Aldi Calipers...

That may well be true, but the Mitutoyo display is also well recessed and far less likely to be impacted. I'm looking whether I can remove the shards of glass from the callipers with a view to replacing with a glued-in perpex insert of some sort. I've had 2 Jocal callipers for donkey's years that have been badly treated on occasion - dropped, knocked, stuff fallen on them... they have resolutely survived all.

Chris I have several pairs of cheap Aldi / Lidl callipers that are in a production environment and are abused regularly (that's why they were purchased) and they have lasted very well. I think you have just been unlucky and should be grateful it was a cheap set rather than a Mitutoyo set. I accept what you're saying about the screen being recessed on your mic but it's still possible to strike and break it relatively easy even on Mitutoyo products.

Hi

I use dial calipers in the workshop for roughing work and a Baty digital for more accurate measurements.I have a cheap digital that I find brilliant for scaling down when doing drawings and converting metric to imperial,also the points are useful for transferring directly to the drawing that i,m working on.

francis

I dug out two of these aldi calipers today while tidying up my toolboxes, they both had dead batteries so i replaced them, they came to life alright but neither will zero, switch between metric and imperial or turn off except by auto-off. Is there anything that can be done with them or are they only fit for the bin ? I have a mitutoyo caliper that is brilliant and never gave any problems and they are all stored in exactly the same toolbox.

Hi Ronan,
I suspect the switch contacts are dirty. These are the conductive rubber type found on TV remote controls etc. It is probably worth cleaning the contacts. If they are the type with the 4 pin output connector that uses the 2 x 24 bit protocol then pulsing the clock line to the + 1.5 volt line performs the zero function. (Even if they use a 3 volt lithium battery they work internally on 1.5 volts.)

Les.

I bought a couple of these digital verniers from Aldi in April/May last year. model No.94154. I don't have the receipt as it was on the good lady's shopping trip and her purse has a clear-our every few weeks.

I wasn't really worried as they were just for spares and they were CHEAP!

I used one last week and noticed that the display was adding 0.200" to the total when I moved over about a 18.5mm reading. By opening and closing the vernier it was possible to get the reading up to nearly a meter! The increase was always 5.08mm (0.200" which makes me think the error may be in the conversion part of the chip.

I took it back to the store but with no receipt then no refund. The manager said it could be more than 3 years old but when I pointed out the production date of 02/2017 he said it was working OK and just to use the zero button as that is what it was for!!

Anyone else have similar problems or is it just a one off problem and I should probably put in our electronic waste box.

Alistair

.

Alistair,

You may be interested in the link that I posted in this previous thread:

**LINK**

http://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=103411

MichaelG.

Clean it with meths You may be pleasantly surprised (...or not, but worth a try).

I've got a scale that jumps exactly like that when the battery is on the way out.

I don't think it's a coincidence that 0.2" is 5.08 mm and 5.08 x 25 is 127. As 127 is a magic number in binary I think it's a clue that the digital scale is misread either because dirt or damp is upsetting the read head, or because a decrepit battery is upsetting the electronics.

It's quite likely that a cheap caliper will come with a cheap battery. As Aldi/Lidl sell remainders, it's also quite likely that a caliper bought from them is 'New Old Stock'. Don't expect too much of the batteries.

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 23/03/2018 17:45:50

Dave

what do you mean by remainders?

I don't know about Aldi ones, I have a Baty one that's hardly used and does that even with a good battery. Grrr...

I have given up on digital calipers, wherever from, - not really due to battery life, more down to erratic readings - the digital ones I have owned seemed to have an undesirable 'snowflake generation' side I couldn't cope with.

I now have gone back to vernier calipers for rough work, or work that doesn't call for really accurate measurement, and micrometers when accuracy is required. OK, it may be a tad slower, I'm a slow worker anyway so no odds there, but it is always reliable, and they don't fail just when I need it most. And I can trust them!

Chris

Remainders are what's left over after an supplier has satisfied demand. In the wholesale world almost every large transaction results in a small surplus becoming available. Say you contract to supply 100,000 calipers. You allow for a percentage to be faulty or damaged in transit, and order an extra 10%. When they arrive it turns out that they're all good, so you're left with 10,000 extras. As warehousing is expensive and you've already achieved your profit target it pays to remainder them, that is to sell them on cheap. Another other way is when your customer orders 100,000 calipers and then goes bankrupt just before taking delivery. Or you buy 100,000 tons of cornflakes only to find that Muesli unexpectedly becoming fashionable has left you stocking an unwanted 5000 tons. On the domestic scale, you might save surplus material in your shed; in commerce overstocking is bad news because the space is needed for the next consignment of whatever.

There are many other reasons for small to moderately large quantities of goods to appear on the market and it's possible to make a good living by sweeping up surpluses and selling them on. That's partly what Aldi and Lidl do. Compared with Tesco, ASDA etc, what they stock is somewhat erratic but that's compensated for by bargains and surprises.

Most of the trade in remainders is above board but it can be pretty shady around the edges. Armaments, banned chemicals, ivory, rotten baby milk and time-expired pharmaceuticals all have a bad habit of turning up where they shouldn't. The rules are strange too. Trying to buy a government surplus assault rifle makes me a criminal; if I sell a million of them and contribute to party funds I'll probably be rewarded with a knighthood!

Dave

Edited By SillyOldDuffer on 23/03/2018 23:09:25

I too have a few of those cheap ones from Aldi/Lidi,s and I find them OK. I also have a Mitutoyo which I got for nothing,but I dont leave that lying around the workshop.

I have found that neither these calipers nor welding rods like cold,damp workshops,so I solved the problem by keeping both items in my hot press until required [at this time of the year,I keep my butter there as well,since coming from the fridge,it,s as hard as a brick ] Everything seems to get along fine and the rods are dry when I need them [damp rods are a PITA ] It,s just a question of remembering what you,ve gone to the hot press for,not always easy when you get on in years !

As someone said,at that price you can,t expect Grade A,but they do work well enough for those of us whose eyes are no longer Grade A.. A s one of my mates said,"What,s a few thou between friends?"

Anyway,they look good,even if you dont know how to use them !!!

I have a pair of Lidl/Aldi Digital Calipers on each machine and bench in my garage and workshop, but only the ones with a single Lithium Ion cell, the cells last for years, I haven't had to replace a Lithium Ion cell or caliper yet.

They all check out well against my Mitutoyo inspection grade gauge blocks with good accuracy and repeatability, the first thing I do is wipe them clean, move the head to the opposite end, wipe clean and repeat a few more times then wipe with a lightly oiled cloth, then they're not gritty :D

Most of the time, I use a now elderly Lidl digital calliper. From time to time it goes haywire, but either removing the battery, or cleaning the scale with a clean cloth effects a cure. (Ditto for the vertical digital scale on the mill/drill, but is less easy, because of the risk of dropping, the bits and losing them. Removal is a bit of a fag, but is safer)

Battery life does not seem too short, and even with a failing battery (flashing readout) they still match the M & W digital calliper or an old fashioned micrometer.

Vernier or Dial callipers never drain their batteries, and only need the anvils cleaning!

Howard