Tombstone and 7018-1

[farmer2009]

I have an AC Tombstone welder that came with some 7018-1 1/8" rods. I can not get them to stay lit. After about a half inch they go out at 120 amps. Then will not strike or stick or nothing. End is clean even tapped them on concrete floor to roughen them up some. Runs 7014 and 6011's like candy. Doesn't like 6013's either but I am not a fan of them so no big deal. Bought it used at a yard sale. Gave $100 for it with new leads figuring they were worth that.

Any ideas what is going on? Have heard that 7018 can be hard on these and if you run much of them it can quit running them. Is this true?

 

[CNC Dan]

Try heating the electrodes in an oven to dry out any water they may have absorbed. Also try the next higher setting. Are your 7018 the AC verision?

 

[farmer2009]

Try heating the electrodes in an oven to dry out any water they may have absorbed. Also try the next higher setting. Are your 7018 the AC verision?

No they are not. Will see what an oven does

 

[DXN1EL]

7018 only work on DC. but 7018AC is another story

 

[CNC Dan]

7018 only work on DC. but 7018AC is another story

+1
AC rods have something in the flux that keeps them lit as the AC goes from (+) to (-).

 

[Arc weld]

Depends somewhat on the welding machine. I've ran regular 7018 on an AC 225 Lincoln without much problems. Many people have before the AC 7018 was available. I've also tried regular 7018 on the older style Miller Thunderbolts and it was very frustrating trying to keep a steady arc. Regular 7018 is not a DC only rod. Run it on an Idealarc Lincoln on AC and it will work fine. They used to make 500 amp AC machines for burning large electrodes because you wouldn't get arc blow. The AC 7018 can make a big difference on a buzz box though.

 

[farmer2009]

7018 only work on DC. but 7018AC is another story

I have ran 7018 on an ac machine. It was a miller, it didn't like them but would run them. So I figured the Lincoln would run them.

 

[farmer2009]

Depends somewhat on the welding machine. I've ran regular 7018 on an AC 225 Lincoln without much problems. Many people have before the AC 7018 was available. I've also tried regular 7018 on the older style Miller Thunderbolts and it was very frustrating trying to keep a steady arc. Regular 7018 is not a DC only rod. Run it on an Idealarc Lincoln on AC and it will work fine. They used to make 500 amp AC machines for burning large electrodes because you wouldn't get arc blow. The AC 7018 can make a big difference on a buzz box though.

Thanks arc weld.
Interesting that the big machines will handle them better while still being an AC machine. I had a nice arc going actually, started easy I thought, and then like somebody just blew it out and now won't start back. I am willing to go to the AC7018 but wanted to be able to use these that came with the welder up first about a pound. Although the regular 7018 are over a dollar a pound cheaper than the AC in my area. So it would be nice if I can burn them during larger projects.

Any ideas on getting them to burn?

If I put them in oven say 200-250. How long do I leave them in? It is about 50 here for the highs right now.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Wet low hydrogen rods (7018) might take 12 hours to recondition @ 350F. I use a lot of 7018 and I bought a used Phoenix dry rod oven that I keep on at all times set at 300F to keep them very dry.
I ran a lot of regular 7018 on an old Lincoln 225 tombstone machine back in the 70's . They were stored in an old refrigerator with a light bulb in it and ran fine with maybe a bit of porosity at the start. They are hard to work with due to AC needing to be long arced whereas low hydrogen needs to keep a short arc distance and they do go out easily if the arc is too long or stick if too short which requires a restart, but it should restart with a hard tap. Are you sure the machine overload breaker is not tripping.

 

[Shield Arc]

The thought never crossed my mind to run 7018 on AC until joining these tractor forums. So awhile back I gave it a try with my old buzz box. The noise really set me back:shocked:! About the only thing I noticed different was I could not get the weld to wet out like on DC. But I had no problems with the machine cutting out at all.
I just wonder if something isn't wrong with your machine?

Here's the machine I used, and the weld. The 7018 I used never seen the inside of a rod oven.