We had a go at welding it today ,a friend gave us a couple nickel rods but they worked so poorly for me I gave up after 1/2 a rod .The top seam was the only easy ones to get at .We ended up using Eutectic 80T-AC+ rods they worked reasonable considering how dreadful the location of the other seams were .We preheated it with a propane torch until it was quite hot then we peened the welds with the chipping hammer so will have to wait see how we make out .
I bought these rods from a shop in Montana the owner said those are almost all he sells to his farmer customers for all purpose rods. I find them slightly harder to strike than 7014 but 7014 would have been totally useless for this.