which stick weld rod,,,,?

 Well,, the local weldin supply has stopped carrying the 1/8" 6013 Lincoln and the Hobart stick  weld rod I been using forever and now carries a Radnor brand, so I got a 1# tube to try it out and did not like it too good,, And my old lincoln 250 cracker box didn't want to run it too smooth.,,guess I was used to the Hobart rod.  TSC carries the Hobart rod but is just bout twice the price of what I was payin at the weld supply,,!chit fire,,I told the dude there I was gonna talk with Ms Big ones and,,,and,,he tells me she got transferred to a store in Omaha,,,ain't that a beach,,,,,,,!!!!! AND,,I ain't gonna pay what TSC wants for the same rod I had been payin at half the price at the weld supply,,,

 I looked on the Internet and see some Forney weld rod and some Hobart for some dang good prices. Does anybody use or got anything to say bout the Forney rod,,?? Or some other good brand of stick rod,,,??? I really like the Hobart rod because of it's quality and smooth running and welding is something I do NOT not  short cut on,,,

7018AC, brand name is the ONLY rod I use with my Lincoln AC-225-S welder for the past 30 yeras. tried others but prefer the 7018AC... AC means GREAT for AC welders....

With 3/32 rods I can weld thin rider decks, 1/8 welds everything else.

I usually get Hobart...shop at same store all the time....

 1/2 priced rods will cause you 2X the grief ! Buy a QUALITY rod, stick with it ! ( no pun intended )

Jay

  Well,,I know they use a chitload of the Low-Hi weld rod,,,in construction and pipelines as well as refineries ,,,but I never tried to use it cause I was always told it is used primarily in DC machines and mine is an AC arc welder.

 I guess I'm just gonna order some Hobart 6013 online,,heck I can get it here lots cheaper than buying at TSC,,,

 Hey Thad,,,so you CAN use 7018 with an AC machine,,?? HMMmm,,I was always under the impression that 7018 was made for the DC machines,,,,is why I never tried to run the 7018 and instead been running the 6011 and recently the 6013 which I was told are primarily for the AC machines which mine is,,,,,Chit,,I'm all fu'ed up now,,,

 Chit Shameless,,,,I HAVE learnt wire weldin and is my preferred method of stickin things together,,,but for the Heavy Duty important things such as structural  trailer weldin, I'll go with the trusty arc welder,,and,,,,and,,,I can lay you the prettiest stack of dimes you ever seen,,,,,,,,,and guaranteed to NOT break,,!!, Chit thet OLD arc welder is older that you and ole Les put together and weights more than you both too,,,,

 By the way and since you asked,,,,,,,,I finally chit canned the CH mig I been tryin to make work for me and bought me a Lincoln 175 220 volt mig that is the sweetest thing you ever seen,,,,,,,and,,,,and,,,it will lay down a string of dimes all day long,,frying bacon alla the time,,,,,yeeppi,,,,!!

 UMmmmm,,you wanna buy a good mig welder,,???

7018AC  ONLY rod to use !! 6013 is NO good on AC ! sputters and makes a mess... I've got 25# of it here, minus 4 rods you can HAVE... also smells like smouldering/burning overalls...

you NEED an AC rated rod for an AC only machine.....

7018AC works great on new steel, old steel, thick or thin...

3/32 and 40amps for rider decks, 1/8 and 105 amps for the rest....

Different rods for different materials and applications...

7018AC    not 7018   

there is a BIG difference in striking it and layin down....

SAME strength though, 70,000    (th 70 in 7018AC )

member you need AC rods for Allis Chalmers.....

7014 is smooth ,easy and fast... 

      ... with 70,000 pound tensile. 

 Hey JC,,many THANKS for postin thet chart,,,It has made me aware of some things I shoulda known when weldin for strengh. I always have V'd out the thicker stuff for the most penetration and I have noticed that since I started usin 6013 on some thick stuff,,,it sometimes does not want to penetrate as much as I like. The chart says I shoulda been usin 6010 or 6011 which I used to use,,,and I'll be danged if I can remember why I started usin 6013 as the chart says 6010 or 6011 were better choices,,,Now I know,,,,

The very trouble with many wire welds Tbone. Look great, but no penetration.

 Hey TBone,,I'm likin ole JC's chart as it makes you think bout what you been using and what you maybe should try. For the structural stuff I usually weld,,I want the best penetration with the dimes to be a close second. I remember tryin some 6010 and my old buzz box just would not run it for chit and the dude at weldin supply told me I should use 6011 instead. I used 6011 for some years and cannot remember WHY I changed to 6013. My machine does weld great with the 6013 altho,,I had noticed the penetration was not always the best even with V'in out so I kept cranking up the heat til it would but most generally would get a lot of burn-thru,,, I just finished up a 20' X 24' shader and sure did have to work harder to make sure penetration was up to snuff. Thinkin I'm gonna order  a small tube of the Hobart 6011 and do a comparison to the 6013 on some left over stuff,,,,,,,

Did you ever look into "higher heat" with the 6014 and compare penetration AND strength,,??

DJ, Tbone, the way I have thought it, the differences in polarities are like this,

 DC straight polarity is just surface welding... the flow of electrons are coming from the base metal and coming up to meet your rod metal so it lays it on the surface puts the heat at the electrode tip...

 AC weld is the flow of electrons running both ways and burning both base metals and electrode metals and thus 'meeting half way and puts the heat there in what your welding a little bit deeper....

 And DC Reverse polarity are the electrons getting sucked into the base metals and pulling the heat and the electrode metal down into it deeper.