6011 help/tips??

admin

I was out today picking up few boxes of rods and decided to get a box of 6011 3.2/ 1/8 rods.Gave them a try when i got home ( never ran them before ) and they showed me no love. Ran them from 100amps to 125amps (arc force from soft to crisp )and just could not find a sweet spot. All welds in the fat position. Had varying problems like severe sticking, arc going out at lower amps, flux blackening/burning up the rod just to name a few.  Ran some different rods to see if it was machine probs and 7018, 7024, 6013, 7014 and a hardface rod, all ran great.I noticed that if i lay the rod down a bit more i had more success but not sure if this is still the right angle to run this rod at.Any tips? Thanks in advance.
Reply:6010/6011 need to be whipped..got fotos?6011 is designed for ac, many folks prefer to run them on dc...you might be a little too hot at 100-125 amps...
Reply:Burned allot fo 6011 around the farm for general repairs, on stuff not so clean.  Used an old AC Buzz box and the arc is not soft by any means.  Its a good general purpose penetrating rod but I have come to prefer 6010 using DC unless I get into a spot where arc blow is a challenge.  Whip it as Weldbead mentioned, you may get an old rusted piece someday that needs a bead.GeezerPower Mig 255C185 TIGBlue 175 MIGRanger 8 Kohler 20HP1974 5K Lincoln/Wisconsin Powered (Cherry)Victor/Harris O/AK 487 Spool Gun
Reply:Whip and pause, or small circles, no straight dragging with 6010/6011.MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:Couple of pics.  Actually got to lay a bead without problem but still need a little work.  Not pretty welds.First is 3.2/ 1/8 rod, DC+, 110amps, arc force +7Second same settings as above.Third is with Broken Arc setting, 3.2/ 1/8 rod, 115amps, arc force +7 Attached Images
Reply:Not sure what you mean by Broken ARc (AC?).the stuff runs good on AC .  Make small circles which take the tip of the rod into, and out of the puddle as you progress.  You'll wind up with the familiar stack of dimes effect, like fish scales.While it's not considered a pretty weld, beauty is in the eye of the beholder  It's just a different kind of weld, but done well I think it looks fine.  It can't all look like MIGMaybe start around 90 amps, get comfortable, then increase amps as you learn to handle the rod.  It's a digger"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:What the heck is arc force????Duhu??Miller TrailBlazer 251Miller HF-250-1Miller MaxStar 150 STLHyperTherm PowerMax 380 plasmaLincoln PowerMig 180Millermatic 252Miller Diversion 180
Reply:this is a live and learn world..friday i was watching a pretty good weldor weldin on  some handrail butt joints..1 -1/2"  pipe, not much more than 1/8 wall..heavy galvanizing..not the best fitup... nice old weldanpower 150amp machine...5/32 "  6011 at 85 amps//???weak arc... hold-hold-hold-whip, hold-hold-hold-whip...he got a nice bead...cant get no fotos, classified project... when i asked wtf, he smiled and said  the idea is to get it done...live and learn...
Reply:Burnt some 6011 on my AC225 yesterday, had severe sticking issues. I was laying a 2" square tube under a C channel frame, approximately 1/8-3/16" thick. My 2" square tube was about 3/16" wall. Welds look terrible, but they will hold and I am still getting familiar with stick welding again.I took the time to clean my material with a wire wheel on my grinder. Set welder at 75A, stick really bad, had to go to 90A to get it to arc initially. Tacked piece in place, once the rod was hot I could drop the machine to 75A and it would arc with a small scratch across the material. Load a new rod and at 75A I could not get an arc again, so same process as before. Problem is, at 90A and running this rod, I could very easily burn through the C channel.Any suggestions why I am having trouble getting an initial arc?Thank everyone!Murphy's Law: When something has been made idiot-proof, someone will invent a better idiot.  -MAC702
Reply:At lower amperages, I find that I really need to exaggerate the strike, like striking a match, to get an arc started without sticking. You gotta keep it moving until the arc is established.  The lower the amperage, the harder it gets to not stick it... but it's kinda like the Limbo, the more you practice, the lower you can go. Work HARDER, not smarter! ------------------------ Miller Bobcat 250Millermatic 251Lincoln Precision TIG 185Hypertherm PM 600Hobart 135 HandlerOxweld 400 FlameMaster
Reply:This and the above post are directed to Chaz3882...You didn't mention in your post what diameter rod you were using.  Smaller is obviously better at the lower amps.  I was recently running some 3/32 E6011 DCEP at 45-50 amps on some thin stuff.  I imagine it might be a little tougher on A/C... haven't tried it in a while.  Hope I'm not just stating the obvious here.Last edited by Leadhead1911; 10-25-2009 at 01:49 PM.Work HARDER, not smarter! ------------------------ Miller Bobcat 250Millermatic 251Lincoln Precision TIG 185Hypertherm PM 600Hobart 135 HandlerOxweld 400 FlameMaster
Reply:Originally Posted by waginWhat the heck is arc force????Duhu??
Reply:Originally Posted by farmersammNot sure what you mean by Broken ARc (AC?).the stuff runs good on AC .  Make small circles which take the tip of the rod into, and out of the puddle as you progress.  You'll wind up with the familiar stack of dimes effect, like fish scales.While it's not considered a pretty weld, beauty is in the eye of the beholder  It's just a different kind of weld, but done well I think it looks fine.  It can't all look like MIGMaybe start around 90 amps, get comfortable, then increase amps as you learn to handle the rod.  It's a digger
Reply:I just welded up a table yesterday/today using all Hobart 1/8 rods, ~110-115 amps... No problems sticking, just doesn't look great.Ran it all on DCEP, didn't even bother doing AC.Probably should have gave it a shot...no problems with rods sticking however.Using a TB 302.Did a lot of flat passes on 1/8 wall pipe to 1/8 diamond steel, 1/8 diamond steel to 1/4 flat bar (T joint)... Then overhead welds 1/8 wall pipe to 1" thick plate.Great penetration, doesn't look pretty, but meh.Granted the diamond plate and 1" plate were all really, really rusty, and didnt bother grinding them... however I did grind the pipe. Used maybe 10-15lbs.It gave me a decent amount of stick practice, I'll tell you!
Reply:I've used 6011 here on the farm for along time, with my old WNP-200 I can run it on 50 amps with 1/8 rod and make a pretty decent weld on exhaust pipe. It just takes practice, some days it looks good other days like crap, part me and part the welder, it had a bad plug wire and wasn't making full power part of the timeRob H.