Storing 7018 rods

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uh. hi. i would like to ask if what would happen to my low hydro rod if iwouldnt store it in an oven. since i woyld like to try to practice low hydro rods but i dont have an oven. would it affect the way i weld? or just the strength would be the disadvantage?Sent from my GT-S5570 using Tapatalk 2
Reply:Uh..... Hi......Lo Hi rods don't have be stored in an oven to run well, but it does help.......Keep them away from moisture...... before I got my oven (thanks Stick-man!) I just kept them in the house, since we have A/C, there is no humidity in the house.....Another option: Get an old ammo bucket...... drill a hole in the side and put a small light bulb in there with power......Just keep them dry...... Code work is a different story..... but then again....... this wouldn't be the question from a code welder......Precision TIG 185 and MP 210Bobcat 225NTCutmaster 42O/A tanks.... 2 Argon tanks...... 2 C25 TanksFacebook...... F2 Metal WorksETSY....... https://www.etsy.com/shop/F2MetalWorksF2MetalWorks.com....... http://www.f2metalworks.com/
Reply:I haven't opened my packs of LH rods yet because I'm making some airtight containers for them, which I shall purge with argon gas. This is what I'm making but the parts are in Australia. However I'm sure the parts in the US will be quite similar. I've got everything done except for a small rod retreival cap on one end.90mm plastic stormwater pipe. Glue on an end cap at one end and a male threaded coupler at the other end, onto which screws a flat inspection lid with a rubber o-ring seal. In the end cap I drill a hole to take a car tyre valve, and in the screw on cap I'm going to install a small access cap maybe an inch in diameter so I can get a rod out without opening up the whole end of the container which would cause mixing of air and argon pretty quickly. I may need to use longnose pliers to grab a rod each time. I'm making up a line to connect to my argon regulator then I can purge the container once the welding rods are in. There's no moisture in the argon gas so no moisture can get into the rods.This will beat having a continuously heated container on all the time plus it's portable. You could even get one of those mini disposable argon bottles for portability to give the occasional purge to the container after you've took a few rods out. Or if you can't have any risk of any air entering the container, each time you want to retrieve or rod, loosen the little end cap and just have a trickle of argon gas purge. Take of the cap, remove a rod, put the cap on loose, turn off the purge, and tighten the cap. That system should keep even reconditioned LH rods bone dry.Some people have talked about something like this but drawing a vaccuum instead. To me that's no good because you must have a rock solid airtight and vaccuum proof container otherwise air could be slowly sucked in. Plus what do you do when you want to get a rod out (vaccuum it down again ??). Purging with argon or perhaps nitrogen gets rid of these problems.I heard of some guy who uses the argon approach but he also has a low pressure regulator hooked up so there's always a slight positive pressure of argon in the container.Keith.Last edited by mancavedweller; 11-24-2012 at 09:27 PM.
Reply:One possible idea for storing the 7018's might be vacuum bags like the ones for food.Immediately upon opening a box of rods, you could quickly sort out bunches you think you might need at a time, say, 5, 10 or 20 rods.  Put each bunch of rods in a vacuum sealed bag using one of the sealers for food bags.  You could use the homeowner's type or a commercial type.  Just make sure the bags are a heavy duty type to resist puncturing.  You could even wrap each rod bunch in thin cardboard before bagging to further protect the bags. They hold a vacuum that's good enough for food, so they should be OK for rods.  Just keep each sealed bag in a box or tube until ready for use.
Reply:Or you could spend 100$ and buy a rod oven.....but what would i know. If your building art, who cares, if your doing structural, best have an oven, if your doing shut down boiler work or power piping, better make sure the rod oven works.I forgot how to change this.
Reply:Originally Posted by FexalUh..... Hi......Lo Hi rods don't have be stored in an oven to run well, but it does help.......Keep them away from moisture...... before I got my oven (thanks Stick-man!) I just kept them in the house, since we have A/C, there is no humidity in the house.....Another option: Get an old ammo bucket...... drill a hole in the side and put a small light bulb in there with power......Just keep them dry...... Code work is a different story..... but then again....... this wouldn't be the question from a code welder......
Reply:Originally Posted by mancavedwellerI haven't opened my packs of LH rods yet because I'm making some airtight containers for them, which I shall purge with argon gas. This is what I'm making but the parts are in Australia. However I'm sure the parts in the US will be quite similar. I've got everything done except for a small rod retreival cap on one end.90mm plastic stormwater pipe. Glue on an end cap at one end and a male threaded coupler at the other end, onto which screws a flat inspection lid with a rubber o-ring seal. In the end cap I drill a hole to take a car tyre valve, and in the screw on cap I'm going to install a small access cap maybe an inch in diameter so I can get a rod out without opening up the whole end of the container which would cause mixing of air and argon pretty quickly. I may need to use longnose pliers to grab a rod each time. I'm making up a line to connect to my argon regulator then I can purge the container once the welding rods are in. There's no moisture in the argon gas so no moisture can get into the rods.This will beat having a continuously heated container on all the time plus it's portable. You could even get one of those mini disposable argon bottles for portability to give the occasional purge to the container after you've took a few rods out. Or if you can't have any risk of any air entering the container, each time you want to retrieve or rod, loosen the little end cap and just have a trickle of argon gas purge. Take of the cap, remove a rod, put the cap on loose, turn off the purge, and tighten the cap. That system should keep even reconditioned LH rods bone dry.Some people have talked about something like this but drawing a vaccuum instead. To me that's no good because you must have a rock solid airtight and vaccuum proof container otherwise air could be slowly sucked in. Plus what do you do when you want to get a rod out (vaccuum it down again ??). Purging with argon or perhaps nitrogen gets rid of these problems.I heard of some guy who uses the argon approach but he also has a low pressure regulator hooked up so there's always a slight positive pressure of argon in the container.Keith.
Reply:Originally Posted by shortfuseOne possible idea for storing the 7018's might be vacuum bags like the ones for food.Immediately upon opening a box of rods, you could quickly sort out bunches you think you might need at a time, say, 5, 10 or 20 rods.  Put each bunch of rods in a vacuum sealed bag using one of the sealers for food bags.  You could use the homeowner's type or a commercial type.  Just make sure the bags are a heavy duty type to resist puncturing.  You could even wrap each rod bunch in thin cardboard before bagging to further protect the bags. They hold a vacuum that's good enough for food, so they should be OK for rods.  Just keep each sealed bag in a box or tube until ready for use.
Reply:Originally Posted by LawsonWeldingLLCOr you could spend 100$ and buy a rod oven.....but what would i know. If your building art, who cares, if your doing structural, best have an oven, if your doing shut down boiler work or power piping, better make sure the rod oven works.
Reply:Originally Posted by derekgabsCool idea shortfuse, but one question, would i need to purge out the air inside the food bags like ziplock after putting the rods? (Sorry for the ignorant question)
Reply:What about just putting a hand full in your kitchen ove at say 400 degrees F for 20 30 minutes befor use?
Reply:Originally Posted by shortfuseThe food sealing bag system I referred to is one that when you lay the bag on the sealing surfaces, a vacuum sucks all the air out of the bag then heat seals it.  No air, no moisture.  Used to store and/or freeze food.  Search around google, you're sure to find one.  Like this search, and you can do others.http://www.google.com/search?q=vacuu...rchBox&ie=&oe=If you're not a heavy lo-hy rod user, it would be a way go keep the rods dry without using an oven and you could just open small batches as you need them.
Reply:Originally Posted by Ironhead1983What about just putting a hand full in your kitchen ove at say 400 degrees F for 20 30 minutes befor use?
Reply:If you're just wanting to putz around with the 7018's to learn how they weld, then forget about the oven, moisture, etc and just buy some and run them.  I've run 20-year old 5/32" 7018's that sat in an opened box on a farm shelf all of their lives, and they ran pretty respectably, all things considered.  When you start building for-real structural (not welding tables or carts) or pressure-holding projects, then you need to start doing things right.  At that point you skip the light bulbs and other ideas, and either use a rod oven or use new rods from a sealed can.
Reply:I experimented with the vacuum bag system, I wasn't too impressed. I took a heavy duty plastic rod holder tube and put it under full vacuum, using either an Air conditioner pump or a hose on a car intake manifold. It pulled it down to 20" or so, but I really don't know how to tell if it worked well. I assume it keeps moisture out, but don't have any data to prove it.  What do you guy's think?  I broke it down into small, usable packages.   Sealed them under high vacuum, and hoped for the best. I would guess there is no moisture, but not sure how to check.  I know it's gotta be cheaper than a  rod oven.
Reply:Originally Posted by tbone550If you're just wanting to putz around with the 7018's to learn how they weld, then forget about the oven, moisture, etc and just buy some and run them. .......When you start building for-real structural (not welding tables or carts) or pressure-holding projects, then you need to start doing things right.  At that point you skip the light bulbs and other ideas, and either use a rod oven or use new rods from a sealed can.
Reply:Originally Posted by tbone550If you're just wanting to putz around with the 7018's to learn how they weld, then forget about the oven, moisture, etc and just buy some and run them.  I've run 20-year old 5/32" 7018's that sat in an opened box on a farm shelf all of their lives, and they ran pretty respectably, all things considered.  When you start building for-real structural (not welding tables or carts) or pressure-holding projects, then you need to start doing things right.  At that point you skip the light bulbs and other ideas, and either use a rod oven or use new rods from a sealed can.
Reply:Originally Posted by blackbartI experimented with the vacuum bag system, I wasn't too impressed. I took a heavy duty plastic rod holder tube and put it under full vacuum, using either an Air conditioner pump or a hose on a car intake manifold. It pulled it down to 20" or so, but I really don't know how to tell if it worked well. I assume it keeps moisture out, but don't have any data to prove it.  What do you guy's think?  I broke it down into small, usable packages.   Sealed them under high vacuum, and hoped for the best. I would guess there is no moisture, but not sure how to check.  I know it's gotta be cheaper than a  rod oven.