7018 excaliber characteristics

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I used the excaliburs for the first time the other day to get d1.1 cert & bought 50 lbs for the job.  I really liked them taking the test but in the field they did act the same. They do not burn as well at higher amps. I took the test & took time to be sure everything was just so. I welded cooler than I normally do to be sure not to undercut. I was nervous bc it was my first test. I burn 7018 for 90% of my work with my little 225 d plus . I use technaweld brand at 120 to 145 amps with great success. The excalibur rods splatter and the slag becomes very hard to remove @ 130. I wonder is it me, the machine does not like the ammunition, or does the rod just like that? They perform flawless lower than 130 amps.  Thanks for any thoughts or input.
Reply:Originally Posted by ironhead worksI used the excaliburs for the first time the other day to get d1.1 cert & bought 50 lbs for the job.  I really liked them taking the test but in the field they did act the same. They do not burn as well at higher amps. I took the test & took time to be sure everything was just so. I welded cooler than I normally do to be sure not to undercut. I was nervous bc it was my first test. I burn 7018 for 90% of my work with my little 225 d plus . I use technaweld brand at 120 to 145 amps with great success. The excalibur rods splatter and the slag becomes very hard to remove @ 130. I wonder is it me, the machine does not like the ammunition, or does the rod just like that? They perform flawless lower than 130 amps.  Thanks for any thoughts or input.
Reply:Thanks RhynoThe rods are warm and  dry. I like the atom arc also, and will use them next time. Is 130 amps excessive for 1/8 th excalibur?
Reply:130 amps is not excessive for 1/8" 7018Did you take your test on one machine and do your field work on another machine?  If your field machine is AC and your rod is not 7018AC rod, that could be the problem...MM350P/Python/Q300MM175/Q300DialarcHFHTP MIG200PowCon300SMHypertherm380ThermalArc185Purox oaF350CrewCab4x4LoadNGo utilitybedBobcat250XMT304/Optima/SpoolmaticSuitcase12RC/Q300Suitcase8RC/Q400Passport/Q300Smith op
Reply:The Excalibur rod can be picky about arc force settings.  If you have the ability to play with the arc force, do so.  We have run the Excalibur here on wall thicknesses exceeding 4 inches with no problems after tweaking the settings on the invertec machines.  The rod also does not respond well to being baked at excessively high temperatures.
Reply:I don't know if this helps.....My exerience has been pretty much the same.  The Excalibur seems to run better in the lower end of the amp range.  I've been running at 115amps on a small transformer machine, and in the middle of the 130amp range on the Ranger.  Every machine probably differs to some extent too.It seems at higher amps the puddle becomes somewhat unstable, and you start to get a bit of spatter.I was concerned at first about running it at lower amps, but this rod seems to be a good digger at lower amps without having to crank it up.Compared to Hobart, it seems to run much hotter.Restarts are a big issue with the Excalibur.  A dog to restart.  Upping the amps helps, but then you're back to the unstable arc  Hobart is a champ when it comes to restarts, but I don't like the way it runs, and the puddle visibility isn't as good as the Excalibur, nor is the finished bead.I wish they would bond the flux to the rod better on the Excalibur.  It has a tendancy to shatter on restarts, and sometimes come off in chunks during welding, AND IN THE CANNot being a guy that burns 50lbs of rod a day I wondered why I can see the puddle better with the Excalibur, then I read a thing from Lincoln about the flux.  Apparently it's formulated for better visibility.  The article didn't say what specifically had been done, but I wonder if it's something to reduce the sodium flare in the arcI won't run anything else but Excalibur.  Even with its quirks, it's a really good rod in my opinion.  (if my opinion means anything)Dunno about the Esab, I've never tried it because it isn't locally available.I might be wrong, but another thing I've noticed about rods in general.........  You can turn up the machine with any given diameter rod, and you don't seem to get that much more penetration and you start to get a lot of spatter.  For more penetration on thicker plate it seems the best answer is to go to a larger diameter rod capable of carrying more current"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:When I went to school we used excaliburs out of the rod oven and they made such good welds. Now that im out I weld with hobarts from atwoods, cause im cheap  they get the job done but have nowhere near the fine arc characteristics.My vintage equipment 1957 Lincoln sa 2001980's Lincoln 225 AC1952 F-2 ford truck1957 F-250 ford truck
Reply:Pretty much a repeat of above. I run Excalibers a bit cooler than I'm used to. I carry a pair of plier in my pocket to pinch of some flux for restrikes because I to find that sometime I too knock chunks of flux off by banging them hard to restrike.  Where I have charge accounts I can get either hobarts or Lincoln products, so with hobarts not being the same as the hobart bro's rod as far as 7018 go goes there out.As for Lincoln product go my LWS sells Excaliber for the same price per pound as the old LH-70 only one comes in 5#boxes and the other in 10# tin tubes. It's been a few years since I ran the older LH-70 but I can't say that Excaliber is a lot better, just different. It's a little better but not much.Tough as nails and damn near as smart
Reply:The machine might be saying 130 amps but if you only have 20 feet of lead then you are getting all 130 amp if you are running 100 feet of lead the machine is putting out 130 but the stinger is seeing only 125 or so depending on ambient temperature and lead diameter and quality. Quit looking at the numbers and focus on the arc.
Reply:I learned on Esab atom arc and then my hall got a deal on some murex and boy could I tell the difference. It was in the flux. It just ran different, good but different. When I went back to the esab it ran much better but when I got to the top of the pipe (6g) there was more smoke and it was harder to see the weld pool.
Reply:I absolutely hated Excalibers. Every time I ran them, the puddle was nearly uncontrollable on verticals and horizontals. Flats were fine, but the puddle was very runny. Spatter could be controlled with effort and they started hard as was mentioned. I was hard pressed to see anything good to say about these rods. LH-70's were better IMO. Then I had to use some in the shop with my Esab H252. Strike a light!!!! They were like night and day compared to how they ran with my Trailblazer. My Esab Multimaster 260 likes them too....My TB still hates them. Machines do make a difference with these rods. Crawlers old Dynasty 300 did a good job with them, too.By way of contrast, my TB302 likes the Hobart 418's and McKay XLM's just fine. Both Esab machines run them very well, also. Some machines are just picky as to what you feed them. My old Bobcat 225G hated anything Hobart, but burned Atom Arc, pre-Esab, and Lincoln all day long. My old Blue Star 2E ran everything.QamuIs Heg qaq law' lorvIs yInqaq puS
Reply:Thanks for the input. I ran some today as an experiment. They just do their thing better at different settings but they all performed well. I think my real problemwas nerves about first job with this customer. Farmer Sam , I did find a trick about restarts with excalibur, I could touch material & twist gently as not break off a chunk, I twisted counter clockwise, arc, then move back and weld. Hope it helps.
Reply:Originally Posted by ironhead worksThanks RhynoThe rods are warm and  dry. I like the atom arc also, and will use them next time. Is 130 amps excessive for 1/8 th excalibur?
Reply:Thank you Rhyno. I am more comfortable with the excaliburs now. I  really needed to just relax and pay attention to what mattered. I am a creature of habit and it bugged me when they did not work like I was expecting. I am tickled pink to have the cert, I have wanted to get it for a few years. I hope some new doors open b/c of it. I push hard to do the very best and this is site is great asset. Thanks again.Jody
Reply:Originally Posted by ironhead worksThank you Rhyno. I am more comfortable with the excaliburs now. I  really needed to just relax and pay attention to what mattered. I am a creature of habit and it bugged me when they did not work like I was expecting. I am tickled pink to have the cert, I have wanted to get it for a few years. I hope some new doors open b/c of it. I push hard to do the very best and this is site is great asset. Thanks again.Jody
Reply:I took 3&4g test on1/2" open root with 7018 all the way. I wanted to take the 1" test on have the unlimited but time was a factor. I needed to have the cert to a job on a cell tower. I use a bobcat 225d plus. I have sa200 but the miller can run 35 hours on a tank of deisel. I have had the machine 5 yrs and it has been very low mant. I will try to get some pics up of stuff, everybody enjoys pictures.Jody