Yes I know MIG welders are the way to go and i did in fact do a short course which unfortunately was pretty rubbish as there were too many students but I just fancy being able to do occasional agricultural quality repairs and small fabrications like motorcycle racks etc…nothing fancy /intricate or delicate. I’m not going to be using it much at all so thought a cheap lidl job made sense at £80 but are they really hopeless or quite useful for simple outdoor jobs? I Can always return the unit . Your advice please.
thanks
Bill

If its any help. I have also just bought the fCAW in lidl.

Tried it and its not too bad in fairness. only done some practice welds on fairly heavy plates.

gonna try some thin exhaust tpye pipe tonight.

apparently the main problem with them is the wire feed will not work correctly for long.

also the duty cycle is not great….but i will never be welding enough to make that an issue for me i think

Probably the wire feed suffers from exactly the same problem as all Migs do… rust on the wire. Unless you are using the thing all day every day the wire will start to oxidise and cause it to stick in the feed and the lining to the torch causing it to burn-back in the tip and ruin your abilty to get a smooth weld and will result in constantly having to change the tip. The only way to stop this really is to remove the reel of wire after each use (you will have to cut off and throw away the wire in the torch feed) and to store it in your airing cupboard.

Another one here for storing in a sealed empty ice cream tub in the airing cupboard.

You can turn the reel backwards by hand to save wire in the lead, just snip the end first to make sure the wire is clean end. Secure the end to avoid a rat’s nest.

I’ve not used flux core for a long time but it was hideous when I did.

Really, really bad.

I never used flux core so (lidl one)it didnt interest me
90 Amps is on the light side, I’d want 120-160A iirc
Or is gasless different?

I’ve got a Sealey Mighty Mig 100 flux cored job which I imagine is similar.

It joins bits of metal together but it’s very hard to do anything pretty.

I’m currently on a welding evening class and using big mig machines and tig too.
Its made me want to chuck mine in the bin 😀

But yeah, it cost £100 and for that and the fact it’s ‘plug and play’ without gas bottles etc, makes it worth having.

Just takes a bit more thought to get what you need, and a willingness to accept a sketchy looking bead.. 🙂

Just because it’s a welding thread and there anren’t many and I’m proud of her, here’s Jr welding for the first time!

Can’t believe your bleating about Flux core!

Luxury compared to my 20 year old stick arc welder.

Loving the welding safety sandals 🙂

I guess they are better for the job since you can’t very well get a blob of molten metal inside your boots

Probably the wire feed suffers from exactly the same problem as all Migs do… rust on the wire. Unless you are using the thing all day every day the wire will start to oxidise and cause it to stick in the feed and the lining to the torch causing it to burn-back in the tip and ruin your abilty to get a smooth weld and will result in constantly having to change the tip. The only way to stop this really is to remove the reel of wire after each use (you will have to cut off and throw away the wire in the torch feed) and to store it in your airing cupboard.

i was thinking of keeping some desiccant sachets in with the wire in the welder rather than bothering to take it out??

Loving the welding safety sandals

I guess they are better for the job since you can’t very well get a blob of molten metal inside your boots

😀 Truly. The farm’s in NZ so we visit infrequently. The ‘relaxed’ approach to safety always takes some getting used to but, that said, we do always manage to adjust! 😳

And, for the avoidance of doubt, not me in the pics! I can’t weld, let alone supervise welding, let alone supervise welding wearing jandals!

Jeebus, give the girl a pair of gloves YOU MONSTER!!!!!!!!

Joking, can’t wait till the little one is old enough to do stuff like that

Tried it. Depending on where you store it I think you are doomed to failure 🙂 Heated garage maybe. Garden shed…. no chance.

Just used to give the wire reel a light spray of WD40 or similar. There’ll be reasons why it isn’t a good idea, but if you’re just sticking mild steel together with a £100 welder, I don’t think it matters.