[TimR]

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

[Louie1961]

6011's don't need to be kept in an oven, and since they have a cellulose flux actually run better if slightly wet. Some people here report "rejuvinating" 6010 and 6011 by soaking them in the sink briefly.

Cracked and rusty is a whole different animal. I would throw the cracked and rusty rods in the scrap bin. But if they are just old, give them a rinse and motor on.

In general, 6011 should run fine on an inverter. if they are old and dry the flux might catch fire. In general 6011 is a very driving rod with deep penetration, and very little flux covering of the weld bead. They also produce a rough or irregular bead profile. They are not a smooth bead like a 6013, 7014 or 7018.

[Artie F. Emm]

Some people here report "rejuvinating" 6010 and 6011 by soaking them in the sink briefly.

Is there a "best practice" way to do this? Seems like wetting the rods without saturating would be the way to go. I tried aome old 6011s a while back, and they wouldn't burn as they usually do.

[Coldman]

A wipe with a wet rag is better than a dunk


Sent using Tapatalk

[TimR]

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 were damp because they were rusty and cracked because they had swollen. That was just a guess on my part however. I would say 10% of the rods were not cracked and or rusted but had changed to a dark color so I used those. I have been burning the new rods and they work great and even getting slag peel with the new ones. I like slag peel.

[Trident]

I bought old 6011 of ebay, on a fillet weld some of the rods tend to burn on one side not wanting to dig in. I thought it was due to the rod being drayed up, or some of the rods not centered in the flux.

Hjortur