Welding rods

I was able to acquire a 50 lb box of 7018 low hydrogen rods that was refused by the buyer because the case was damaged in transit.
Rod has 7018 H4R on them.
The only welder I have is a Lincoln AC 225 Stick Welder.
Can I use these rods with my welder?



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If those are 1/8 rods and if you set that welder to around 135 (keep forgetting on those welders) I think they burn quite good. If the material is a little thinner I think you can drop down one click.

I've got a Forney 180 box and it won't burn those rods right on any setting. But those AC buzz boxes will.

I was going to try the 7018AC that people talk about but the last time I looked at Rural King the flux was falling off of the rods and I wasn't buying that.

RT (my 2?)
 
Best on DC, but I think it will work on AC just not as well. Keep the rod in the house were it is warm and dry. Most rod doesn't like humidity, but 7018 is very sensitive.

OTJ
 
Check

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us/support/welding-solutions/Pages/e7018-h4r-detail.aspx

Looks like AC or DC +

http://www.lincolnelectric.com/assets/global/Products/Consumable_StickElectrodes-MildandLowAlloySteels-Excalibur-Excalibur7018MR/c21010.pdf
 
Yep, I have used them on my 225 Tombstone. A little hard to start but will work well once you practice a little.
Richard in NW SC and been welding for over 50 years
 
As others have already said, you can make them work with a Lincoln buzz box. Most people don't find it easy, but maybe you will. Lincoln's Stick Electrode Product Catalog shows DC+ as the preferred polarity for E7018 H4R in sizes from 3/32" up to 3/16", and AC as the preferred polarity for sizes from 7/32" to 5/16". But for the smaller sizes, AC settings are shown, too, ranging from 10 to 30 amps higher than the suggested settings for DC+.

Have you ever sold anything on Craigslist? If you find these electrodes difficult to weld with, or you don't like working with them, you might divide them into smaller lots, say ten pounds, and sell them. I've sold hundreds of pounds of stick electrodes on Craigslist, but only to local buyers. I've bought some which the sellers tried to mail to me. Sometimes they made it, and sometimes I got an empty box and the seller had to try again. It takes some pretty careful packaging to keep a mass of steel from busting out of a cardboard box that gets tossed around. Anyway, if you could sell them, you could buy electrodes you actually like---7018 AC (which I've never cared for), or 7014 which runs beautifully, but isn't, for technical reasons, as good as 7018.

Stan
 
There is a trick to making that rod start better. Send me an e-mail and I'll tell you the trick. I''d tell you here but if I did I bet a number of the guys would jump on me for saying it
 
Rich, tell me too. You have my email---we emailed a bit after I posted about whether it was a good idea to think of taking a gun to California on vacation.

Stan
 
Do yourself a favor and never buy off brand rods at a farm store. Got some once that I just threw them out. Impossible to relight. Any rods with the big three brand names will be fine, or house brands from a welding store.
 
Please post your technique for starting. 7018 rods always glaze over if I don't burn the whole rod and I keep a grinder or a file available to touch up the end when I am tack welding. Old, don't pay too much attention to what others say. I posted a comment I read in the paper the other day about Roundup brush killer causing cancer and got a dissertation from someone saying that it isn't a brush killer. That wasn't even the topic of the post. Some people can't resist the need to correct others. Ellis
 
I understand that they are voltage sensitive, and the higher input voltage you have the better they will work. We have almost 250 volts at the farm and I burn them on my Airco AC welder. It's not easy, but the quality of the weld is worth it. Voltage can vary with the time of day, when everyone comes home and turns down the AC and starts cooking supper it can drop a little. If you can't use them I'm sure they would sell on craigslist if they are in usable condition. Keep them dry!
 
them are DC rods, just think about it they are designed to burn on DC which is direct current (meaning contuous burn) not AC as in altering current (meaning burn-break-burn) ya some do make it work, but why not just use the correct rod for the box.
like they say--just cause you can get it on, don't mean it fits good luck bob

Tip for striking a ark---after you have welded with a rod and want to strike it again, on a piece of medal that is not grounded to welder or even on concreat floor, tap rod end on said surfact not like your tryin to stab somebody but just a good firm tap, you will break the glaze off the tip of rod and it will strike like a new rod. hope this helps.
 
I looked at your post and saw you had your e-mail open on Y-T so that made it easy to send you an e-mail
 
Wow! you sure got a hodgepodge of information and misinformation! I think you should just try them, it's hard to predict how they will burn on your machine. If the can has any holes in it they might have absorbed some moisture, that will affect how they burn.
 

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