Welding rod quality

[Majordisorder]

I first want to say I'm no welding pro but have had a Lincoln AC machine for many years. I was recently fabricating a fence stretcher for chain link and ran out of 6013. The brand was US Forge and was probably 10 years old or so, in a dry shop but no special protection for storage.

I needed more rod to finish my project and just to have on hand so when it was convenient, I bought some Hobart 6013. Again, I'm no pro but this rod was much harder to control and the results were terrible. Next time I'm near a welding supply (not a box sore) I plan to get something else.

Is the Hobart rod junk? It was same wire size as the US Forge but the flux was more brown . Any recommendation for a better brand?

 

[wnstwolf]

There is a great you-tube video series of a young guy doing home welding. He is a hoot to watch. He did a nice comparison on the various easy to buy common use welding rods out there. He found little difference in them. Take away was to use the cheaper. Look up the vid for the brands he tested. Hobart was one of them..

 

[Cyberbear]

My first welding machine was a Lincoln 225 at $80.00 back in the day which I still use for certain jobs. I've run lots of different rod on this stick welder with 1/8" 6013 being the most used of all. A blind man can weld with this rod, and I have also just by listening to the way it's running, especially when welding around a corner, its all in the touch. This versatile rod lets you weld with a rod in one hand and the stinger in the other, if needed for gap filling, it practically welds itself.
I've run 6013 that was soaked in water and it still performed well even though as I welded, beads of water would form on the flux and turn into steam. Not a preferable way to weld something but the circumstances allowed nothing else.
Over the years I've come to the conclusion that ones abilities and experience has a lot to do with performing good welds, and you can't always blame poor welds on bad rod. I have always purchased name brand rod and have no experience with foreign import stuff.
Sometimes it's just a matter of heat setting on your machine, or the way you hold your tongue, if you know what I mean. When there is no other way available, you sometimes just have to weld by the seat of your pants, if you get my analogy.

 

[38Chevy454]

There can very well be differences in the flux coating that make one run easier than another. Especially on AC, as the arc has to stop and restart 60 times/second. So I do think you are right the one rod worked better for your application and technique.

I learned to weld on my old buzzbox, and an AC one at that. Still use it for heavier stuff. I like 6011 rod as better for penetration on thicker stuff, which is what I weld with the buzzbox.

 

[Rawlins87]

There is a great you-tube video series of a young guy doing home welding. He is a hoot to watch. He did a nice comparison on the various easy to buy common use welding rods out there. He found little difference in them. Take away was to use the cheaper. Look up the vid for the brands he tested. Hobart was one of them..

Are you thinking of chuckE2009?

 

[Professur]

There is a great you-tube video series of a young guy doing home welding. He is a hoot to watch. He did a nice comparison on the various easy to buy common use welding rods out there. He found little difference in them. Take away was to use the cheaper. Look up the vid for the brands he tested. Hobart was one of them..

Chuckee2009? Yeah, I use his videos to test out the sound and streaming on phones and laptops in for repair ... the guys here in the lab absolutely hate him. A young guy with no fear of trying something. Definitely going to go a ways, but he's the first to admit he's still young and learning.

Rods can be very subjective. I've watched one guy weld perfectly with rods another skilled welder threw away as junk. That a particular brand doesn't work well for you doesn't necessarily mean they're no good .. just that they're no good for you and your machine. If you're not happy, you're the one doing the welding. Try another brand. Maybe you could get the Hobarts to work better by fiddling with your machine and technique ... but if you're already satisfied with them, why mess with what works?

 

[welder4956]

At work we do a welding class for new engineers and recently bought a few pounds of house brand E6013 rods from the LWS. Those were the poorest running E6013 I have ever seen and were popping and spitting the whole time. We found an old box of Lincoln E6013 in the storage room that had been sitting open for years and they were a really smooth running rod compared to the new stuff. We took the new stuff back for a refund. Yes, you can definitely get some poor quality rods.

 

[gregtwojeeps]

Burned 1 LB. of Hobart 7014 rods today that were stored in the boiler room, that were two years old and they worked great on my Miller ThunderBolt XL. . I tried the 6011's and 6013's a couple times in the past,they were just too fickle for my amateurish skills. So I always go back to the trusty 7014's for anything from 1/8 in. to 1/2 in. steel. JMO .

 

[sberry]

I never really liked 6013 all that well. It can have a nice finish but there seems to be a lot of problems from operator to operator.

 

[Majordisorder]

Thanks to all taking the time to reply.

Looks like I need to get some various rod and see what works best and above all get more practice.

 

[RedneckWelder]

I exclusively use Lincoln from the LWS, not the big box store 10 pound packs. I've found the Hobart to be very hit and miss (finally got frustrated after my last box of bad 7018 from the TSC Hobart stuff.) I don't really like any of the cheap brands.

I favor 6010 and 7018 but I weld DC only, for AC 6011 and 7018AC, and some 7014 is probably your best bet. I don't really like 6013 much

Rod is one of those things where it's cheap enough to use the good stuff and much more enjoyable for welding when you are using the quality stuff.

 

[JoeFin]

There is such a thing as a "Bad Batch of Rod"

Had the same thing happen to me - got a real "Poppy" box of 6013. Rod had been sitting in an electrode over @ 150 F for about 6 months so moisture wasn't any part of the equation.

Took some to a friend who tried it and he saw the same thing - poppy

About all we could figure was the flux hasn't adhered to the electrode well enough to burn uniformly either from the factory or as a result of sitting in an oven too long

 

[lotsoftools]

I have noticed some difference between brands of rods (mig wire too for that matter). I haven't come across any crappy brands yet.

 

[Majordisorder]

There is such a thing as a "Bad Batch of Rod"

Had the same thing happen to me - got a real "Poppy" box of 6013. Rod had been sitting in an electrode over @ 150 F for about 6 months so moisture wasn't any part of the equation.

Took some to a friend who tried it and he saw the same thing - poppy

About all we could figure was the flux hasn't adhered to the electrode well enough to burn uniformly either from the factory or as a result of sitting in an oven too long

This was pretty much my experience. It won't cost a fortune to try some others.

 

[Joe69]

I use Excalibur rod myself.

Joe

 

[carcajou]

OP i had the same issue myself with some 7018 AC Hobart rod recently. I have used it for years but the last two boxes i purchased sucked. Very hard to strike an arc and keep it. I grabbed a few older Lincoln rods of the same and they worked fine. Something is definitely off with their QC.

 

[619DioFan]

Not a pro welder by any means , have a 220v Lincoln arc welder. I use the Lincoln brand rod 6011. seem to have good success with it.

 

[Majordisorder]

OP i had the same issue myself with some 7018 AC Hobart rod recently. I have used it for years but the last two boxes i purchased sucked. Very hard to strike an arc and keep it. I grabbed a few older Lincoln rods of the same and they worked fine. Something is definitely off with their QC.

I wonder if their rod is now coming from China? I looked in a box of Harbor Freight 6013 and they looked alike (from memory- I didn't buy the HF rod and compare them at home) but at least the flux color was similar (darker than rod I was previously using.

 

[rockinacummins]

The answer is yes, Hobart rods ****. I wouldn't use them unless I was in a real bind. Even then I wouldn't use them on anything that needed to be very structurally sound.

Lincoln is good stuff. Welders, rods, everything.

On the ranch I typically use Firepower (Thermadyne) E6011. The best all purpose, all around rod to use on jobs like fence and exhaust and things like that. Doesn't require such a clean surface either. And of course, they are way cheaper than Lincolns.

 

[Majordisorder]

rickinacummins,
Since my OP, I spoke with a well driller that I always thought of as a skilled welder and he pretty much said the same thing in regard to Hobart rod

 

[rockinacummins]

Good deal!

 

[McKay]

I've had great luck with the Hobart 7018 5/32 on DC. But that is the only Hobart rod I have run.

 

[RossABQ]

Cheap Chinese 6013 rods sold under various names and at HF are just ****. If you spread manure on a coathanger you'd get smoother arcs. It's clearly a different kind of flux, turd brown and poorly adhered to the rod.

 

[Majordisorder]

Ross, I'm glad you posted that. I suspected just what you said so its good to hear it somewhere else. When I get some new rod and prove it to myself, I will return the Hobart 6013. If I can't do any better, I'll admit it and get rid of the welding gear that's served me well for over 30 years.