80t - AC Plus welding rods?

Maine_Polack · Oct 4, 2006

Was pickin' up some welding rod, and the salesman gave me a few sticks of a - new to me - rod to try out. He thought highly of them, and thought I would like them. Of course they are $3.00 a pound.

Anyway...I have not used them yet, but did try to find some info on the net. Couldn't find much, so I figured some of you perhaps have an opinion on them?

They are blue, and marked "80t - AC Plus". Made by Messer/Eutetic.

DieselPower · Oct 4, 2006

Most all rod manufacturers have some (how should I put this) nifty new technology rods. The rods you mention sound like they may be one of these. Do they do stainless steel?

In the last year or two I have switched from using 6011 and 6013 rods on my mobile service truck with a welder to using some non numbered/named rods. They are alot more expensive but are very nice to use. Less weld splater, fantastic looking welds with good penetration. Most of these rods have 2 times the tensil strength compared to 6011 and 6013 rods. They weld mixed metal like welding a piece of stainless to a piece of mild steel. Great rods at not a so great price. But you get what you pay for.

I like them because they are very versitle so I only need to keep 4 different rod sizes of one type rod to weld everything from mild steel to high carbon steel, stainless steel and some even do a decent job on cast iron.

You couldn't pry my blue rods from my cold dead hands.

Maine_Polack · Oct 4, 2006

Don't know if they work with stainless S. He did mention that they don't splatter much, and will work on "dirty" metal, much like a 6011, but much easier to get good looking welds. Also that they are easy to strike. I think he called it a "tap" rod, meaning that to start an arc, tap it, not drag it. 80,000 lbs tensil strenght. And that they do not have to be kept in an oven, or super dry. Sounds like a "bubble gum" welder's, (me), dream.

So...do you meet a guy with a big overcoat, in an alley, to get these "unmarked" rods.

Just funnin' with you, but what do you ask for when purchasing them?

edise · Jul 27, 2013

great rod,weld on anything,weld through rust ,paint,you name it,hard but machineable,beautiful beadsand penitration.

yomax4 · Jul 27, 2013

MG first marketed the 80T AC rods as a high tensile ( 80K) 6013 back in the early 90's. I remeber selling them at shows and bending the rod in a half circle. Strike the arc and lay the stinger down and the rod would lay a bead by itself. I don't want to pick on the farmers but they would buy all we had. MG 500 is another 6013 that runs similar. Welco had a high tensile 6011 called 83-88. There are a few dozen of the so-called specialty rods out there but they all come from the origional 60-70 and 80 series rods if not from Stainless and Nickel. 80T is a very good over priced rod. Excellent for demo's. I use it too.

bandaidmd · Aug 1, 2013

Sounds like the rods eutectic repackaged into consumer packs back in the 80's and called them ultra hy steel, they were also blue and would weld anything to anything .

rankrank1 · Aug 1, 2013

If you have a welder that is towards the lower cost scale of the spectrum (AC buzzbox or even AC/DC buzzbox)then I think you will find that you like them.

I have only burnt a few of the US Forge packaged (US Forge is a division of Messer) thus far, and I like them for some things on my Miller Thunderbolt. Due to cost though, I do not use them for everything. Hard to beat 7014 from a cost perspective and ease of use for a back yard hack like me. If you need more rods, the US Forge Brand is available at Menards and most Ace Hardware Stores.

FWIW: I asked Shieldarc to test the 80TAC rods a while back which he very graciously did do. Shieldarc did not like how they ran at all on AC on his $5000 Miller Dynasty welder, but did admit that the rods ran much better on his 30 year old Century $200 buzzbox which surprised him very much. Shieldarc knows more about welding than I ever will.

Anyway, I think extra stuff is added to the rods to help them run better on lower end machines (and to help lower skill levels too), but those same additives could work against yah if you have a fire breathing dragon for a welder plus are highly skilled to boot.

Since you have some freebies to try, then please do try them and post back your opinions.

stuckmotor · Aug 1, 2013

yomax4 said:
MG first marketed the 80T AC rods as a high tensile ( 80K) 6013 back in the early 90's. I remeber selling them at shows and bending the rod in a half circle. Strike the arc and lay the stinger down and the rod would lay a bead by itself. I don't want to pick on the farmers but they would buy all we had. MG 500 is another 6013 that runs similar. Welco had a high tensile 6011 called 83-88. There are a few dozen of the so-called specialty rods out there but they all come from the origional 60-70 and 80 series rods if not from Stainless and Nickel. 80T is a very good over priced rod. Excellent for demo's. I use it too.

Yomax4,
I didn't quite understand what you meant by "If not from Stainlesss and Nickle" are you saying they might be nickle rods?
Thanks
Stuck

yomax4 · Aug 3, 2013

Nope, Not 80T but there are a lot of "Wonder Rods " out there that seem mysterious and they work well but they are just derivitives of the regular rods. Often a fancy stainless or synthetic Nickel..

stuckmotor said:
Yomax4,
I didn't quite understand what you meant by "If not from Stainlesss and Nickel" are you saying they might be nickle rods?
Thanks
Stuck

stuckmotor · Aug 6, 2013

Thanks, Yomax.
I told the local weldor I needed to weld some cast iron back in the 70's and he sold me some expensive rods that welded like a dream. I think, he said they were nichol rods and as best I can remember, they were blue.>