Old stick rods !

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How to tell if a welding rod is bad without just trying a few ?I got a bunch of rods in an open container that look OK and I will cook them in my oven first to dry them but without welding to see if they cause porosity or worse how can I tell ?I tossed out a few packs as they had white powder sluffing off so I knew they would be crap...If it matters they are 7014-7018 and the blue/green looking SS rods..I also got a still sealed up 5lb packs of 7018 and 316 SS rods, they are old but sealed so they should be fine if heated and dry'd in a oven right ?
Reply:Once 7018's opened it either has to be used up, or stored in a humidity/temp. controlled environment.  I've heard of people drying it out, but it's usually close to when it's been first used.Dunno about 7014, that's the one I might try and see if it runs good.  I might be wrong.Sealed stuff should be fine."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:a year ago a mechanical contractor did some work i supervised and left 40 pounds of a 50 pound box of 7018 behind;i called him and he said he didnt want it because it was open. i am still using it..not for code work but it welds fine .
Reply:7016 and  7018 are both low-hydrogen types so any adsorbed moisture will defeat that property; they still can be used as is where the low-hydrogen property isn't important. The 7014 is an iron-powder type and isn't bothered by being exposed to the air, at least around here where the humidity doesn't reach 95%.I have used old rod, including some with chalky outsides, for temporary, non-critical work, and have seen no obvious problems. I wouldn't use it for repairing vehicle frames, old machinery, building tanks or playground equipment, etc. but I did use old  rusty 6010 and 6013 for building a compost tumbler out of old, rusty and pitted water heater tanks, just out of principle. I wanted everything in the unit to be recycled, left-over or discarded. BTW, the latest batch of compost is cooking at 165*F.If you need to dry rod, a heated vacuum chamber is more efficient than just an oven. Good used vacuum pumps suitable for refrigeration system evacuation are often available pretty cheaply, and a chamber can be made of a  piece of 5 or 6'" diameter pipe with one lathe turned end. The vacuum will hold the cap on, without any fastener being needed. Make the cap with an inside locating boss; even a piece of inner tube will work as a gasket, for a while.Last edited by Oldiron2; 09-12-2008 at 03:08 PM.
Reply:Thanks guys, I wont be welding on anything other than home made stands or repairing my frame of my gate, and to practice....
Reply:agree with oldiron on commonsense use of old rod. i build mainly shelves and ****hooks,,,