Quote Originally Posted by fdcmiami View Post
the talk about moisture is way overdone
That is not true. The fluxes on sticks have alloying elements that provide elements to get the correct mechanical properties of a particular filler material. Water on 7018 can lead to hydrogen in the weld and lead to cracks that form after some time. It may not look apparent but is a huge issue and why you typically see many sticks in ovens to keep the water out.