Parkside (Lidl) Cordless Angle Grinder

Glad I don't have a dog anymore, ALWAYS kept a rounders bat in the door pocket with his ball. Projected the ball a far greater distance than my aching joints could.

Regards Ian

I have several of the Parkside 20V tools, the combi drill, the drill without the percussion, the SDS hammer (excellent), the jigsaw, (not great) and the vacuum cleaner (very portable doesn't hold much, especially swarf off the mills, bags have to be ordered from Grizzley in Germany, but a boon for keeping all the batteries in good condition by using them rather than just storing them). These use the 20V Team batteries, not the very similar ones they sold with the brushless 20V tools.

I also have one of the 12V angle grinders which is very good for small jobs where a full size one would be too big. It uses the little 75mm discs and the second generation 12V batteries

Back on topic, I bought one of the complete kit versions (from memory) around £80. Expensive, but the no-wire was appealing. What swung it for me was that reassuring Lidl 3 year guarantee. It remained unused for several months and then showed its value on a 'one-off' job. A few weeks later I charged it up for another job, hit the switch and 'click' but no whirr! Checked the battery - absolutely fine. Covid arrived, so no shop visits. At long last, yesterday, managed to get to Lidl to return under guarantee - waste of time!! Their much vaunted "3 year guarantee" is not what it seems. The inevitable 'small print' informs that the item is only guaranteed for return to store "for 12 months". Thereafter it has to go back to the manufacturer (Chinese??). Caveat emptor, indeed!

Looking at the case securing screws, there are two, in particular that are very deep set (anti--'fiddling' device?). Have any members delved inside or have any tips for doing so? Might just as well have a look-see in case it is bodger fixable.

TIA

rgds

Bill

Hi Bill

Have you tried ringing the warranty line? Last time I had something go wrong with Lidl/Aldi goods after 12 months they swapped it out at no cost. May be worth a call before taking it to pieces.

Dave

I've never had a problem with the Lidl warranty whatever length the product carried. I always email Lidl customer service and they have contacted the supplier direct on my behalf and a replacement is sent. The 3 year warranty is what it says and replacements are in my experience always sent direct from the manufacturer and they've never asked for the original item to be returned. Too expensive to make it worthwhile I guess.

Products are in the main of Chinese origin, but the supplier, who offers the warranty is German.

I bought the same cordless angle grinder. First time I switched it on I thought it was rubbish but once I adjusted the rotary switch (some sort of adjustable clutch) it did a half decent job of cutting through a scrap steel bar. A few weeks later I used it for real to cut some dense concrete blocks 9"x6" using one of their diamond discs. Granted the on-off switch is a bit awkward to latch closed. The first recharged battery I put on it lasted no time at all. My reserve battery however cut through the block quite adequately and suprisngly the first battery recharged yet again lasted throughout the second block I had to cut. To be clear i had to cut full depth of the blade all the way around the block and then split with a chisel. It was about as quick as it would be with my old Wickes corded grinder but saved dragging out a 50yrd cable reel and winding it up again.
It'll be quite handy for ocassional use way from handy power supplies but wouldn't hold a candle to a Stihl petrol job and it's thermal cut-off means you only get a few minutes of heavy use but it did the job for me. Lidl have always been very good about refunds if you get a dud or it fails.
I was tempted by the impact wrench but held of and will stick with my 3ft breaker bar for the few times I have to fix a puncture.

pgk

Many thanks for those responses. The advice re. phone contact looks to be the way to go. I 'll let you know how I gat on

rgds

Bill

As PGK found, cordless grinders aren't the most powerful tools. They're extremely convenient for most of the small jobs, cutting clamps, knocking back small patches of rust, trimming edges etc.

Removing wheelnuts isn't the main use for 1/2" impact wrenches either. They are for saving time and effort on large bolts, like those that hold suspension together. A 3/8" cordless impact is a similar deal if you do a lot of assembly work; winding in the 30(ish) M6 bolts that retain the cam-carrier on a K-series cylinder head for example.

And the key to cordless tools is the batteries. You don't want lots of tools that all use different batteries. You want tools that use the same batteries, and several of them.

Edited By Nicholas Wheeler 1 on 25/09/2020 10:32:47

Edited By Nicholas Wheeler 1 on 25/09/2020 10:33:58

Bought the Lidl mains cut off saw last year and have found it very good at cutting through steel bars, it draws a lot of power and easily trips the thermal trip on an extension lead. When I purchased it the sales assistant, who was Polish, said that some of the Parkside brand products are made in the same factory as Bosch power tools, he said the green plastic used in the casings was a clue, I took it with a pinch of salt but when you look at the origin of some of the Bosch products you find they come from factories in China, Poland, Austria etc. The global marketplace !

Dave W

You have to remember guys if you want quality hen go buy a Dewalt or similar product. Pay the premium price. But for a bit of hobby stuff the Aldi & lidl stuff is what it is.

I have quite a bit of Aldi/ Lidl machinery & it gets by. Pillar drill , bit wobbly but drills holes. Bandsaw , noisy but works ok. Battery dremel, works well but the switch went west. Just received a new one from fleabay. Job for this aft.

Steve.

Anyone tried the angle grinder with a wire brush or flap disc? Do they fit? How long does it run for. Small cut off jobs are wuite wuick so not stressing it but up a ladder cleaning paint cordless would be better than a hand brush. DIY use not 40 hours a week for ten years.

" cordless grinders aren't the most powerful tools. "

Seem quite adequate for breaking and entering.

Regards Ian.

An angle grinder is a two handed job so not recommended for ladder work IMO

A cordless drill, a GOOD one with lots of power would be fine

Aldi did a fabby one, the Titanium series which I bought by accident

Those 18volt brushless cordless units can have wrist breaking amounts of torque and drill holes in steel

Edited By Ady1 on 25/09/2020 13:44:12

It doesn't take much to cut off a lock or hinge. Now try cutting several 10mm thick plates with one.

Just to update my earlier input re. the Lidl cordless angle grinder.

I did as suggested by inf and RMA above. Quite exceptional! - almost nil waiting to get through, a quick, to-the-point Q&A and an assurance that I would be fully reimbursed as they couldn't replace. Passed them my bank details, nothing for 8 days, then message to say full repayment made to my account. The machine may be crap, but that sort of customer service is excellent and I passed on my compliments.

Since ther was no request for the item's return, I am exploring the possibilities of restoring some of its function and have a separate thread seeking info.

Thanks to all and well done Lidls!

rgds

Bill

Bill - I have just returned my grinder under warranty as I'd used it enough to wear out the spindle bearing. After a couple of emails to customer services with proof of purchase, serial number etc. they emailed a pre-paid UPS label to send it off to Germany, and after inspection have promised me a new one to arrive in January which I assume is when the next batch will be manufactured. They didn't offer me a refund up front or I would have gone for that and attempted DIY repair.

Bazyle - with the 4Ah battery it runs a de-rusting wire wheel for long enough to remind me that I don't like holding on to vibrating tools - I'm ready to stop when it is. Similar with my cordless hedge trimmer, having to recharge batteries stops you overdoing it and ending up with neck and shoulder pains the next day.

Edit - "Do they fit?" - not as supplied as the guard covers top and bottom of the disc and generally gets in the way, however I used a cutting disc to weaken the spot welds holding the two parts of the guard together and discarded the lower bit after which it is much more useful.

Edited By Adrian R2 on 05/11/2020 09:48:38

Adrian - it is becoming clear that there are varying versions of the grinder being sold by Lidl. The original version (mine) was fixed speed and the newer ones have speed variation. My type are no longer produced - possibly just as well. The theory for thir 20v range was, apparently, that they would use a common battery type. I assumed, therefore, that the (still working) battery from the grinder would be useful for other tools in their range - not so! The body mounting slots are about 3 mm wider than my other 20v unit so unusable. Other users might find it worth checking.

rgds

Bill

Good point Bill. Mine was the PWSA 20-Li-B3 which is variable speed and uses the current X-team 20V battery.

re: Electronics, you could try looking for an obsolete cordless drill on ebay/gumtree/preloved whatever and pinch the controller from that. I bought one earlier in the year for a fiver incl. p&p as I wanted a battery motor for a project - was nominally 18v but runs OK on 20v (voltage difference is mostly marketing I think).

Edit - Tony, mine was about 20 months old - no return to store offered but as above they did honour the 3 year and paid for return shipping.

Edited By Adrian R2 on 05/11/2020 10:26:54