7018....still good?

[RobertBrown]

I have a full can of 7018 rods (100?) that has been open for 10 years. The rods look good but will they still work? I use a wire welder and got rid of the stick, before I sell, trade or give these things away i would like to know if they're still good.
Anybody have an opinion on this?

 

[dstig1]

Ummm...try them? Only real way to tell. If you don't have a stick welder anymore find someone who does. Otherwise if you want to just give them away, then I don't think anyone can really complain...

 

[Brushhill dave]

Bake them at about 350 for 2+- hours and see what they will do. If the flux is still on them then they should be good once you dry them out.

 

[sandman2234]

Age doesn't hurt them from what I can tell, as long as moisture hasn't gotten to them. I got a HUGE supply of rods back in 1987 and am still using them with great results. (all types of rods)
David from jax

 

[Haywire]

Depends on who you talk to. Lots of opinions. I've been told that they're fine and I've been told they're useless and I've been told that the welds will look good but will fail later due to hydrogen embrittlement, but (and this is my guess) that might be only in those applications that require properly kept low hydrogen rods due to the base metal being welded. I don't know. I'm a rookie.

Ian

 

[deereman75]

If someone offered me the rods, I would take them. If all the flux falls off, I would just use them for gas welding.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Bend one double to crack off the flux. If the wire inside the flux isnt rusty, they can likely be rebaked to remove the moisture and they should work fine. If I remember correctly (without using Google) rebake temps are 750 F for 4 hours. Lower temp of 500F for a longer period might also work. Correct info on that should be easy to find on internet. If they are rusty inside the flux, just toss them.

 

[AHNC]

I've had good results re-heating/drying 6010 and 7018 over the years. I had my rod in a damp basement and if I had a project coming up I'd wait for the boss to go to the store and throw a handful in the over for drying. Worked very well and I would suggest heating the rod prior to use anyway. It can make a world of difference with 7018.

 

[Gary Fowler]

6010 shouldnt be heated but just kept under dry storage conditions at room temperature. They have a cellulose coating that deteriotes when heated unlike low hydrogen rods which have an iron powder coating that absorbs lots of moisture and needs to be kept dry. For those without rod ovens, a suggestion would be to put unused rods in a vacuum sealled bag like seal-a-meal and keep them till ready to use. Heating to 350F in an electric oven for an hour or 2 would dry them out sufficiently prior to use. I would heat them prior to bagging to remove moisture, cool and immediately seal them up in 1/2 pound bags more or less depending on your average use. Once bagged and sealed they would keep indefinitely. Some rods come in 10# plastic slip apart containers that would be ideal for keeping these bagged rods in for protection. I threw away about 50 of them when I got my rod oven.

 

[Shield Arc]

From an AWS D1.1.**** book.

A5.1 is carbon steel electrodes for SMAW, A5.5 is low alloy electrodes for SMAW. Plain E7018 is an A5.1 electrode.

Clause 5.3.2.1 states that the electrodes must be transferred directly from the hermetically sealed container into a storage oven maintained at 250-degrees F min.

Electrodes must be rebaked after exposure to the environment. Per clause 5.3.2.4, A5.1 electrodes must be rebaked for at least two hrs between 500-degrees and 800-degrees F. A5.5 electrodes must be rebaked at least one hour between 700-degrees and 800-degreesF.

Back to clause 5.3.2.1, electrodes can be rebaked only once and electrodes that have gotten wet shall not be used.

 

[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.