Welding Tips and Tricks

I've had a long day so I' didn't quite study this whole arctical like I should've. But what jumped out at me was Table 4. Am I misreading or misunderstanding, or is at least that artical and study suggesting that when a 7018 is moisture contaminated, be it left outside for long periods or even gotten damp. That storing it overnight at 300F, or even for a period of days or weeks at less than that. Will have the equivalent effect of the MFG suggest reconditioning process of baking the rods at 600-700F for 1 hour?

http://www.weldfabtechtimes.com/article ... 018-1-h4r/

It’s relative. If 7018 is exposed to moisture long enough (shorter time than one might think). Then the iron powder in the flux will begin to oxidize ( rust). When that happens you can’t cook it clean.

Thank you. I hadn't thought of the oxidation problem. Guess I need to burn 15 plus lbs. I need the hood time anyway.

I have 1/2 of a 50 lb can that got wet at work. Started to rust. You can see the rust spots in the flux. Brought it home and I’ve been welding all sorts of average stuff with it, still works fine. Won’t use it for any high pressure stuff, but lots of lawn implements and general brackets, trailer tie downs and stuff.

sbaker56 wrote:I've had a long day so I' didn't quite study this whole arctical like I should've. But what jumped out at me was Table 4. Am I misreading or misunderstanding, or is at least that artical and study suggesting that when a 7018 is moisture contaminated, be it left outside for long periods or even gotten damp. That storing it overnight at 300F, or even for a period of days or weeks at less than that. Will have the equivalent effect of the MFG suggest reconditioning process of baking the rods at 600-700F for 1 hour?

http://www.weldfabtechtimes.com/article ... 018-1-h4r/

No - Table 4 is about the testing of a weld - it is not about reconditioning electrodes.

The test specimen confined within its isolation chamber is held at the hydrogen evaluation temperature as per the following details.
TABLE4

hydrogen test conditions.png (89.84 KiB) Viewed 1941 times

Hydrogen moves through steel faster at higher temps.
That is the reason the test specimen is done being tested faster at the higher temp.

Specifically - no - holding electrodes at lower temps for a longer period is not equivalent to the correct reconditioning temp for the correct amount of time.