6013 vs 7014 vs 7018

[GeneV]

Other than the storage requirements with 7018, what are the key differences and specific benefits of each?

I just picked up 2 lbs of 5/64" 7014 to try on thin material.

 

[K5lwq]

I like burning 7014 rods. The problem most people have is they focus on the slag instead of the weld pool. It is a all position rod with medium penetration. I establish the arc and then just drag the rod. Does a good job for me.

 

[jaxs]

For some reason different rods work better for different people but the general concencus is.7014 is easiest to learn,puddle to runny for down hand and overhead. 6013 easy to run,work's well on thin material. 7018 is all over the place,depending on who you ask. My personal opinion of 7018 is it's far over rated simply because it happens to be speced on pipe lines. It's somewhat difficult to run (like it is desighned for). There's no difference between fresh from the oven and that which has sat in open air WHEN A HACK LIKE ME USES IT. I'm not saying 7018 is a poor choice,it excells where elasticity plus strength is called for (think pipe line). You didn't ask but none of the 3 penitrate's as well as 6011 which is probably the most popular rod for general work. Bottom line,try them all and go with what you like best,everyone else does.:drink:

 

[grsthegreat]

All a matter of personal taste for us home users. Nothing i weld is life and death work. If a weld on my log splitter fails, no one gets hurt. I use a rod oven on my 7018 rod because my product was breaking down during winter cold, moist environment even in sealed can. I could tap a rod and coating was cracking and falling. This coating is what gives it the low hydrogen welding environment. I personally love the welds i get with 7018, but i only weld larger pieces of metal with the stick machine. I use my mig for lighter metal and my metal art work.

 

[GeneV]

For some reason different rods work better for different people but the general concencus is.7014 is easiest to learn,puddle to runny for down hand and overhead. 6013 easy to run,work's well on thin material. 7018 is all over the place,depending on who you ask. My personal opinion of 7018 is it's far over rated simply because it happens to be speced on pipe lines. It's somewhat difficult to run (like it is desighned for). There's no difference between fresh from the oven and that which has sat in open air WHEN A HACK LIKE ME USES IT. I'm not saying 7018 is a poor choice,it excells where elasticity plus strength is called for (think pipe line). You didn't ask but none of the 3 penitrate's as well as 6011 which is probably the most popular rod for general work. Bottom line,try them all and go with what you like best,everyone else does.:drink:

Oh yeh, 6011 I know. Actually I first tried that rod before I hooked up a 240v outlet (I got a one of those dual range welders), I was really shocked how much penetration it accomplished on 1/4" plate even on 110v, wow!

Guys, I've been playing around with 6013 and 7018, I do ok with them I think, for a newbie. But then the other day I had something to actually do, I got a part I broke a tap in while power tapping into a blind hole (which a real machinist wouldn't attempt, but I ain't a real machinist). So what I was trying to do was to weld a 1/8" little piece of metal to the broken off tap in there, so I could screw it out. I had no luck with that, I was blowing right through that 1/8" little piece of plate with both 6013 and 7018. I had the amps down as low as I could to still be able to get an arc going.

So I've been researching that a little since then, read about swapping leads around to dcen, I gotta try that still.

But then yesterday I stumbled onto these little things at Menards:

 

[GeneV]

Aside from this thing I got from Menards, all the other stuff is Vulkan from Harbor Freight. The 7018 stuff was kinda crumbly from the start when I opened the package, so I dunno. It seemed to work alright, but I didn't use the really crumbly electrodes, I just threw those out.

 

[jaxs]

Weld a handle onto a snapped off tap? I couldn't do that with any machine,using any filler on my best day so helping you is waaaay above my pay grade. :confused3:

 

[GeneV]

Weld a handle onto a snapped off tap? I couldn't do that with any machine,using any filler on my best day so helping you is waaaay above my pay grade. :confused3:

It will work, I seen somebody do something along those lines with broken-off bolts. The tap is hss though, I read a bit about welding that and was worried there as well. But the glob I welded onto the top of the snapped tap actually held up pretty good, even with me whopping on it with a hammer.

But anyways, the question here I'm asking though is stick welding thin metal without blowing through it.

 

[RandyT]

Oh yeh, 6011 I know. Actually I first tried that rod before I hooked up a 240v outlet (I got a one of those dual range welders), I was really shocked how much penetration it accomplished on 1/4" plate even on 110v, wow!

Guys, I've been playing around with 6013 and 7018, I do ok with them I think, for a newbie. But then the other day I had something to actually do, I got a part I broke a tap in while power tapping into a blind hole (which a real machinist wouldn't attempt, but I ain't a real machinist). So what I was trying to do was to weld a 1/8" little piece of metal to the broken off tap in there, so I could screw it out. I had no luck with that, I was blowing right through that 1/8" little piece of plate with both 6013 and 7018. I had the amps down as low as I could to still be able to get an arc going.

So I've been researching that a little since then, read about swapping leads around to dcen, I gotta try that still.

But then yesterday I stumbled onto these little things at Menards:

View attachment 670966

Me personally find that I can run 6011 DCEN on thinner material than I can run 6013.

 

[grsthegreat]

It will work, I seen somebody do something along those lines with broken-off bolts. The tap is hss though, I read a bit about welding that and was worried there as well. But the glob I welded onto the top of the snapped tap actually held up pretty good, even with me whopping on it with a hammer.

But anyways, the question here I'm asking though is stick welding thin metal without blowing through it.

thinner metal you might try AC welding instead of DC. AC seems to work better on thin metals. But my mig works even better.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I've found too that different manufacturers rods weld differently. I don't do a lot of welding but I weld mostly with 7018AC. They are a more difficult rod to weld with. My reasoning is that if I weld with those rods then my skill level is reasonable when I do need to weld with a 7018. I've found that a Lincoln 7018AC welds a lot better than all the other brands of 7018AC that I've tried, so I buy Lincoln rods. I use AC rods because I don't have a DC welder and 7018's on an AC welder are just about impossible to weld with. I could do it when I was younger but those days are gone.

 

[grsthegreat]

I've found too that different manufacturers rods weld differently. I don't do a lot of welding but I weld mostly with 7018AC. They are a more difficult rod to weld with. My reasoning is that if I weld with those rods then my skill level is reasonable when I do need to weld with a 7018. I've found that a Lincoln 7018AC welds a lot better than all the other brands of 7018AC that I've tried, so I buy Lincoln rods. I use AC rods because I don't have a DC welder and 7018's on an AC welder are just about impossible to weld with. I could do it when I was younger but those days are gone.

i use lincoln 7018ac also, but on my dc rod positive setting. Makes a very easy weld on my machine. I nearly always get a great weld. I have used it on ac settings for thinner metal, but find it hard to strike a start on ac.

 

[GeneV]

Me personally find that I can run 6011 DCEN on thinner material than I can run 6013.

Oh wow really, that's surprising, I wonder how come?

 

[GeneV]

thinner metal you might try AC welding instead of DC. AC seems to work better on thin metals. But my mig works even better.

i use lincoln 7018ac also, but on my dc rod positive setting. Makes a very easy weld on my machine. I nearly always get a great weld. I have used it on ac settings for thinner metal, but find it hard to strike a start on ac.

Grs, my welder is DC only. But, I dunno if you mean welding on an AC machine or using it on a DC welder, per your last comment here. I think I'm doing ok welding on 1/4" with just regular 7018, I don't have too many problems with it. I haven't really welded with it with a purpose yet, just messing around practicing.

 

[GeneV]

I've found too that different manufacturers rods weld differently. I don't do a lot of welding but I weld mostly with 7018AC. They are a more difficult rod to weld with. My reasoning is that if I weld with those rods then my skill level is reasonable when I do need to weld with a 7018. I've found that a Lincoln 7018AC welds a lot better than all the other brands of 7018AC that I've tried, so I buy Lincoln rods. I use AC rods because I don't have a DC welder and 7018's on an AC welder are just about impossible to weld with. I could do it when I was younger but those days are gone.

You're doing it like training for fighting, bang like crazy in training so that it's easier in the ring or cage.

 

[grsthegreat]

Grs, my welder is DC only. But, I dunno if you mean welding on an AC machine or using it on a DC welder, per your last comment here. I think I'm doing ok welding on 1/4" with just regular 7018, I don't have too many problems with it. I haven't really welded with it with a purpose yet, just messing around practicing.

Mine is an ac /dc machine. You can run 7018 on either. Ive been told if the material is thinner (like 1/8” steel) , running that rod on ac side works better than reverse polarity dc. But ive never tested that theory as i use the mig for thin stuff. But, whatever works is good enough. 1/4” material works great on dc reverse polarity. My welds come out looking great.

 

[RandyT]

Oh wow really, that's surprising, I wonder how come?

I wondered if it has to do the the freeze rate of the filler material. the 6011 being a faster freeze rod.

 

[GeneV]

I wondered if it has to do the the freeze rate of the filler material. the 6011 being a faster freeze rod.

So with straight polarity, less heat goes to the metal and more to the rod, meaning less penetration before the weld freezes, and 6011 is a faster freeze rod compared to 6013?

 

[BukitCase]

More than you ever wanted to know about electrodes -
Welding Electrode: Chart and Selection - Weld Guru

... Steve

 

[GeneV]

More than you ever wanted to know about electrodes -
Welding Electrode: Chart and Selection - Weld Guru

... Steve

Oh that's a lot of info. Thanks much man, I'm gonna check that out!