Yotarover,

Did you have the rods in air tight containers? You can pick them up cheap on the internet. $2-$5. I bought a bunch at, I think it was, atlweldingsupplies.com. They sit for years, still work when I do pull some out. I used a sharpie and write the type (6011, 6013, 7018, etc) on the lids.

If they were in a box, you can probably bake them at 225-250 in an oven (I have my own oven, so no wife issues there) and see if you can save them. But rods are only a couple bucks a pound.

Geezer, I punch over 1/4 dia holes and larger with the plasma all the time. Big time/bit saver. Does the wet stick work well, or this just for thinner metals?