ESAB Atom Arc 7018

[DVA]

[QUOTE=fdcmiami;44146]dva, the name on the box is everything to most welders... there is some serious brand loyalty out there. the moisture/7018 discussion has become cliche; if you can't run some 7018 that's been out of the can for while you probably can't weld at all.

i have a fifty pound can on the shelf at my shop, it's two thirds gone, been there about a year. i weld, no problem and it's hot and humid where i am. do you think everyone throws their rod away? at 100 plus for a fifty pound can, that's not likely. when i see rust on the ends of the rods then maybe i'll start to think about getting some more.

for the record there are several manufacturers that produce a moisture resistant welding rod. they will have the letter R on them. 7018 H4R comes to mind. using the AC rod on an inverter in place of a regular 7018? right.QUOTE]

There is some serious brand loyalty but 7018 is 7018 and all 7018 will have issues if it is old and stored wet. The issues when welding would not show up much if you know how to weld and even if 7018 is stored around moisture it will still be fine for a fence or BBQ. If you are welding on a bridge or steam piping (code welds), if a 50 lb box was opened and not handled properly it should be thrown out and this happens all the time as it would be a violation of most welding procedures in any reputable shop.

See the attached links below regarding moisture:

See the storage instructions for this rod-
http://www.hobartbrothers.com/upload...ts/7018XLM.pdf

H4R, storage in oven is recommended:
http://www.hobartbrothers.com/upload...obart718MC.pdf

Did not need to go far for this one-
http://www.everlastgenerators.com/wo...e-7018-part-5/

H4R-
http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-us...4r-detail.aspx

[SeanMurphy265]

Where I live the humidity can reach 100% in the summer and is just about always over 90%. Those sheets state the over 80% humidity they need to be stored in a rod oven.

[Rambozo]

Where I live the humidity can reach 100% in the summer and is just about always over 90%. Those sheets state the over 80% humidity they need to be stored in a rod oven.

The shop next door to mine the guy kept all his rods in an old refrigerator with silica gel and a hundred watt light running in the bottom. Not a replacement for a rod oven, but a cheap way to have air tight, low humidity storage.

[DVA]

Where I live the humidity can reach 100% in the summer and is just about always over 90%. Those sheets state the over 80% humidity they need to be stored in a rod oven.

That is correct, that is why you see any reputable company store their opened rods in a rod oven, even in a dry climate like Arizona.

One thing I have seen lately from a power plant in Washington State that stores their rods in vacuumed sealed packages of 10, eliminating the need for rod ovens. This may be impractical but not a bad idea if you want to keep your rods fresh. I would think purchasing a rod oven would be more economical.

[MuttonHawg]

That is correct, that is why you see any reputable company store their opened rods in a rod oven, even in a dry climate like Arizona.

One thing I have seen lately from a power plant in Washington State that stores their rods in vacuumed sealed packages of 10, eliminating the need for rod ovens. This may be impractical but not a bad idea if you want to keep your rods fresh. I would think purchasing a rod oven would be more economical.

Actually, I would think that the vacuum sealer would be more economical, depending on quantity of rods to be stored. The kitchen seal-a-meal types of machines are cheaper than the basic small rod ovens I see online, so there's a smaller initial investment. And considering you're running a 100W or so load 24/7 with the rod ovens (assuming around 10 cents per kWh, works out to about $1.50/week), I could see how the vacuum seal bags would be cheaper, especially if the storage is going to be very long term. Of course, if you have a large amount of rod to store, a larger oven would be far simpler than 50 pounds of vacuum-sealed bags of rods, stored 10 to a bag.

[DVA]

Actually, I would think that the vacuum sealer would be more economical, depending on quantity of rods to be stored. The kitchen seal-a-meal types of machines are cheaper than the basic small rod ovens I see online, so there's a smaller initial investment. And considering you're running a 100W or so load 24/7 with the rod ovens (assuming around 10 cents per kWh, works out to about $1.50/week), I could see how the vacuum seal bags would be cheaper, especially if the storage is going to be very long term. Of course, if you have a large amount of rod to store, a larger oven would be far simpler than 50 pounds of vacuum-sealed bags of rods, stored 10 to a bag.

Running a heater 24-7 as they do at my work would cost some money. I was looking from the stand point on pricing, when a new box of sticks is opened up, they are divided in to a set of 10 rods and sealed. This would cost some money. To vacuum the rods after you are finished that would not be that bad as long as they were not exposed to moisture for an extended period of time.

[Rambozo]

Actually, I would think that the vacuum sealer would be more economical, depending on quantity of rods to be stored. The kitchen seal-a-meal types of machines are cheaper than the basic small rod ovens I see online, so there's a smaller initial investment. And considering you're running a 100W or so load 24/7 with the rod ovens (assuming around 10 cents per kWh, works out to about $1.50/week), I could see how the vacuum seal bags would be cheaper, especially if the storage is going to be very long term. Of course, if you have a large amount of rod to store, a larger oven would be far simpler than 50 pounds of vacuum-sealed bags of rods, stored 10 to a bag.

To hold the level of seal for long term rod storage you would need to use a retort pouch, and those need commercial sealers. The kitchen type ones do not pull a good vacuum and they are not vapor proof. That is fine for things that will be frozen, but not for storage outside of a freezer. Which is why the military and a few companies came up with the retort pouch for the MREs.

[DVA]

To hold the level of seal for long term rod storage you would need to use a retort pouch, and those need commercial sealers. The kitchen type ones do not pull a good vacuum and they are not vapor proof. That is fine for things that will be frozen, but not for storage outside of a freezer. Which is why the military and a few companies came up with the retort pouch for the MREs.

The sample pack of sealed rods I saw looked like an MRE package but was colored gray.