Welding rod brand

[SBMF 2015]

I've been using Hobart welding rod because that's what the farm stores around here sell. It's okay, but I feel like there's got to be something better out there.
What are you guys all using and do you like what you use?

 

[bird dog]

Most of the better rods are about the same. The key is how you store them. A rod oven makes things much better but thats not feasible in farm life. None of them like moisture.

I mostly used Lincoln when I burned a bunch. They came in a 50 lb metal can. Now I use the Washington Alloy brand in a blue plastic 10 lb container.

 

[Caustic Burno]

You make a rod oven fairly cheap a old rural mailbox and a gun safe golden rod dehumidifier.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Depends what flavor of rod your talking?

For 7018 I run Lincoln Excalibur, or Esab atom arc. For 7018 to perform the best it needs to be kept dry and preferably in a rod over before use.

For 6010 it's Lincoln 5P+

Run a fair bit of Hobart 6013 for tacking and root passing things.

Whatever 6011 I can get my hands on if I need to burn thru manure, paint, rust, grease, etc.

 

[Lucky]

Lincolns seems to be the best but they are expensive. Keeping them in the rod boxes with the rubber gasket helps. Mostly use 6011 now because they keep good and weld through paint and rust fairly well.

 

[jltrent]

I use Lincoln, but probably one of the most important things is how you store them especially the DC Rods. If you leave them out in the non-climate-controlled building don't expect them to work good. I use 6013 s for AC and 7018 s for DC. If I can use the Mig welder which is a good bit of the time the stick doesn't get used.

 

[Twisted]

An old refrigerator makes great storage for welding rods, abrasive disc, sandpaper, gloves.... Put the rods in the freezer compartment with a few bags of desiccant.

 

[Hippie Rancher]

have to laugh at myself, been paying to send my niece to welding classes so should have had a clue but when I read the title of this thread my mind was just trying to picture a branding IRON made of a welding rod.

 

[Gary Dennis]

Long time lurker but rarely post. I never have anything good to say, but this is one subject I can say something about. I've been burning rods since I was 12 years old and proud to say I've learned from some of the best. Other than 7018 moisture really doesn't matter on welding rods. It is THE low hydrogen Rod for structural welds. Some 6010s actually run a little better when they're wet. For General Farm used though, 6011, 6013 and 7018 Ac is all you will ever need. Most of the small Lincoln welders are AC only and 6010 doesn't run well on it nor regular 7018s. 7018 AC is a great rod for clean material with a smaller AC only machines. 6011 is great for dirty material and general farmer repairs. 6013 works great on thinner materials, but I would not personally use it on thicker stuff. My last recommendation is a 312 stainless rod. It can be used to weld dissimilar steels. It is pretty expensive, but will basically weld any two types of steel together. Hope this helps.
Gary

 

[Atimm693]

Brand certainly makes a difference. Our local farm supply carries KT Industrial rods. They're mostly junk from what I've found. I used to really like their 6013s when they came in a black tube, a few years ago they started coming a yellow or red tube, those suck in comparison. From my research, KT is essentially a reseller and changes suppliers pretty frequently. Their 6011s behave more like a 6013 to me, penetration is a little weak, very thick slag, and they really don't like dirty steel. I still use quite a bit of their 1/8 6011s for thin material though.

I've also noticed that cheap rods are bad about the arc burning up one side of the electrode, like the flux is inconsistent. May be a moisture thing, but I haven't had that problem with the higher quality rods.

My favorite is probably the Lincoln Fleetweld 6011s for general farm stuff. Very little slag, good penetration, don't seem to be bothered too much if the material isn't perfectly clean. Gotta order them online though, nowhere to get them around here. I've also used some ESAB rods before and liked them.

 

[Redgully]

Here in Australia i like CIG rods. Ive heard good things about BOC rods. All others ive used are junk, pop and spit at you. But i have some 60+ year old rods i got from a retired boiler maker. They are real weird rods. Almost look like covered in oil. I can only use them with my wisconsin powered lincoln welder. Real hard to strike the arc but once started do beautiful welds. A little hard to do vertical welds. Absolutely no writing on packets and sadly the boilermaker is not with us anymore the shed light on what they are. I only use for farm repairs.

 

[Rancher]

I have an old Lincoln 225 ac welder and a wire feed welder. Most of the time my welding is on the bench flat welding and I use 7014 on 1/4" steel and love my Ni-rod for cast stuff. Wire feed for thin steel

 

[bird dog]

I love 7014 rods. A lot of folks around here call them farmer rods because of there ease of use. I built my pens with them because they are easy to use in all positions and fill gaps well.