I went and got 5lbs of new rods, (3/32" and 1/8"), and was pleasantly surprised with the change in performance. I didn't try to wet the old ones because they had been in my garage, if you can call it that, with a big hole in the roof. Although the plastic wrap was still on, I figured they ...

What are the weld characteristics of old, off color, cracked, rusty and probably damp 6011's look and act like with an inverter machine?

I am a life long IT manager / Software Engineer, (I'm old), but always loved things mechanical. A retired Union Steel Worker gave me his old Lincoln Weldnpower that didn't work. After I put the wire back on the primary side of the generator, the field built and I got spark. With zero welding experie...