Welding Tips and Tricks

I bought a big pack of 2,5mm 6013. They start easily but Im having a hard time welding with them. I cant really see the difference between slag and puddle, and sometimes get 2 beads with slag in the middle. Or big holes filled with slag. What happens is that the slag seems to "grow" or "swell" and then the arc quits or sticks the rod. What am I doing wrong? Higher amps dont seem to help much, and it feels silly running 130amps on a 2,5mm rod... Switching polarity seems to have no effect either.


Im by no means an expert at welding but I have no problems running same size 7018 with the same machine, I finished the job with those instead. I was replacing the knife on a hydraulic log splitter, using 10mm plate. With the 7018´s I can see the puddle clearly. The welder is a combo tig/stick inverter at 200 amps. Does 140amps 100%.

Thanks in advance,
Jonathan in Sweden

I take it your inverter only does dc? I'd pick up some 6010 or 6011 and run them.

My metric to standard conversions arent very good, but I take it 2.5 mm is 3/32 rod? If your runnin 3/32 at 130 amps, thats the start of your problem right there. 3/32 6013 should be run from about 70-90 amps. For any given size rod, 7018 will run about 15 amps hotter, approximately. So dont try to run the same amperage with 6013 as you do with your 7018.

If it was me I'd try to get some 6011 and see if you have any differance.

Yeah, its DC only, and about 3/32". I increased the amps to see if it welded better, but it didnt help much. But it ran better oven 120 as opposed to under 90. The package actually says 90-110amps.

So is 6013 best run on AC then? The 7018 welded well at 110 amps. It welded lower too, but was harder to start.

Thanks!

I had a real good electrode selection guide at one point, I'm trying to find it again. If I do I'll post it.

I've always ran 6011/6013 on my buzz box, but if I got a dc welder I run 6010. 6011 can be run on either ac or dc, but I'm not sure about 6013.

110 amps for 3/32 7018 sounds just about perfect. Like I said, the 6013 should usually be run alot lower. If your runnin 3/32 6013 at 120 amps your basically mig welding with a stick welder, cause your just spraying metal over a large service area.

Try to get some 6011 or 6010. Also, what are you welding on? Thats going to determine your rod selection and amperage more than anything.

Ill try to get some of those. They are the ones you are supposed to "whip", right? Or can they be welded like 7018´s?

I was welding a new knife, or whats it called in english, to my hydraulic log splitter. The old one was a bit low, got twisted and was way to much of a wedge, so it stuck or voilently split the wood. I welded an upside down "T"-shape from 10mm(thats like 3/8") flat bar, added some 1"x1" angle to the sides to get more wedging effect and then welded that onto the splitter. So it was a t-joint in 3/8, then about 1/8" thick angle against the sides of the 3/8" and then the whole thing against the splitter. And quite some build up in front of the bottom plate to sort of "ramp up" the surface of the splitter, so the logs wont catch against the front of the new knife assembly. Sorry if I make this sound complicated but its a challenge to describe in english and still make sense.

looks kind of this from the top: < I > Angle iron welded to the sides of a about 4" by 3/8" flat.

Came out nice in the end, aside from me being really frustrated with the 6013´s.

drag it. get it right and 6013 will lay a nice bead. i'd bump it to 1/8 inch or get some 3/32 7018 if i was welding that. i use 6013 for light applications....i'd use another rod for your splitter

I´ll try out dragging it next time, think Ill burn a few rods just to try different things.

Actually I did weld the splitter with 3/32" 7018´s, and they welded really good! Splitter is holding up and it works better with the new knife. Welded up a base for it too, from 2" galvanized pipe I had lying around. A few of the 7018 welds are as pretty as a nice mig bead, that feels good

Perhaps unrelevant, but the sound of the 6013´s is more like a hissing with a few crackles and pops while the 7018 kinda crackles harder when Im welding. This is how its supposed to be?

Thanks!

From what I've noticed, yes. The 6013 rods do sound a bit differant than 7018's.

kinda like jet

lincoln website use to offer a nice poster listing the most popular rods and the settings. they also had a handy weld stick selection handbook. good luck navigating their new website

i've found 6013 rod ok for thinner stuff but like the guys are saying, 6010 rod is very versitle

i have that lurking around my box. i'll post it when i find it

Hi again!

I just got hold of some 6013 1/8 rods, and tried welding 6013 again. Seems I might have held to short an arc, because when I lengthened the arc a bit the slag pushed back in the puddle. If I held a short arc the slag would kind of catch the edge of the rod and start to solidify, and the puddle was hidden below the slag all the time. Felt like welding blindfolded. And the beads looked better when I held a longer arc. I was welding on clean scrap 1/4" plate.

Seems there is a sweet spot there, however I still prefer 7018´s. They make tougher welds too, so Ill stick(haha) to them!

Thanks for all advice!

Jonathan in Sweden

Check out the Miller site for info.

http://www.millerwelds.com/resources/ca ... ulator.php

@joseph.mowery

Thanks, thats a really good one! Ill keep it bookmarked for easy reference.

Thanks!

6013 is a general purpose mild steel rod designed and fluxed for AC "crackerboxes", and is often called "farmer rod" for its frequent use in agricultural repair. I've experimented with it (don't ask why... I was bored) and it does perform much better on AC. Perhaps for similar reasons to aluminum? DCEN and DCEP did not produce good or even consistent results.

Steve