How to keep rods dry

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I was wondering how you all keep the rods you don't use that often dry? I don't really weld enough to spend the money on a rod oven. So what do you all recommend? We have drums of dissicent at work I was thinking about getting some and putting it in a cloth bag in a cooler with the rods.
Reply:thry make plastic containers for welding rods that work great and are very inexepencive
Reply:someone told me an old frigerator with a 200 watt bulb works very well leave the light on all the time of course.www.burdettenetworks.com
Reply:I assume you're talking mainly about low hydrogen rods, although in some places, even 6010 might rust easily. In any case, military ammo cans are air tight, and some are tall enough to hold a 5 or 10 pound can of rods;  I have some which are 6" x 11" x 16" tall. Yes, if you store the rod in cans like these with some dry desiccant, they should remain dry and usable. I'm not saying that this will comply with codes, just that it should do the job.Is the desiccant loose in the drums, or rather in small packs, and is it used for items which you ship out, or gotten with things that come in? If the latter, I'd assume they are no longer still as dry as need be, and I'd dehydrate some in an oven following instructions which should come with the desiccant.
Reply:there are getting to be more and more inexpensive 10lb rod ovens.  I think that tweco or keen makes a 10 lb oven for around $100.
Reply:It is the 55 gallon drums of loose dissccant I have a military ammo can I will probably just use that. I just wanted to see what you guys were using. I have 5 or 6 of the plastic rod holders they just don't seem to be air tight and I wanted something to give me alittle more piece of mind.
Reply:Old refer with a light in it dissipates moisture from your can. I've been told by old timers that they use to use a sock full of rice and place them in their open cans and tape them shut to absorb moisture.Shared that with my nephew, he says it works pretty good.
Reply:Kitty litter works good also.
Reply:Just have to throw in my two cents here.  When using a screw lid plastic gasketed type rod holder you're essentially trapping the ambient air inside the container.  This is probably fine if the air temp is 70 and the humidity is 20.  If it's 85 degrees and 78% humidity that moisture is inside the container when you screw it shut.  If the temperature goes down the air cannot hold as much humidity and it will condense IN THE RODS.  Think about a humid summer night.  It's 75 but there's so much dew your pantlegs are dripping wet because the humidity condensed on the grass.  Also not all ammo boxes are waterproof.  The gasketed boxes are (more or less) waterproof but you're going to run into the same problems as you would with a gasketed rod holder.  The non gasketed versions are not waterproof by any stretch of the imagination.  Metal on metal seams don't keep water out.  If it did ship building would be an easy trade to master.
Reply:A guy that I worked with who did hydraulic stuff told me about a pretty cool idea he was using.  He bought a cheapo metal toolbox from the swap meet and then threw in a 25w incandescent bulb with some drying agent.  The box would heat up to 90-100 degrees and he said it worked pretty well and only cost him 5 bucks for the tool box and a couple bucks for the light and the fixture.
Reply:Code work?Rod oven and/or fresh new sealed cans.Low hydrogen rods like 7018?Rod oven and/or fresh new sealed cans.Anything else is just half-a$$ed.6010/6011 rods?  Just keep them mostly dry.  Don't soak them in water, etc, etc.6013 rods?  There the 100W or so bulb in the empty fridge may work (storage specs for those rods is generally store at 100F-130F).Reconditioning rods is a level above and beyond storage conditions.  The low(er) cost rod storage ovens and/or the homemade 'rod storage repurposed fridge' are just storage and will not 'bake' electrodes.  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:For a super cheap drying agent, throw some epsom salts in a casserole dish and put it in the oven, starting it at around 200 f. Hold it at that temp for an hour, then go up 100 degrees, and wait another hour. In between changing temps, stir it up a bit or itll turn into a solid mass as the water comes out. Once you get to 500, hold for an hour, then dump out the now white and dry MgSO4 onto a sheet of aluminum foil until it cools (happens quickly). Store these little crumbs and powder in mason jars with the lids taped.I know that sounds like a PITA, but epsom salts are dirt cheap and if you do a whole bag, you'll have enough to last you a lifetime- MgSO4 is a great drying agent too. You can also recharge used MgSO4 by throwing it back into the oven.After you make the stuff, just fill the bottom of a clean sock with it, tie up the top, and throw it in with your favorite watertight container with your rods, and they'll be and stay completely dry.
Reply:Like toner said there are chemicals which can be added which will absorb moisture in a sealed container and allow you to keep your rods dry.Commonly used ones are magnesium sulfate, sodium sulfate, silica gel, and Drierite.The nice thing about drierite is they add a dye to it that changes color when the material is no longer capable of absorbing water.  When the crystals are dry they are blue, and when they have soaked up all the water that they can they turn pink.If you want to spend a little money and make sure your rods are dry you can pick up some drierite for about $15 for a lb.  When it turns pink just toss it in the over at 450 for an hour and it will be dry again and ready for reuse. If anyone is interested I found a distributer here http://www.hach.com/hc/search.produc...icator%29+454g
Reply:we always used the old refrigerator with the light on. when I was in the field and the rod (7018) got moist I was taught to simply put the rod to the work, without striking the arc, for a few seconds and burn the moisture off. I also use an old refrigerator to keep my paint from getting rapid temperature swings.Steve wife says we would be rich if only I would stop buying toys.
Reply:That's a pretty comprehensive list of general purpose desiccants there, ggarner! I also really like indicating drierite and silica gel for their convenience. You can get these perforated tins of indicating silica gel from Lee Valley (not sure what the US equivalent is) that you just throw in the oven when it changes colour- cant beat it for ease of use. I'll throw a small one of these in with my sock of mgso4 as a kind of 'canary in a coal mine' to let me know when the main desiccant is exhausted (takes years in a properly sealed container).One thing I'd like to point out, though, is that in terms of efficiency, magnesium sulphate is one of the best desiccants around (except for zeolites). It can absorb more than 200% its weight in water, compared to under 7% for Drierite. It really is amazing stuff when its prepared right.For general use though, I'd agree that an indicating desiccant is probably the most appropriate.
Reply:what is the disadvantage of using rods that have been laying around and not "dried" ? Sorry if that sounds newbie but just curious. I'm no pro but I have alot of old rod laying around. Stuff seems ok when I use it.Lincoln Ranger 8Lincoln 140c MigLincoln Tombstone(doesn't everybody have one ?)Miller 200Diesel/Heavy Equipment MechanicLead Plant Mechanic Municipal Water