Wots the diff betweem 2.5 ,3.2 ,4.0 mm rods just a fatter weld ! And theres seems choice rutile rods , low hydrogen can sumone explain more!
intrade,
Mar 31, 10:56am
ok you need more power to weld with more heavy rods and usually they are for thicker material. Also there used to be 2 different rods in the olden days . i cant tell you the exact english words alcaline and acidic rods the alcaline ones are easy to get to ark the acidic ones are harder but the acidic ones make a way stronger weld on the same rod diameter.thats the sort of basics. and its far harder to weld with rods then with a mig.
gmphil,
Mar 31, 11:05am
Ok acidic must be low hydroden now!Assuming this only from price diff at mo . I have a 130 amp carrarc speedline arc welderso wot rods wouldvbe suitable for that !
austingtir,
Mar 31, 11:07am
Im assuming your talking about the standard 6013 elec that general hardware stores sell these are pretty rubbish and really just designed for farm use just for general purpose welding not to be used on structural steels.
Just ignore the rutile words and all that guff read the numbers on the packet and google search their correct uses.
The 7018 is the more common quality low hydrogen electrodes and they are good to weld with but they should be stored and handled correctly.(kept dry and warm and should be warmed for 3 hours before use if your anal and want perfect results).These are good structural steel welding rods.
The 6011, 6013 and 7014 should be o.k for you if your just welding stuff for home.If your building a shed or something structural use some quality electrodes and a warmer for the electrodes.They can handle a bit of moisture in them.
intrade,
Mar 31, 11:11am
the rods usually say the required amps you need to be able to create the amps to weld them and you wont weld squat with a rubbish welder. I got a esab caddy its easy for a stick welder , With older weldersyou need to preheat the rods especially acidic hard to weld rods .
intrade,
Mar 31, 11:12am
whats your welder! i see you said already i have a look not a make i ever heard off, you sure you spelled the name right google said 0 found 130 amp carrarc speedline
gmphil,
Mar 31, 11:20am
Sorry didnt have glasses on is carriarc by speedline
austingtir,
Mar 31, 11:20am
Thats another good point in that some rods are designed for use with AC or DC current so you need to check the current on the packet aswell.Again if they are just hardware store ones with not much info on them then its not worth worrying about just weld with them and forget about it.
gmphil,
Mar 31, 11:31am
Was lookin on here , sein 6013 rutile ones 1kg packlook at others dont really explain wot there for , just home stuff fix meboat trailer galv by way in make sum pallet rackin out sum bar i got high tensile 4mm stuff
biddy6,
Mar 31, 11:44am
Get some Weldwell 48A they are a good general purpose rod suitable for galv and mildsteel. You will need to try both sizes (ie 2.5 or 3mm) and see if your particular welder will run them. If its any good, it should run 3mm rods.
biddy6,
Mar 31, 11:46am
PsIf your trailer has been hot dipped in Galv; you will need to grind off the galv where you are going to weld.
austingtir,
Mar 31, 12:12pm
As biddy said just grind the galv off and weld away the 6013 will do the job its only thin rhs if its trailer type steel.6011's would probably just blow through that thin stuff and drive you nuts.
trader_84,
Apr 1, 5:52am
I have a 1957 Youngs Arc Welder. Its the 'C' or 'F' model (can't remember) and its type is responsible for building New Zealand, haha! Its the old manual choke sort and is a forklift job to lift it. I got it years ago from an oldman engineer type shed but have not used it that much. Its an old grunter though and seemed to run smooth and well when I tried it out. My post contributes nothing to this thread . but just saying :) haha! Oh yeah . on the subject of ARC welders . my welder is rated at 200A and weighs a ton. How has Supercheap got ones rated nearly the same but they weigh near on what my old welders hand piece comes in at! Is there parity between the two!
biddy6,
Apr 1, 6:01am
Technology has come a long way, I also have a Young's model B, which weighs a ton, these welders are virtually unbreakable. However the latest inverter caddy welders are lightweight and produce a nice weld and I wouldn't be without one.The Young welder stays in the corner of the workshop, and the caddy I can take anywhere.
bentcoupe,
Apr 1, 6:05am
2.5to 3.2 mmrodswill run in your welderplug into the oven or fuesboxhave your extension cord fully unraveledphillips have some good rods28sare a good general purpose56s are low hydrogen
gmphil,
Apr 1, 6:12am
austingtir wrote: Thats another good point in that some rods are designed for use with AC or DC current so you need to check the current on the packet aswell.Again if they are just hardware store ones with not much info on them then its not worth worrying about just weld with them and forget about it.[/quot
I just use the 2.5mm 24's or 28's mild steel for most domestic welding & adjust amps to suit. Only time I use 3.2mm is for filling / heavy work
mrfxit,
Apr 1, 10:10am
2.5mm will suit most domestic arc welders & if you really do need deep penetration/cutting then simply crank up the amps. I think most domestic welders would be struggling to get a .32mm rod to the cutting stage but should be able to do that easily on a 2.5mm rod
it's just an example of how far you can push a domestic welder. The lower the amps you need to do a good job, the longer your welder should live for.
It's the same for cheap electric hand tools, ppl buy them & then expect them to perform like the same expensive commercial tool
mrfxit,
Apr 1, 10:12am
Agreed with a proviso
The more modern = the less abuse it generally takes before falling over.
brokebloke1,
Apr 1, 12:42pm
I havetwo arc welders ones a young with a slide out choke used to weld up structral workthis welder weighs about 80-90 kgs ( bloody heavy )Max amps 200 my other welder is a inverter does same job welds just as well and weighs 12 kg,Max amps 170. Technology has come a long way, point is which one of these would you like to carry up 6 flights of stairs to weld a handrail! not hard to work out!
trader_84,
Apr 1, 12:58pm
Haha! Nah . the point is that my old piggy F Type Youngs ARC'r is 56 years old and still doing the business. And in another 56 years time my grandson will be using it where as that piece of sh1t lightweight thing you have will be in its 3rd reincarnation . but as a fridge or something.
brokebloke1,
Apr 1, 4:14pm
What makes you think its a piece of sh1t we have been using it for 3 yrs now been thru 3 earthquakes falling off scaffolding and its still going strong it wasnt a cheap make just a good quality verison from BOc. yes there are cheap models outthere you get what you pay for.
h.e,
Apr 1, 5:52pm
Its horses for courses fella your young is useless as tits on a bull on site aye. And likewise for the inverter welding 4mm rods all day in a workshop. Back to the OP if I had your welder I would run 2.5mm gp rods. the duty cycle on your welder wont allow 3.2mm gp rods to be run for any great length of time and probably wouldn't start a low h
austingtir,
Apr 1, 6:26pm
Thats Open Circuit Voltage.(it has a setting for that!)it must be an old semi decent machine as that makes startingand running 6010's and special use electrodes like low hydrogens easier.
I think higher will be for those special electrodes lower will be for the 6013 GP rods.
With some nasty cheap inverters they will only have like 25v ocv so this is why they wont run certain types of electrode right (and generally are pretty poor stick welders) that need a high ocv.With yours a 75v it should run most electrodes.
Its basically adjustble arc force thats the new term for ocv i think.Good inverters will have adjustable arc force over a wide range
owene,
Apr 1, 9:37pm
Won't be long before only cert'd welders will be allowed to weld trailers. Too many towbars have let go after bird-shit welding and killed people.
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