Welding rod selection

Here is a brief description of the code. "E" designates an arc welding electrode. The next two digits, in this case "70" designate a minimum tensile strength of 70,000 P.S.I. as welded. The following digit, in this case a "1" designates an all position electrode. The last digit, describes several things. It describes the power supply, type of covering, type of arc penetration and the presence of iron powder. ( Some of these electrodes used to be color coded.) In regard to the 7018, the polarity is designated to be DCRP or AC. The coating is of the low hydrogen variety. Lime coverings and titania and iron powder coverings are used to achieve this. The 7014 is designated DCRP, DCSP, and AC.

In comparison of the two electrodes it is the last digit which sets them apart. In the realm of welding, when alloy steels are subjected to hydrogen in the molten state, a condition known as hydrogen embrittlement occurs. ( Not good if we're talking about the truck frame you just extended or the bridge beams you joined.) To overcome this, the low hydrogen coating creates a gaseous atmosphere around the arc and holds the atmosphere at bay.

After about 30 minutes exposure to the atmosphere, the electrode coating has drawn enough moisture to require baking at 250°F to remove enough moisture to restore the low hydrogen effects of the coating. Unless this procedure is followed, the electrode becomes a miniature hydrogen and O2 factory. (A positive electrode in water separates the O2 and a negative electrode separates the hydrogen. This is one method used to commercially produce O2 and hydrogen.) In extreme cases, the gas being produced under the coating develops enough pressure to "blow" the coating off the wire during welding.

This is why I cringe when I see people buy welding electrodes at auctions or when I see electrodes lying in an open tray for sale at the farm and home store. Things like this are what breathed life into companies like the one I work for. The differences between production conditions and maintenance conditions put them at opposite ends of the scale. Maintenance electrodes are designed for extended storage and less than ideal welding conditions. More often than not, you will have no control over contaminants, temperature of the metal, welding position or base metal composition. The skill or lack there of in regard to the weldor are also taken into consideration among other things. Most of my customers are not welding experts but are experts in other fields, such as, farming, machining, electrical, mechanical, engineering, etc. and in their day to day operations, they also weld. It is also beneficial to me in knowing these people when I need help outside of my field of expertise.
Steve

Sure. Flux composition is iron powder titania. The "4" designation indicates an electrode of medium penetration, thick slag, convex bead, fast deposition. The 7014 claim to fame in it's heyday was speed. It's one of the least common designations today and has become somewhat obscure.
Steve

Most weldors, especially the better ones, are very particular about the quality of their work. Right down to the cosmetic aspects which you and I both know is not always the most important part of the equation.

Weldors also tend to be very opinionated in regard to their personal preferences concerning consumables. I have my favorites as well.

Having said that, I must also realize that things change. Especially in todays world. If I am not open minded, I cannot grow as an individual or as a professional.

I would like to share these thoughts. Stick welding is far from dead in general. Upwards of 40% of welding is still done using the SMAW process. This is due mainly to the shortcomings of the GMAW process in so many maintenance applications. Stick still shines in less than ideal conditions to mention just one advantage. I would agree that the advent of the wire welder has killed off much of the brazing rod market to date.

Regarding the 7014. You are correct in stating that fast clean-up is a 7014 virtue. That is not however what I meant by "speed". The 7014 gets it's speed from the iron powder in the flux. As the electrode burns off, the iron powder becomes part of the deposited metal creating a high deposition effect. This concept has been improved upon greatly in modern electrode designs for stick welding and continuos electrodes for wire weldors. Some electrodes boast an efficiency rating of 140% or more. Also, the advent of multi-pass electrodes in various forms has eliminated the need to chip at all between passes in many multi-pass applications.

You have challenged me to present a better general purpose electrode than 7014 that would be available at most farm and home stores. My wife is a bookeeper and office manager at one of our local farm and home stores. It's one of my favorite stores. It is the last bastion of mens shopping left in our community. Everything from bolts to bullets. But, they carry the same welding supplies they did 20 years ago and any form of good technical assistance is non-existent. It's just not what they do. I would be more than happy to send you a free sample of one or two different electrodes from our facility. Send me a private e-mail and describe the typical welding application you encounter. It may or may not change your mind, but it will certainly broaden your horizons.
Steve

I've enjoyed your posts on welding rod selection for general farm application.

I too, use 6011 and 7018 for my straight AC stick machine. I plan to make a full bridge rectifier and add additional sockets to make it an AC/DC machine. I have a strong background in electronic R&D and know what I'm doing when it comes to properly designing and installing this sort of equipment.

Your brochure and recomendations for good rod selection for my applications would be greatly appreciated. If you could send me a copy also, I would be grateful.

Tyler Woods
4820 Center Ln, NE
Olympia WA 98516

Thanks again.

90% of my welding is done on 1/4" material or smaller. I currently use 6013 and 7018 rods as well as .035 MIG wire. Is there a better all-purpose rod out there? if so please enlighten me.
I am a novice welder who usually just dobs around on the farm. My local store manager has told me to try 5P rods, What do you think? Also, what size is the best all around rod? example 3/32, 1/8, 5/32. Look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Drew

There will be a maintenance manual included that will be a handy reference guide for general repair applications and directions for usage in regard to the appropriate alloy.

Some additional info will follow by e-mail.
Steve

140% efficiency rating for an electrode is amazing! As a small business owner I'm always trying to improve profit my lowering cost without cutting quality. I get my electrodes for about $1 a pound (includes shipping). That makes GMAW the least expensive process I do. Folks that sell MIG equipment tell me that MIG is cheaper because the efficiency is well over 90% but I use a MIG machine too and I know that pound for pound it is more expensive than GMAW.

My previous postings were meant for the average guy (novice)that needs an all purpose rod, that he can purchase at his local store, that is not too expensive. I believe that 7014 fits this discription well. It is not my favorite rod but if pressed to pick an all purpose rod for a friend (we are all friends here) this is my choice.

I've sent you an email. It is difficult to give a typical application so I gave you a situation where I could see a improvement in rod capability. My business is mainly on site welding and I never know what next week has in store for me. I weld in a variety of conditions on a variety of things. A couple of my regular customers have a competition between them on how difficult they can make my next project. Have you ever seen anybody MIG aluminum overhead with a mirror before?

You know, the people who told you that MIG is over 90% stretched it a little if they were talking about solid wire. It's actually about 87% at best. (Stick is about 47%.) The main reasons are: no stub loss, no flux weight, less spatter. You must use a metal cored wire to get into the 140% range. You also have the option of the different types of arc that MIG is capable of producing that can dramatically increase travel speeds. Taking that into consideration, you can pay twice as much for wire as for rod and just about come out dead even in operating cost comparison.

As I stated to you in my reply to your e-mail, I know now that what you do is very similar to what job shops do. Anything and everything. In all my years of being in the factories and mines and so forth, I have come to learn how challenging that kind of environment can be. I guess that's what makes it fun. Never a dull moment, right? In regard to welding Al overhead with a mirror, it's hard enough to MIG Al out of position if it's right in front of your face. We're talkin' contortionist class welding here. Steve

Here's the short story on the Al overhead with a mirror. This friend referred a guy to me that had an old Army vehicle. He called it a goat. It has six wheels, is all aluminum and it swims. Anyway, the brake pedal bracket broke all the way up under the dashboard. It was in a spot where you could reach up and feel it, you could see it by crawling in upside down but there was no way to get in with a welding helmet on, not to mention the MIG gun. So I preped it with a die grinder and wire brush the size of a toothbrush. I positioned a shaving mirror so I could see the joint by standing next to the vehicle leaning over. I reached under with the gun and practiced a couple of times with no power. Then I had the customer turn on the power and went for it. It went perfect. Had I not done this they would have had to disassemble the cab so I saved them about twenty hours. If it didn't work then they wouldn't have lost anything. I got alot of referals off of that job.

Seriously.....I'm learning a lot from the discussion you guys are having! THANKS!