Heads Up all you budding welders or thinking to learn, Lidl have a Bargain Inverter Arc Welder, One of those Parkside jobbies but for £35 and 3 Year Warranty

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, As above, only had a quick look, Maximum 120 Amp, Not sure on lowest but for general welding and DIY a billy bargain, Plus around £30 are the Auto Welding Masks, and £5 er for some Welding Rods , £70 all in, 

[wisdom]

I have one and they are great for what you have said.Waiting for the migs to come in.Ive never used one but could be handy to have.I have an old transformer stick welder but the little inverter beats it.

[oldypigeonpopper]

18 minutes ago, wisdom said:

I have one and they are great for what you have said.Waiting for the migs to come in.Ive never used one but could be handy to have.I have an old transformer stick welder but the little inverter beats it.

Hello, Yes the old Transformers and Oil welders are a thing of the Past, Migs are much better but depends on the Gas , The Gas less types are ok but you will not get good overall welds, When you get a Mig let me know and can help you no problem, 

[wisdom]

3 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, Yes the old Transformers and Oil welders are a thing of the Past, Migs are much better but depends on the Gas , The Gas less types are ok but you will not get good overall welds, When you get a Mig let me know and can help you no problem, 

Thank you.

Not sure where to look at the moment are the gassless ones not worth considering.

[oldypigeonpopper]

1 minute ago, wisdom said:

Thank you.

Not sure where to look at the moment are the gassless ones not worth considering.

Hello, No problem, I have never really looked at gas although i did try one Once !!!, I think you can turn the Poles round eg Plus/Minus or Live/Earth and use gas wire but you need check on that, and it will need to have a gas inline tube, Lidl also do Tins  of Anti Spatter, Oil and Water based, Your need this for the gun shroud. 

[wisdom]

19 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, No problem, I have never really looked at gas although i did try one Once !!!, I think you can turn the Poles round eg Plus/Minus or Live/Earth and use gas wire but you need check on that, and it will need to have a gas inline tube, Lidl also do Tins  of Anti Spatter, Oil and Water based, Your need this for the gun shroud. 

Thanks for the info. I ll look into it in the new year.

[Gordon R]

Got a stick welder and also a no gas MIG. No problems with the MIG, but can't weld as neatly as with the stick.

[oldypigeonpopper]

1 hour ago, Gordon R said:

Got a stick welder and also a no gas MIG. No problems with the MIG, but can't weld as neatly as with the stick.

Hello, Ok, With the no gas mig can you change leads and use normal mig wire with gas ??

[udderlyoffroad]

Be careful with the lower end MIG machines whether gas or gas less. You’ve already found that inverter machines produce a better result with stick, the same is true for MIG. The other problem is that their drive motors & wheels tend to struggle to feed the wire which will adversely affect your weld. Honestly if you want MIG you’re probably better off springing for an RTech or GYS inverter machine, will be far easier to learn on.

[Gordon R]

Quote

Hello, Ok, With the no gas mig can you change leads and use normal mig wire with gas ??

No.

udderlyoffroad - I have fitted three replacement drive wheels as they tended to lose grip. I use the wheel for a smaller sized wire and the grip is okay.

[Jonty]

On 22/12/2024 at 16:27, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, Ok, With the no gas mig can you change leads and use normal mig wire with gas ??

OPP, you need to make sure its specified as a gas/no gas unit.  If it is, then indeed you just swap the earth and the torch lead polarity to change between gas and flux core wire.

[oldypigeonpopper]

2 hours ago, Jonty said:

OPP, you need to make sure its specified as a gas/no gas unit.  If it is, then indeed you just swap the earth and the torch lead polarity to change between gas and flux core wire.

Hello, Yes your right Jonty, But all my Mig welders were Gas only, I say gas but i only used CO2 with an inline heater , At the Farm we use Argon or Argon/Mix , My first DIY Mig back in the 1980s was a Cebora, One of the best then, 

[Jonty]

15 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, Yes your right Jonty, But all my Mig welders were Gas only, I say gas but i only used CO2 with an inline heater , At the Farm we use Argon or Argon/Mix , My first DIY Mig back in the 1980s was a Cebora, One of the best then, 

I bought a gas/no gas Clarke MIG with the idea of using flux core wire so I wouldn't have to mess about with gas.  After a short while, as a self taught welder I decided I needed all the help I could get and swapped to gas.  There's a great system called 'Hobbyweld' where you pay a deposit for the cylinder and any subsequent swaps you only pay for the value of the gas with no cylinder rental irrespective of how long you keep it.

[oldypigeonpopper]

6 hours ago, Jonty said:

I bought a gas/no gas Clarke MIG with the idea of using flux core wire so I wouldn't have to mess about with gas.  After a short while, as a self taught welder I decided I needed all the help I could get and swapped to gas.  There's a great system called 'Hobbyweld' where you pay a deposit for the cylinder and any subsequent swaps you only pay for the value of the gas with no cylinder rental irrespective of how long you keep it.

Hello, Yes the Hobby weld is a cheap way to get gas for Mig Welding, if you run out you can go back to gas less wire, These Lidl welders are a great way to start welding on DIY Projects