Welding Tips and Tricks

I have some questions on downhill procedure.

Im practicing for 6G cross country pipe. All passes downhill: root, fill, cap. From what I have been told by the instructor at school, root is 6010 (typical) but filler and cap are 7010. I am curious to know, what are the parameters most commonly used in this procedure?

Heres what I am working with:
1/8 rod 6010 - 1/8 root gap and land - 78 to 80 amps. Roots going in fine downhill....

I need some help on what settings I should beging with for filler and cap. Any suggestions from experience would be considered greatly healpful.


Thanks!

Jake

I'm no pipe welder but I do run a fair amount of 6010/7010/8010.
I know nothing of roots and bevels, but as to hot pass and cap, try 110-120amps with a 1/8" rod.
You gotta have power to hold your slag back as you go side to side.
What machine you running?
Be sure to set it to crisp, or 100% arc force...

There's a few good vids on downhill pipe welding on yt, I'll get the links for you later.

Every pipe will be different. What size pipe do you have? GENERALLY you will fill with an 1/8" @ around 90-95 amps and cap with a 5/32" rod at about 115-120 amps. But again it depends on your pipe, your machine and lead length, the preheat of the pipe (there is usually none on the test coupons) etc. Find out as close as you can to what you can or will be working on and try to simulate that and that includes your equipment. Once you have the feel for it you will be able to adjust.

Thanks for the info.

I dont have access to 1/8 7010 rods. At the moment all I have on hand is 5/32. Im "warming up" on plate (yesterday and today), 3/8 thickness, 8" joint, 30 degree bevel/60 degree angle, 1/8 land, 3G position, and trying to get the feel of downhill. Its very different from 7018 up. Ive noticed its much more forgiving. Undercut seems impossible while underfill seems to be more of an issue, which is why I am curious about amps. Im running my hot pass (5/32 rod) at 95-100 amps, whipping, and my fill pass at 110, weaving, and my cap at 115, slightly weaving. Ive had better success on the cap with a single fill pass and running stringers for the cap.

Im just curious to know, what range of amps are used in the field? Yes, pipe size is a factor, along with machine and rod size, but if I could just get some input from an experienced field welder it would be a great starting point as to what I should begin to prepare for. Other questions are: how many passes are you running (at what amps), how are you doing your hot/fill/cap, etc..

Thanks again,

Jake

Find some 1/8" at all costs. 1/8" 6010 will run almost exactly the same as 7010 and 8010. Its a rarity to see anything bigger being used in the root. Your amps are comparable. Keep in mind g with 5g and 6g pipe you will see all positions in one weld joint find what feels best for you not what everyone else runs. If the slag is catching you going downhill you are either to cold or to slow. But the amps you listed seem to be close to what you need. Post some pics for critique if you want more in depth info. Without seeing your work its hard to tell you where to adjust.

If you want to do pipeline learn to layout and fit a branch test, most places will test with that.

Thanks.

Ill get some pics up at lunch.

Any info on where I can find specs/WPS for a branch test?

This was a downhand socket weld with 1/8" 6010 95 amps. I thought I had a pic that would show a cap I did today downhand but it is all fuzzy and crap.


The jungle gym I welded up over the past couple o days, most of it I downhand a root pass with 6010 5p+ then do a fill/cap with 7018 pipe ranges from 1 1/4" to 3" typically on jobs I am on.