can 7018 go bad in a oven

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so i took a 6g pipe test today and failed the x-ray which sucks bad. this is not the first xray test or xray weld ive done ive have a couple dozen under my belt. so i think by now i know what will and will not be conciderd acceptable for the weld. my question is the rods they gave me to use for my fill and cap looked like they had been in the rod oven for a while. they were 7018 excaliber rods but had turn a grayish color some even had what apperied to be rust on the outside of the flux. what im wondering is even with them being stored in a oven they dont last for ever right they can still go bad. i failed the test due to perosity. i was fighting on all of my starts and having to grind it out after each pass. should i request a retest due to the supplied rods being bad or what. let me know what you think.
Reply:I would buy my own brand new can of rods and try the test again.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Stored properly, 7018 rods will not go 'bad'.Stored improperly, they can be no good.If the rods were exposed to atmosphere and then just put into a rod oven and -not- run through a rebake, then they were stored improperly.If the rods were not put  through the proper rebake time and temperature and then -stored- at the proper storage temperature in a rod oven, then they were stored improperly.Maybe part of the test was to see if you would recognize 'bad' rods and not use them.  Nothing so obvious as maybe water dripping off of them   , but maybe something a little more subtle as some rust on the flux (if there is rust on the flux, then -something- with iron and water was touching the rod) or some flaking or discolored flux (indicating improper storage of some type).Right from Lincoln stick catalog C2.10 dated 8/09:  Any low hydrogen electrode should be discarded ifexcessive re-drying causes the coating to becomefragile and flake or break off while welding, or if there isa noticeable difference in handling or arc characteristics,such as insufficient arc force.  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:They supplied the rods, but you made the decision to test with them.  Ultimately its still your fault.I went through the same thing, used rods I thought were good but most likely due to improper storage I busted out because of porosity.  It sucks, but I should have known better.Have we all gone mad?
Reply:I have tried a lot of different lo-hy rods (7018) and it seems that excaliber rod does give trouble starting. It's a must to bring your own rods because you can't always be sure the testing facility follows all the rules on rod storage. Most just ain't gonna throw away them away. To the rod oven they'll go regardless if they were ruined or not. Excaliber sucks
Reply:thanks for the advice i should have known  better i guess i just didnt want to bother the qc guy he was kinda being a prick from the moment i showed up but i should have asked any way i guess. i would not have used them in the field thats for sure i dont know what would make me think it would be ok on a test since from what i have been told the tolerances are twice as strict then field testing for what they alow. oh well they said i can retest in october so not much i can do about till then. live and learn i guess. its all part of the game.
Reply:They should tell you why you busted out. If there were no ip indications (insufficient penetration) and no trapped slag it must have been porosity. This could be from a few things like long arc, dragging your rod too far on restarts and of course wet rods. If your technique is ok by all means buy a 5 lb can and don't open them untill your test.
Reply:on a couple of jobs ive been we started with Excalibur rod and had all kinds of porosity problems and blown shots ...Excalibur is junk as soon as we got them to get a different rod all the problems went away.we switched to atom arc from Esab and never looked backI have been told contractors buy Excalibur because it is real cheep and the penny pincers dont know any better.After the arc has died the weld remains
Reply:ditto boilermaker. Atom arc is the sh t.  I request everytime the company I work for purchases rod
Reply:Also rods can only be rebaked twice. Get a new sealed package and open them immediately before the test.AWS certified welding inspectorAWS certified welder