monkfish24

Well-Known Member

• May 13, 2017

• #1

Lidl have an 80A inverter welder. Would this be man enough to weld some chassis repair sections? I know it won't have a high duty cycle but if it will physically manage it then I could do with some practice.

https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/Non-Food-Offers.htm?articleId=2890

 

Kwakerman

Well-Known Member

• May 14, 2017

• #2

monkfish24 said:

Lidl have an 80A inverter welder. Would this be man enough to weld some chassis repair sections? I know it won't have a high duty cycle but if it will physically manage it then I could do with some practice.

https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/Non-Food-Offers.htm?articleId=2890

Click to expand...

A rough approximate is 1A per thou thickness, in this case 80A = 80 thou (or about 2mm) and I think chassis rails are between 2 to 2.5 mm so it will be on the limit. That said it could be done by bevelling the edges of a butt joint. I think a MIG would be preferable to stick as it is more flexible for other jobs.

 

listerdiesel

Well-Known Member

Events Planner

• May 14, 2017

• #3

We have a semi-pro Oerlikon MIG welder that goes to 250A, that made fairly light work of a 109" chassis rebuild and Philip's Sankey Widetrack conversion, but I wouldn't like to drop down to 80A for that kind of work, 125A minimum in my view. Stick against MIG? no competition, has to be MIG.

You also need to look at the wire handling, always a weak feature on cheap MIG welders.

Peter

 

gazman

Well-Known Member

• May 14, 2017

• #4

I've got the aldi version. It's right on its limit sometimes.
I've not used it on the landy chassis but I'm not sure How well it would cope euther

 

raywin

Well-Known Member

• May 14, 2017

• #5

gazman said:

I've got the aldi version. It's right on its limit sometimes.
I've not used it on the landy chassis but I'm not sure How well it would cope euther

Click to expand...

I saw the Lidle one and wondered if it might be ok for bits of odd jobbing, in general how would you rate your Aldi one ? I would not expect miracles for that price, but I don't need much welding and my chassis is now galvanised so that would not be a problem.

 

gazman

Well-Known Member

• May 14, 2017

• #6

it can be a bit hit and miss. But I think the rods have got damp as my last garage was leaking and it could be down to them.

I find it very hard to set the amperage compared to the big sets I used to work with (20yrs ago though) I run it at the top end all the time and put up with the splatter as it sticks too easy otherwise.
But admittedly it could be me as I've not done any in 20 yrs. It's fine for doing things like making frames gates etc, but I wouldn't trust it for anything structural as I've never cut open a weld to check the penetration etc