6011 vs 6013, Look of the weld...

[k0ua]

It IS greener on the DC side, "Luke, come over to the dark side"
"Trust your feelings Luke" You know you want to, get a DC box and you won't go back. At least that was my experience. The old buzzbox is a good old tough machine, and will hold down its end of the floor, but I am a DC man now. Throw my little Everlast over my shoulder to take it outside, and start welding. Heck my little PA160 was way less than $300 delivered.

James K0UA

 

[Mighty Dodge]

I use 7018 for things that need a lot of strength. But because I was given a bunch of 6013, it gets used for most general purpose welds. If I need deeper penetration I run it reverse polarity and push the amps up.

M.D

 

[Big Wave D]

So, for us non-professional welders, who want to 'dabble' with 7018 or in my case 7018AC. What is the best way to "keep" these rods viable, without the use of a rod oven? I know this isn't following the book, but it seems like lots of people are burning 7018 and don't seem to be opening a hermetically sealed batch/bundle each time.

I have a project coming up where I'd like the extra strength. Not sure if I should just buy 1lb lots and use them up as I go, or buy a larger quantity, get a bit of a price break, and store them in the most, non-oven, optimal way? The smaller amounts kind of get costly.

Anybody use one of those food vacuums to "bag" them for extended storage, the unused portion.

 

[pat32rf]

I'm told that if you find an old bar (or trailer) fridge that has quit working and stick some shelves in it with a 25W light bulb or other small heat source in the bottom you should be OK in most climates.....If there is dew on the grass, there is probably condensation on your rods unless they are in a closed container..

 

[crash325]

Another :2cents: All of this is based on use of an old Tombstone AC only.

A good weld with most any rod is better & stronger than a poor weld with a "Higher Strength" rod.

Not every brand of rod is the same. I had a 50# box of 1/8, 6011 by MUREX and welded everything with it. From 3/32" up to 1/2". When it ran out I grabbed a box of HF 6011, Surprise it ran great and slag popped right off. On sale its $5 a pound, not cheap. Got 5# of Lincoln 6011 and its a pain. Now have some "Blackstone" 6011 and its pretty good. Lincoln 3/32 6013 is pretty good.

For the occasional welder 7018 is to fussy, keep it dry, keep it hot & so on. When I put the metal and rod out in the sun and they get to hot to pick up bare handed it runs fine. That's at 180 amps (5/32"). On a cold day, cold metal it will not run at 225 amps. Where I live humidity is around 10% most of the time.

Once you find a rod that works well for you, use it for most everything. The yield strength between different rods 6011, 6013, 7014, 7018 is so small that a good weld will be better than a "High" strength rod.

OPPS That's almost .05 cents worth. :laughing:

 

[Shield Arc]

I have a project coming up where I'd like the extra strength.

Big Wave D can I ask why you think you need more strength?
I'm always more impressed with yield strength than tensile. I just looked in the Lincoln pamphlet I have, the strongest 6011 has a yield of 73,000-psi, where as the weakest 7018 has a yield of 77,000-psi.
Here is a test I did for another site, I welded up a piece of pipe, (5-G) with 1/8-inch 6011, cut and preped the coupons / strips and bent them 170-degrees. Personally for us weekend warriors bending a weld like this and not seeing any flaws is good enough. Again what project do you have coming up that would need more strength than this?

 

[gwdixon]

Personally for us weekend warriors bending a weld like this and not seeing any flaws is good enough.

:laughing:Who are you trying to fool with this "weekend warrior" line of BS. I follow your posts with great interest and there is no "weekend warrior" involved.

Maybe "retired expert weldor" but come on - come clean.:thumbsup:

Your avatar gives you away in addition to the welds and other equipment you have posted photos of. Now get a decent camera that doesn't turn everything into gold. But who knows - maybe you are an alchemist, too.

 

[Big Wave D]

Shield Arc,

I have a Reese hitch that I want to make some modifications to so that it will fit on another vehicle of mine.

I guess that if the steel we usually use fails at 30K something PSI, then I guess it is a moot point whether the metal will fail at an extra 10K psi lower than the weld do to the rod used, 60XX vs. 70XX.

 

[Shield Arc]

:laughing:Who are you trying to fool with this "weekend warrior" line of BS. I follow your posts with great interest and there is no "weekend warrior" involved.

Maybe "retired expert weldor" but come on - come clean.:thumbsup:

Your avatar gives you away in addition to the welds and other equipment you have posted photos of. Now get a decent camera that doesn't turn everything into gold. But who knows - maybe you are an alchemist, too.

Maybe I should clarify what I mean about being a weekend warrior. Just speaking for myself now, I don't do any critical welding anymore. Oh sure I'll build a trailer hitch, or a gooseneck trailer every once in awhile, and not give it a second thought.
My wife bought a new camera a few weeks ago at Costco, but these are old pictures.

Shield Arc,

I have a Reese hitch that I want to make some modifications to so that it will fit on another vehicle of mine.

I guess that if the steel we usually use fails at 30K something PSI, then I guess it is a moot point whether the metal will fail at an extra 10K psi lower than the weld do to the rod used, 60XX vs. 70XX.

Sorry I can't keep track of who's who, but are you ready to rebuild a trailer hitch? I always raise an eye brow when someone on these Internet forums wants to build or modify something that goes down the highway. Don't mean to insult you in anyway. I know if someone questioned me about building a hitch or trailer I'd be pizzed!

 

[Big Wave D]

Shield Arc,

In your working days, what did you weld on that WAS critical?? Just curious.


No, I'm not insulted by your questioning me for whether or not I should be modifying my Reese hitch. I, like you, don't want a 7K missile going down the highway, untethered and passing me on the way to its site of impact. So, I will give that some long and careful consideration before I green light that project.

I see a lot of welds on stuff these days that don't look good at all and give pause to what might happen if they let loose. I guess that's why I tend to stick to brands that are known for quality in their area of manufacture.