I checked my local did an evening class. Was 3 hrs every week for 12 weeks and covered Mig, Mag and Arc, preparing welds, quality of welds and H&S. That was around £230.

16 weeks with 3 hours a night for me is 160quid.

That's a lovely story, I know exactly what you mean. We lost dad in 2014, he had been diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma. He started Chemo but he would not rest as Dad was not used to that having worked almost every day of the week, he got a lung infection and they couldn't treat it. The only thing that comforts me is that if he had survived he wouldn't have liked having poor lung function and he certainly didn't want to ever be an old man.

He taught me everything, brought batteries home from work when I was about 4 and taught me how to make a circuit, that moment forward I was fascinated by electronics. Brought an old 2 stroke engine home and gave it to me, to take apart and get running. So I learned all about engines. Helped him fix cars etc. We never had anyone to the house to fit or repair anything as Dad would do it all, we still laugh now about some of the bodges LOL but they worked.

What a lovely tribute. Exactly what I would say about my dad. Not been without him too long so still a bit painful. He taught me everything too. He taught me all about car mechanics, joinery, gardening, decorating etc etc. How could one person know all this stuff. He qualified as a tool maker but could turn his hand to most things which had nothing to do with his job but he knew how to do it. No internet or Google in those days. My son in law calls me the fixer now as I can repair most things but I owe it all to dad and as some of us will know sometimes it's not having the experience of knowing how to do something but just a case of applying the right methods. I have never tried welding thought but was looking at buying a small mig as I would like to learn and make a few things. If anyone could recommend a decent mig welder I would appreciate it. My preference would be a gas system as I don't like the idea of chipping away the flux after using a stick. I won't be doing anything outside. I did spend 6 years in a fabrication shop so know my way around steel but no welding.

my local college nightschool basic welding course is the best part of a grand! it's only a few sessions as well. seems extortionate.

ah cheers, oh knowledgeable one :wink:

No you would need a Tig for that.

Also heat from welding would probably compromise frame. Would probably need preheat and post heat treatment.

Probably better to just forget that one.

haha I never noticed the handlebars on the lidl advert

anyone know if I could get away with welding a crack to the lower stay of a 90s aluminium Kona Manomano?
Wish I'd kept the bits of junk I had in the garage that needed repairing so I could give it a go now; one old saracen steel frame snapped at the rear lower stay to dropout and 80s raleigh reynolds 501 tubing frame( but that was brazed) rear dropout brazing.
I only ask as if you could then maybe it would be worth me getting and trying out then it wouldn't be a complete waste

here here

Stick is handy if you need to weld whilst strapped 30 foot up a comms tower with no mains supply and you hadto carry all the gear including the genny for half a mile. Other than that save your sanity and go Mig everytime.

Great deal. Thanks OP. I'm sure I've got some arcs that need welding ...

Putting my robot wars application in now. Should be fully skilled by Saturday.

Ultimate Behemoth...BRING IT.


Love this comment.

Putting my robot wars application in now. Should be fully skilled by Saturday.

Ultimate Behemoth...BRING IT.

I have been learning in the local technical college how to stick weld and just bough the inverter to practice with at home. Tuition definitely helps a lot.

There is only one way to learn ! You buy a kit capable of it. If it is then you practice. So thanks for answering the question lol

Carrots
Peas
Yorkshires
Arc Welder
Bread
Milk

Nobody mentioned that a box of electrodes wll cost about the same as the welder itself?

I have done mma, mig and tig by trade, stick welding is the real thing! :smile: a welder on one hand, extension cable on the other and some rods in the back pocket and you're ready to roll everywhere, anytime! :wink::smile:

Thanks again, good advice! I'll check around and do that... you've given me an idea of a father/daughter/son activity to boot on the education front! Till I try drag one of them along :confused:

Edit: Thinking you Callum84 should consider offering some education sessions for a small fee locally. Recon there's more demand than the market shows. #justsaying ;-)

Definitely worth learning if your interested, I actually find it relaxing, Mig that is, stick makes me want to pull my hair out.

Don't let me put you off stick btw, it's just once you've moved to Mig you don't want to go back.

Check your local college as they often have basic welding courses.

Brilliant, thanks a lot! Very useful info, appreciated! The only experience I've had was holding burglar bars to window frames while my dad welded them on at the time. (Differnet country, different world at the time.) Was scary for me as a kid, and had my share of burns while at it lol .. knowing electricity I was more worried about getting electricuted more than anything else :laughing: ... never did learn to use one as much as I wanted to and had the(his) kit available at the time. Maybe I've still got a few more years in me to give it a go and tick it off my wish list :stuck_out_tongue:

Mma (stick, arc) welding basically uses a transformer to pass current through a coated electrode to workpiece and back through earth clamp creating circuit. The arc created melts the workpieces into a pool and adds metal from the rod. The flux coating melts creating a vapour of shielding gasses which protect pooled weld from atmospheric contamination.

Stick welding leaves a sl ag on the weld which needs to be chipped off.
Stick welding is hard to pick up and not as tidy as Mig. It takes some dexterity holding rod at workpiece.
My one pro is that you can weld different materials like stainless or cast by simply changing rods. Mig you need to change wire and gas.

Mig welding uses the same transformer but instead of rods you have a spool of wire which is fed out of the gun when trigger pressed along with shielding gasses from a bottle.

Mig leaves a tidier weld with no **** needing chipped off. Also you have more control with adjustable wire speed, gas flow and current. Easier to weld thin plate.

If I'm showing someone how to stick weld they may never be able to get the knack of it.

If I'm showing someone how to Mig weld I can guarantee they will have a tidy weld within an hour's practice.

Good info bud, really appreciate your time and effort to share what you have. Would you mind sharing your views on mig welders in brief, pro's cons, easier to use, major diffs between mig type and the two mentioned (arc and invertor)? (Sorry OP and Mods if slight off topic) .. just wanting to know if that's a good place to start instead.

Edit: clarification syntax

Cheers mate.
I learned to weld when I was 12 on a used welder similar to the Lidl one after saving up pocket money.
It was fine for my limited needs and built a shockingly dangerous petrol go kart. Oh how times have changed for kids.

Im not a welder to trade but Mig and Tig weld in my employment as a maintenance engineer, also repair the equipment.

Would always encourage people to give things like welding a shot, even teach the kids, might even be useful for them later in life.

Depends on how much patience you have. It's possible but will take a lot more skill and time than with a Mig.

What a superb post by someone who clearly knows what they are talking about, without any "if you aren't an expert - don't bother trying" non-sense. Just the sort of post that keeps me hanging around HUKD - excellent!

I was just wondering as I did a course in an introduction to mig welding a while back with a little bit of tig welding.
Then shielding gases were used and I just wondered if you could repair a rusted vw golf car chassis with cut out sheets of metal with this as I couldn't imagine getting all the gas equipment and other ancillaries

I'm a welder, these are ok for what they are. BUT it's a bit of a daft purchase as if you know what you're welding a lot you probably own a or a few decent machines.

If you don't know what you are doing or just want one for a few jobs, little repairs maybe a bit of car work etc then you would be FAR better off buying a second hand mig welder, You often see cheap 100a clarkes on eBay for very little

Best Blur album ever.

Yes the higher OCV makes striking an arc easier and helps to maintain arc.

68v is in the middle, not high and not low. General purpose rods usually work from 50v upwards.

Welders with a 90v OCV can maintain an arc 30mm from workpiece.

Ok, but this has a higher open circuit DC voltage to get the arc started? That is certainly where I would expect it to be better. (And yes, TIG welding is much nicer, but in a different price range.)

slightly niche. not once have I ever thought I'd nip to my local supermarket for an arc welder

I'm guessing if you have to ask, then the question you should be asking yourself is "Can I weld a car chassis"

So, this seems like a terrible idea.

Surely anyone who knows how to weld would buy a more reliable brand. I mean I've lots of Lidl/Aldi tools as I'm fed up of my stuff going missing at work.

But a welder? This is not something you should convince hobbyists diy folk to be using.

I have one of these and it overheats very quickly but for the price it's ok for small repair jobs etc

Whichever way you look at it, it's pretty exciting welding some handlebars to a metal plate

My dad taught me to weld stick when I was a kid, he said if you can weld with that you can weld anything.
We spent a summer welding a Triumph Herald convertible, Dad got sheet steal from work and cut it with tin snips and made floor panels. He refused to buy ready made panels lol. We got a MIG at some point for welding other cars but we managed to do this car with an Arc. Ahh bless him, miss my pops! Taught me everything.

I think this is just a toy type which switches itself off after a few minutes of continuous work. Not really worth anything. Start with an oil cooled welder if you want to do anything serious

Great for viewing eclipses (the glasses not the welding machine!)

could this weld a car chassis?

thanks very helpful

anyone used the warranties at lidl or aldi?How easy is it to claim?

High frequency start is used for tig welding and usually found on tig/mma models.
No chance this will have it.

Whats the difference between this model and the Inverter one at £69.99?

The inverter, probably, will have DC output current, which produce a more stable arc than AC, easier controllable from a novice welder...both they will melt up to Φ2.5mm rods so don't expect to weld anything heavier than 3-4mm thickness plate..

Get the inverter model if you can, will be more energy efficient and shouldnt pop 13A fuses at max setting.
Also will have a more stable Arc making it much easier for a beginner and provide a more uniform weld.
Contrary to as said in earlier posts, Inverter sets do provide a better weld.

Duty cycle should also be better so you don't need to let it cool as long between welds or deal with thermal cutout continuously.

Normally Inverter sets have a higher open circuit voltage making it easier to strike an Arc. According to Lidl both have 68v OCV which is fine.

Few tips.

Get decent rods and leave them indoors in a cool dry cupboard, nothing worse than trying to weld with damp electrodes.

Also ditch the face shield and get a proper mask, will make life much easier learning if your not holding a shield.

Get decent gauntlets, UV burns on wrists are no fun.

If using an extension lead fully unwind it as these will definitely overheat it.

Get a pair of safety glasses for when you have finished welding. **** has a habit of pinging off in the direction of your eyes as it cools or as you chip it.

Be prepared for a few burns as sparks find there way down your back, it's almost guaranteed.

Personally I hate Arc welding but if had to chose one of those it would be inverter.

PARKSIDE!

Luke I am your father.....

Just one suggestion, if you do buy one of the Lidl welders, use the money you've saved to buy an auto darkening welding mask, about £20-30 on Amazon, in my opinion the best thing since sliced bread. Leaves both your hands free for the job and makes it much easier to strike the arc. A true professional may disagree but for the occasional job, marvellous.

It could probably weeks all day every day...for a day

Agreed

If you were welding all day every day you wouldn't be using either of these models. Period.

Made an Ark outta this last time on offerman & took two animals onboard to boot.

And if you were welding all day every day , you would not be using cheap kit like this, this is really only for hobbyist work, thin sheet metal, the odd bit of light tubing etc.

Unless you are welding all day every day I wouldn't worry about it

So theres no difference in welding performance, I suppose the cheaper model would be more expensive to run in electricity than the Inverter one.

same as inverter microwaves. more expensive but weighs less

Uses for a welder.....open a rescue centre for brass monkeys next winter ?

Have absolutely no idea what I'd do with this, but I want one :smile: