What makes a 7018 act like a 6011

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Well not exactly but close. Brand new lincoln acdc 225, brand new lincoln rods, set to the recommended settings on dc (225). Tried a little cooler one click but still the same. Also the welds were dark and the slag hard to remove. Is it the brand of rods? I had not used a 7018 in a couple years or so and seem to remember they 7018 always made a nice clean and shiny bead plus the slag practically just rolled off and they never had this splatter stuff that I can remember. Any ideas? Attached Images
Reply:Could be either arc blow or too high of amps, that's the only time I have problems of throwing buckshot like that. Try moving your ground clamp around, also make sure your rods are fresh out of a oven around 350.
Reply:Wrong polarity.My name's not Jim....
Reply:Hello QTEX, gotta agree with SR20steve on the arc blow portion of his comment, only reason that I might not agree with the too high of amperage part is based on your comment about using the proper amperage according to your rod type and diameter and providing that the machine is actually putting out the correct amperage. You mentioned the color of the slag, dark, hard to remove slag when I have experienced it, has had a lot to do with the preparation of the material being welded. If you grind your weld joint contact surfaces to bright metal and have the amperage set in the correct range the weld bead will generally have a lighter colored slag(providing that the rod used is of that type) and the resulting bead will have the slag peel-up after itself as you are welding alot of the time.The arc blow phenomenon can be ground related, inherent magnitism of the material being welded or a number of other things. General rule of thumb, try to weld away from the ground whenever possible, avoid the use of set-up magnets when it comes to actually welding out your parts, in other words, remove them when it's time to weld. There are a number of other methods that people have employed to account for or deal with arc blow, too many to even to attempt to list in one posting. Try doing a forum search here or on other welding forums for arc blow and also try google or some of the other search engines, it is likely that you will find a lot of great information to thoroughly explain the term. There are also beliefs that point to either thermal arc blow or electrical arc blow and detail the differences and remedies as well. Good luck and best regards, please share any additional results or thoughts, Allanaevald
Reply:I'm not a "pro," but one way to help alleviate arc blow is to weld toward the ground clamp.  Also, with 7018 I've noticed that I must remove all of the mill scale on any hot rolled steel.Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life Member
Reply:Originally Posted by SuperArcI'm not a "pro," but one way to help alleviate arc blow is to weld toward the ground clamp.  Also, with 7018 I've noticed that I must remove all of the mill scale on any hot rolled steel.
Reply:Polarity isn't your problem.  one thing that hasn't been discussed is long arcing.  I ahve seen buckshot like that when amps are too high and also when there is too long of an arc.  the long arc would output more heat and may possibly be what is darkening your slag.  You didn't tell us what polarity or amp your were welding with also.  you could have your dial set at 125 on the DC scale but the polarity switch set on AC and really be welding at 225 amps.  need more info.
Reply:Wrong polarity wont cause that,staright polarity is sometimes used for open root passes.  Arc blow is the problem here. Lower amperage sometimes helps, changing the ground clamp position can help and other times you just have to switch the machine to AC and weld.Journeyman / Red Seal Welder (What a useless test)Miller CST 280Miller XMT 350Miller 12vs XtremeEvolution Evo 28 mag drillEvolution 380 Dry Cut saw
Reply:Keep ur arc length to 1/8'' and for 1/8 rod use about 130-140 to start 5/32 170-185  it looks like ur welding on pipe so i would turn that amps down from there but that should get you in the ballpark also make sure they are fresh rods if 7018 will attract moisture and when the slag is a very chocolate brown its usually the rods have sat out too long.
Reply:Did you buy 7018ac rods by accident. If you mentioned your machine to you lws, he may have assumed it was an ac only machine. Most of them are usually the older models.I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Originally Posted by QTEXBrand new lincoln acdc 225, brand new lincoln rods, set to the recommended settings on dc (225)...
Reply:You are keeping the rod too far out of the puddle.
Reply:Thanks for the replys, will get exact info tomarrow, been working long hours so will get back with more info on machine and settings. For now !/8 new lincoln rods, pipe in pics is 3/8th and sides are 1/4. Everything I ready here and other places say weld 7018 on dc, did ask the shop to make sure they aere dc rods but  who knows, some times we know more than the sellers employees. Thinking more that arc length is the issue, settings are correct as per manual and mfger.
Reply:AC rods run fine on DC, in fact smoother than they do on AC.Looks like arc blow and maybe a few too many amps.Last edited by Oldtimer; 04-05-2012 at 09:00 AM.
Reply:Originally Posted by Stick-manDid you mean "away" from the ground clamp? I am right handed. I usually weld from left to right. I position my ground clamp to the left of my weld so as to direct my arc blow back into the puddle instead of ahead of my puddle.
Reply:1/8" 7018 @ 225 amps ???
Reply:7018?Don't whip or long-arc it.  7018 is a 'drag' rod.  Light the arc and then pretty much bury the rod tip under the slag.Even 'brand new' rods may not be 'good enough', unless they were brand-new fresh out of a factory sealed CAN, not just some 7018 out of a cardboard box with plastic wrap on it (read the fine print, the rods out of the cardboard or plastic boxes are supposed to be rebaked before use).  7018 is suppsoed to be low hydrogen, but sitting in a cardboard or plastic box for however long gives the flux coating plenty of time to absorb at least some moisture/humidity from the air.  Which means not really low hydrogen any more.  Rebake it.Or use rods fresh from a factory-sealed metal can.And Lincoln currently makes/lists about 7 different 7018 electrodes.  Although they are all 7018, they are not all the same.Too much spatter can also be (as mentioned) from too much amperage (dial/switch set to 'wrong' mode/range) and from long-arcing.  The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:Long Arc. Ive run Atom Arc 3/32 that will do that if your not perfectly gaped. Excalibur seems more forgiving.30 amp rule is a good place to start.For every 32nds of an inch, 30 amps. So 3/32 would be 90 amps to start, and fine tune from there. "The puddle knows all"Lincoln Power MIG 210 MP ( boat anchor )Lincoln Weld-Pac 100 HDHobart IronMan 230Cutmaster 42Jackson NexGenSumner Ultra ClampsDWM120
Reply:Okay, as promised here are some pics of the rod,welder and settings. As you can see I had my 225/125 confused, just remembered seeing the 225 in my head but really the same setting, machine is set to DC so its actually 125 and there is no 120 setting so I did try the 115 and actually did most of that weld on the 115 setting as I could tell it was too much heat.I still think its the arc length as well as the next pic explains a more plausible explanation. May explain why the metals have a oily residue too as mentioned in another thread by someone else. Attached Images
Reply:Well at least it wasnt China, lol. However I truly think they are inferior rods now, had not noticed this before. Attached ImagesLast edited by QTEX; 04-05-2012 at 11:10 PM.
Reply:BTW, with the main chamber of the bbq pit being 3/8,  seriously think that 120/125 is too hot, thats some thick steel.
Reply:If you were running 1/8" on 80 amps DC, it would be way too cold.  I usually run 1/8" on 135 or so.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:Originally Posted by QTEXBTW, with the main chamber of the bbq pit being 3/8,  seriously think that 120/125 is too hot, thats some thick steel.
Reply:Its a rod problem LH -78 is for real welders not a buzz box low open circut voltage welder go to HD or Lowes ,Tractor Supply and get AC 7018.
Reply:Originally Posted by PavinsteelmanIts a rod problem LH -78 is for real welders not a buzz box low open circut voltage welder go to HD or Lowes ,Tractor Supply and get AC 7018.Originally Posted by SuperArcSo a "buzz box" is not a REAL welding machine??? Dang, I guess I better get rid of that "fake" one that welded up thousands  of "fake" weld beads over the years.
Reply:No never said the AC225 is a real welder it is the. worlds largest seller ,it does not have enough open circuit voltage for standard E7018.  You need to use low open circuit voltage rods Same with trying to run E6010 on ac it will not work.  The tombstone AC 250 and TM welders will work.
Reply:Originally Posted by PavinsteelmanNo never said the AC225 is a real welder it is the. worlds largest seller ,it does not have enough open circuit voltage for standard E7018.  You need to use low open circuit voltage rods Same with trying to run E6010 on ac it will not work.  The tombstone AC 250 and TM welders will work.
Reply:You are right dc only 6010,  a DC/AC transformer 250/ TM.  -300/650 has high ocv. Will run 6010.on DC.
Reply:Yes what pavinsteel said....... 6010 is ONLY a "DC" rod.  For an AC only Lincoln Tombstone (AC only model), Miller Thunderbolt (AC only model) or Hobart Stickmate (AC only model), one can use 6011 which is almost exactly (in performance) like 6010, yet designed for "AC only" machines.Now,  any "AC" specific rod (6011, 7018AC) can be used on both AC or DC settings. 7018 is different than 7018AC.   I'm just throwing this out there in case someone new reads this thread and doesn't understand the difference.   Last edited by SuperArc; 04-07-2012 at 11:46 PM.Lincoln Power Mig 216Lincoln AC/DC-225/125Miller  625 X-Treme PlasmaMiller 211 Forney 95FI-A 301HF 91110Victor Journeyman O/PMilwaukee DaytonMakita  Baileigh NRA Life Member
Reply:Originally Posted by PavinsteelmanYou are right dc only 6010,  a DC/AC transformer 250/ TM.  -300/650 has high ocv. Will run 6010.on DC.
Reply:Originally Posted by Stick-manSorry Pavinsteelman, I know I read that twice, and I still messed it up. I "thought" you were saying you have to run 6010 on higher OCV AC machines. My dumb @ss!
Reply:As a starting guideline you can take the size of the rod, 1/8 for example and divide the first number by the second to get a starting point. So 1 divided by 8 = 0.125 for 125 amps. This is a starting point only as I also like to run about 135 amps.Looking at your 1st pictures with all the spatter, besides it being to hot it also looks like your travel speed was too fast. Try staying in your puddle. Just remember that the puddle should have a silk look to it and be rounded not pointed. And you have the correct angle?
Reply:Originally Posted by jbmprodshey Mr. Sticky, it might be time to step up from the store bought readers.
Reply:Read boxes carefully Lincoln has Excaliber 7018 MR/Jetweld LH -70 / LH-78 MR / Lincoln 7018 AC / Excaliber 7018-1 MR  all very different with different PQR needed !!!   A little known fact the base electrode metal is the same for E 60 to E90 rods the chemistry is in the coating ??? Watch all electrode selection for base metal , hydrogen and charpy V notch requirements , heat imput is also stated in many specs along with preheat and interpass temp. I am  used to working with bridge and structural welding , pipe and vessels are very different .