Welding rod

I ran out of the 6011 rod that I've been used to and bought 6013 this time. Both are mild steel "60xx" and both are all position "xx1x" with the only difference being the coating on the rods.

These new rods are easier to establish an arc with and the arc is MUCH more stable with a lot less splatter. I realized how "trigger shy" I've become with the 6011 as I had trouble even starting the arc with the 6013. Once I became a little bolder, the arc came easy and it was a joy to use. The 6011 rod would stick if I wasn't careful and I'd lose about 1/3 of a rod in about every 4 due to it getting stuck hard and cooking the remaining rod while I was trying to break it free. I haven't had one of these 6013 rods get stuck yet.

I wouldn't have guessed that rod coating would make this much difference between very similar rods.

The only disadvantage I see is that the 6013 rod has a brown coating rather than the light gray of the 6011. The darker coating is harder to see under the lamps with my hood down. This is hardly a problem.

The advantage of 6013 for my purpose is that this is really junk steel and it burns through easily. Since it isn't very strong anyway, the slightly weaker weld won't make much difference.

It sure lays down a good looking bead though.

If I were welding better steel, I could turn up the heat. The 6011 would then work about as well and I could put up with the splatter.