Sticking electrode

ok so I am learning how to weld and I am on an AC welder. My electrodes stick an extreme amount. I mean I know I am a beginner and all, but what could be causing this?? I have a bunch of electrodes that say excalibur 7018 H4R on them. I am trying to weld to sheet metal. My welding ranges are from

35 - 200 or so. I was trying to weld at about 75 - 85. I am just looking for possible explanations for the extreme sticking. Could the electrode be for DC only? Am I running to low or too high an amperage?? Anything would be a great help. TIA

Frank

Reply to
Frankie
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old 7018 can be problematical...

Reply to
dogalone
7018's are tough to use with AC. Try 6013 for sheet metal or maybe 6011 for thicker stuff when you want better penetration. Those are about the only ones I use so hopefully someone else with have even better suggestions.

Best Regards, Keith Marshall snipped-for-privacy@progressivelogic.com

"I'm not grown up enough to be so old!"

Reply to
Keith Marshall

Sheet metal with 7018 on AC?

Sounds like a problem to me. I would use 6013 DC-.

Steve

Reply to
SteveB

Ahhh lessons learned in life. I guess this is what this group is for. I have some 6013 and have better luck with this not sticking.

Don't have a DC welder so I guess I will just have to stick with the 6013 and keep practicing with that. Thanks for all the help..

Now what metal will weld well with the 7018 running off AC?? I have a ton of electrodes that were given to me so maybe I should pick up some metal to match the electrode. I am just practicing so buying more metal is not a big deal to me.

Reply to
Frankie

Reply to
George Howell

Frankie, If those are 1/8th inch rods then you need to turn the amps up. I would advice practicing with too much amps and then as you master the running of a rod then turn the amps down. I would also throw the rods in an oven at

350-400 degrees for a while to get them dry. 7018 does fine on AC and on sheet, it is just practice that you need. There are easier rods to start with like the 6013, 6011, 7024, and such, but if you have the 7018 use them they are great rods. I have a Miller Thunderbolt that is AC only and it has welded a bunch of goodies. Yes, I would love to have a DC machine, but I would have to start over on the learning curve.

Possibilities for curing sticking.

- make sure the amps are high enough

- make sure the tip is clear of flux especially on a 7018.

- use a drag start not a stabbing start.

- make sure the 7018 are dry, most of the time wet rods won't run a bead well or they will extinguish themselves spitting and sputtering all over the place i.e. won't hold an arc.

- make sure the work is clean

Try these and see if they can help.

Scott Young

Reply to
Young

For a newby, I'd suggest going through 10 pounds of NEW 1/8" 6013 at 100 to 110 amps and another 2-3 pounds of 3/32" 6013 at perhaps 70 amps. Once you get the hang of it, dial the amperages down. Look for long straight beads with nice "stack of dimes" appearance. The slag should pretty much pop off by iteself when you get it right. Invest the 10 hours and the $15 for the rod and you will be well on your way.

10 pounds will take you 6 to 10 hours to go through if you run a rod, chip the slag, and inspect what you did.

I know a lot of guys don't like 6013 because of it's shallow penetration but lets start with something that WORKS for a newby without much of any outside help. Once you get to this point, then try 6011, 7018, etc.

Good luck.

Frankie wrote:

Reply to
Roy J

Some 7018 rods are designed for use with AC, and some are not. I've tried both kinds with my AC welder, and the difference is obvious and dramatic. I might have gotten two pieces of metal to stick together with the non-AC variety, but it would have been very, very ugly.

That said, I wouldn't describe the problem with the non-AC rods as sticking, or not only sticking; more like sputtering, extinguishing, sticking, spluttering, etc. (And yes, these were dry rods right out of the oven.)

Even if you have the correct variety of 7018, you will probably need practice before you can run these well. Once you learn, you will love

7018 -- they run so smoothly, and leave a beautiful bead. But they can be hard to start without sticking, even when everything is set up correctly.

You said you were practicing on sheet metal -- how thick? One suggestion I would make is to find a fabrication shop and see if they will let you scrounge some 1/8" to 1/4" scraps. Tell them what you want them for, and offer to bring them back if they would like (to throw back in the recycling bin). If you are trying to learn on much less than 1/8" thick material, I think you'll find it much, much harder. You need something thick enough that you can go ahead and run a little hotter. If you are running 3/32" 6013 rod, try running at

85-100 amps; for 1/8" 6013 rod, try 100-130 amps. (As someone else has said, once you learn you can back off the amps as needed.)

Also, one last thought: What kind of AC welder are you using? If you are using a 110v welder, or even one of the low-end 220v welders (such as from Harbor Freight), you may not have enough open circuit voltage (OCV) to run 7018 or 6011. I started out with a 100 amp, 110v Century welder, and had an experienced welder swearing that it was broken because he couldn't show me how to weld with it -- it kept either sticking, or sputtering, or just not cooperating. Turned out that we were trying to run 6011 and 7018, and the manual said specifically that neither would work with that machine! Once we switched to 6013 and 7014, the machine worked fine (within its limits). By the way, if you are using a 110v machine, I would modify my suggestion above -- don't use anything thicker than 1/8".

HTH!

Reply to
Andy Wakefield

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