Welding rod flux & moisture.

alleyyooper

alleyyooper

Tractorologist
Senior Member
Member
Years ago at a county auction I bought a cabinet that heats the insides. I at the time thought it would make a great welding rod storage cabinet and it did. I put welding rod in there and kep it about 55F 24/7. I was doing a lot of welding back in those days for my self and a whole bunch I was able to gather some jingle for doing so.

But I started turning down the work as it was interfering with life. I shut the heat off.

The question is can I remove the rod I am sure moisture has gotten to put it near my wood furnace and remove thr moisture and the rod work as it is supposed to? or once the moisture got to it is it shot and just go buy some new rod.


:D Al
 
olcowhand said:
Wow, 300F. I had no idea it took that high a heat to store them proper!
Click to expand...

7018 in opened cans 250 to 300 degrees for storage.

500 to 800 degrees for 1 to 2 hours to recondition rods that have been exposed to moisture

I am by no means a "welder". I dont have a helmet with flames, a tattoo of a welding rod, and I don't have any 2 year degree in welding... I just follow that chart since I dont have to pay for electricity to run the rod oven at work. They weld nice when they come out of the oven though.

Screenshot_20190218-193158_Amazon Kindle.jpg
 
Last edited:
I got a couple of 50 lb boxes of weld rod some years ago, being that I'm not working in industrial maintenance any more that is more than I could ever use in the rest of my life, in fact I wound up tossing what was left after about 8 years of having it here for fear of it going bad on me before I could burn it up, probably 30 lbs of the 7018 left and 35 lbs of the 6010 left at the time. I'll go get 5 or 10 lbs of fresh as I need it. Having a big mig here, along with the stick version also takes a lot away from my need or want to run the stick welder any more
 
We kept rod of all different make up in an old refrigerator with a 75w light bulb burning init all the time. As long as the rod doesn't see extended periods of time exposed to moisture, a couple of days or more. Them you don't really have to keep it so hot.

The welding shop I started out at shortly after school had a commercial hot box that would hold several hundreds of pounds of rods was never set too hot that you couldn't bare handed grab the rod you needed and not be burnt.

If I have rod draw moisture in my toolbox on my portable machine, I take a good hand full and put it in the top of the exhaust while the machine is running first thing on the job and it'll dry out pretty quickly in the heat of the exhaust.
 
This will make some of you shake your heads but it has worked for many years with good success. If I suspect that the 7018 that I'm using is damp I will put the rod in the stinger and then push the other end onto the metal and let it heat up. It will start to smoke but don't let it burn the flux. Then pull it off and take it out of the stinger and let it cool until it's warm. This will also provide more time for the rod to dry. Will do this with several rods so stopping in the middle of a bead isn't necessary.
Usually this is done at the same amperage setting that is going to be used to weld with.
I have not tried having the welds x-rayed but have seen no porosities in the welds.
 
It all matters what you are welding and how good a weld you need. If you are welding mild steel in a non critical place you can get away all sorts of things When you move up to high pressure steam tube you should follow best practices. In the shipyard industry they said any rod that below 212* was wet. I have used 7018 and watched the water boil out while welding never had the weld fail. But my life nor any one else's will ever depend on said welds If you weld high strength steal the same way it may crack down the middle of the weld as it cools. Don
 
Cvans said:
This will make some of you shake your heads but it has worked for many years with good success. If I suspect that the 7018 that I'm using is damp I will put the rod in the stinger and then push the other end onto the metal and let it heat up. It will start to smoke but don't let it burn the flux. Then pull it off and take it out of the stinger and let it cool until it's warm. This will also provide more time for the rod to dry. Will do this with several rods so stopping in the middle of a bead isn't necessary.
Usually this is done at the same amperage setting that is going to be used to weld with.
I have not tried having the welds x-rayed but have seen no porosities in the welds.
Click to expand...

I welded in a ship repair yard in my youth. We did the same thing with 7018. It worked. I’m pretty sure that isn’t the by the book way of doing things though. Low hydrogen rods always seemed to be the worse for drawing in moisture.

jhn9840
John
 
alleyyooper said:
I probley could get the rod to 500F on top of my wood furnace is I sent Kare away for the day or she would open all the windows and doors.

I like 6010, 6011, and what we call drag rod 7018. I just buy a pound or two of cast rod or stain less as needed.

:D Al
Click to expand...

Drag rod is usually 7024 in places I worked. But I'm not a professional welder.:thumbs:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top