7018....still good?

[Gary Fowler]

ShieldArc: Good info on rebaking, however I know that you know that that applies to using the rods on AWS Code related activities. ASME has similar restraints but that doesnt mean that you must follow that for your home products. I have thrown away tons of rods on the job over the years that were left out overnight because we would rather not take the chance on saving $100 worth of rods that may cause a multi-thousand dollar weld failure, plus rebaking and separate storage areas for them was too much trouble for minimal benefit. I wish I could have taken all those rods home for sure.
I kept my 7018 in a plastic container box sealed with tape for a couple of years before I found a good used rod oven which I now keep hot 24-7 @250F. Before that I had an old uninsulated wooden box with a heat lamp that stayed on till the bulb burned out and might be a few weeks before I found it off. (I turned that old box into a chicken nesting box minus the bulb). The rods still produced satisfactory welds for me, but I had to ground each one for a few seconds to burn off the moisture in them. Amazing how much steam one rod would pour off. The ends started rusting up on them but the fluxed areas was still clean so I looked for a a rod oven and found the 350# Phoenix oven for $250. I decided that was cheap enough to protect the 300 # off 7018 that I had. As a winter benefit, it also provides a bit of heat to my shop to help keep my water lines from freezing. As most welders are aware, these rod ovens come in 10#, 50#, 350# and 900# capacities. I think the 10# and 50# size unit only use about 150 watts of power when the element is heating so for small quantities that is cheap storage.

 

[RobertBrown]

The rods look fine, no corrosion whatsoever. I suppose that they are to be used on projects that aren't worth millions and welds that won't threaten lives should they fail.
If you in the neighborhood, come and get em as there is a hundred or more.
Thanks for all of responses

 

[deereman75]

The rods look fine, no corrosion whatsoever. I suppose that they are to be used on projects that aren't worth millions and welds that won't threaten lives should they fail.
If you in the neighborhood, come and get em as there is a hundred or more.
Thanks for all of responses

If I lived about 3500 miles south east, I would take them.

 

[Haywire]

Didn't know they made ovens that small and affordable. Here's a Lenco 10lb oven for $133. Might have to put that way down on the "one day" list someplace. link

 

[Shield Arc]

Keep an eye out on Craigs list, and ebay. Can't remember what I paid for the 10# oven, but I paid $25.00 for the 50#, and $140.00 for the 300# oven.

 

[jake98]

If you keep moisture out you shouldn't need to dry them, correctamoondoe?

Blue 14 in. Rod Cannister - Each

 

[Shield Arc]

Remember when 7018 is up to temperature it runs, and restarts so much easier. If you're just doing single pass welds, I wouldn't worry too much about 7018 being stored properly. It's when you start splicing beams, and plate where multiple passes are required, that's when you'll want to play by the rules.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Shield arc, got a very good deal on your rod ovens. I have never seen them that cheap on Craigslist. For the guys with no oven, I would recommend the 50# size as they have the cross bars inside to keep 4 different sized rods separated which is handy rather than just tossing them all together. Your 350# looks exactly like mine. I better go check my shop to make sure mine is still there:laughing:

 

[Gary Fowler]

One more thing, the air tight plastic containers are meant for daily use where you take out a few rods from your hot box and keep them sealed in the container. Remeber everytime you open it, you let in cold damp air so eventually they get moisture laden. You should have a rod oven to put them back in at the end of the day to refresh them. There is an 7018 MR for moisture resistant that can stay out of the hot box for up to 8 hours without adsorbing too much moisture but they still need to be kept hot.