5/32 7018 electrode issue

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Are there preferred size electrode for vertical up.  I notice that when I use 1/8 7018, vertical up, I seem to have more control of the puddle than I do with 5/32.  With 5/32 VU I get more spatter than usual, but when I laid the weld down in flat position, with the same amperage, I get normal spatter and nicer bead.   So is 5/32 7018 a finicky rod in certain positions?  Is there a rule of thumb when it comes to electrode size and weld positions? Thanks!
Reply:5/32 requires a faster travel speed. Other than that it is the same as 1/8.ChrisAuction Addict
Reply:What are you using 5/32 7018 on ?? We use 3/32 7018 on pipe up to 6" usually and7018 1/8" for 8" and up. All our pipe welding is uphill.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:I've used 5/32" 7018 a lot for vertical up. It was on 3)8" and up structural steel tee joints. Unless you need a wide bead , avoid it. It's just the nature of the beast with larger electrode. It's just a lot of non solified weld metal at one time and it will act like it.
Reply:I'm practicing 3/8 filet weld uphill.  Why 5/32, just experimenting with different electrodes and sizes to see what they do.
Reply:the larger the rod the harder it is to control going vertical, it does help having thicker plate though, trying to use a 5/32 rof on say 1/4 plate is never going to be easy, having a nice fat heat sink to soak up all the extra heat of the larger rod helps keep things under control.Generally I'd only use a 5/32 rod vertical of heavy wall pipe (say 3/4 inch wall and over 16 inch diameter or larger), generally I find for plate if its heavy enough to warrant using 5/32 over a 1/8th rod, it's worth setting up a MIG and running dual shield.
Reply:I did some vertical up 3/16" 7018 on pipeline pig traps but they were quite thick with a wide bevel. They didn't even want you to stamp them like most pressure work is. The blank off plates for hydro testing were 5" thick with 32 bolts that had to be tightened to 5000 ft./lbs. to stop leaking. I don't remember what pressure they were hydro tested to. At first they used about a 10ft. long manual torque wrench to tighten the bolts but came to their senses and rented a hydraulic torque wrench. Bolts had to be tightened in a specific order.
Reply:Originally Posted by Welder DaveI did some vertical up 3/16" 7018 on pipeline pig traps but they were quite thick with a wide bevel. They didn't even want you to stamp them like most pressure work is. The blank off plates for hydro testing were 5" thick with 32 bolts that had to be tightened to 5000 ft./lbs. to stop leaking. I don't remember what pressure they were hydro tested to. At first they used about a 10ft. long manual torque wrench to tighten the bolts but came to their senses and rented a hydraulic torque wrench. Bolts had to be tightened in a specific order.
Reply:@ Billy Brewer   ---" So is 5/32 7018 a finicky rod in certain positions?"    -   Brand of welding rod, and welding machine factor into this heavily as well. "Is there a rule of thumb when it comes to electrode size and weld positions?"   -  The larger the welding rod , the harder it is to control the weld puddle. Especially in vertical up and overhead joints, keeping the weld bead the right size and profile, and watching out for undercut.I prefer to use 1/8" and 3/32" 7018 mostly for vertical and overhead because it runs on my engine drive so well, and I don't do enough big stuff to warrant it (5/32").  5/32" 7018 I reserve for big stuff in the flat position. Can't say I've had a lot of extra spatter with the 5/32" 7018(even in vertical up), could be the electrode. What brand are you using and at what amperage ?I like Jody Colliers comment I heard once on 7018, " Turn up the amps enough to keep a tight arc that doesn't stick, and then hold that tight arc, and don't let it stick". Might not be an exact quote, but that's what I took away from it.@ Welder Dave"vertical up 3/16" 7018 " That's a big puddle that could drop on your leathers if your not careful.  How many passes did it take to cap that wide bevel, did you ever have to stop welding and let if cool because of interpass temp ? Did they allow weaving, or was it all stringers ?Any problems with spatter ?Best of luck All !Last edited by albrightree; 1 Week Ago at 09:48 AM.Airco 250 ac/dc Heliwelder Square waveMiller Synchrowave 180 sdMiller Econo Twin HFLincoln 210 MPDayton 225 ac/dcVictor torchesSnap-On YA-212Lotos Cut60D
Reply:Originally Posted by Welder Dave32 bolts that had to be tightened to 5000 ft./lbs. to stop leaking. I don't remember what pressure they were hydro tested to. At first they used about a 10ft. long manual torque wrench to tighten the bolts
Reply:Originally Posted by KelvinSo I guess all they had to do was find a 500# man to do some chin-ups on the end of that 10-foot torque wrench? Or a 300-pound man to jump up and down on it?
Reply:Originally Posted by Lis2323Or five 100# supermodels clinging on to one another....Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:It takes lots of practice to run 5/32 7018 on thinner steel...uphill and overhead?... nope, unless its at least 1/2 inch thick and even then I would run a root with 1/8 if its a beveled butt, a fillet you could get away with a 5/32 root but not for any kind of code work I would think. Now after I said all that I can tell you this...I been welding big dragline, excavator, loader, face shovel buckets and dozer blades in the coal mines here most of my life. Most of it is 3/4 inch plate or thicker, sometimes up to 3 inch and a lip for a good size face shovel or dragline could be 5 or 6 inches  thick...when they break its a long day. 25 years ago all I had was a SA200 Lincoln pipeliner. You couldnt run a wire feeder on it and be productive because of the 60% duty cycle and the way I weld with a wire feeder on this stuff its wide open balls to the wall all day long. Weldin like that with a wire feeder will kill that Lincoln in a day or 2. So I ran a lot of 7018. Most of it was vertical and overhead I would run a root most of the time with 1/8 7018, once the root was in and maybe a hot pass depending how wide the opening was I would jump up to 5/32, and would weave it maybe 5/8 inch wide, after that it was wide open balls to wall with 3/16 rod and if i was really up for adventure and felt wild and crazy I would run 1/4 inch 7018...vertical and overhead...yes it can be done with 1/4 inch...was it easy?... not really but I did it and it didnt look to damn bad. Old Owen taught me how to do it and yes it was a lot of weaving on vertical. A horizontal weld was mostly stringers and and overhead was mostly stringers as well unless it was on a angle going up then i would weave it some. Now I am a spoiled old brat with a 500 amp welder and a wire feeder and run it wide open all day long and sometimes all night long on top of that.So I guess I can say this if you wanna run heavy rods get some 1/2 inch or 3/4 plate and practice...find a chart somewhere and make a copy of the settings for various sizes and types of rods, practice the weaving and stringers too. Some folks will tell you a weave weld is no good, thats a matter of opinion, Ive experimented with weaving and stringers and cut and bent the plates on a jig I built with a 50 ton jack and never busted one of em and had no flaws in it either. I ran a weave on those busted lips and so on and never had a fail on them, and welded some brand new lips on the same way and 20 years later they still diggin with them. Practice practice practice. cant say it enuff. If you buy 1000 pds of rod each size you wanna run well then once all that is burned up you should be readyGood luck and have funPopeyeLast edited by old miner called Pop; 1 Week Ago at 07:16 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by albrightreeWhat brand are you using and at what amperage ?
Reply:@ Old MinerGood read. So if I'm picking up what your laying down, if your not running on 1/2" or thicker Plate, stick to 1/8?  I was at Brewers game a few weeks back (since I got into welding I can't go anywhere without looking at the welds around me).  There was a vertical column with vertical welds running 4' to 5' in length, aprox twenty beads wide. At that time I was wondering how long did it take for that section of welds to get done???  A couple hours? One working day? Do they let it cool off every few runs, or no stop straight through?
Reply:Originally Posted by Billy BrewerI was at Brewers game a few weeks back (since I got int?
Reply:Originally Posted by Billy Brewer@ Old MinerGood read. So if I'm picking up what your laying down, if your not running on 1/2" or thicker Plate, stick to 1/8?  I was at Brewers game a few weeks back (since I got into welding I can't go anywhere without looking at the welds around me).  There was a vertical column with vertical welds running 4' to 5' in length, aprox twenty beads wide. At that time I was wondering how long did it take for that section of welds to get done???  A couple hours? One working day? Do they let it cool off every few runs, or no stop straight through?
Reply:Originally Posted by Billy Brewer@ Old MinerGood read. So if I'm picking up what your laying down, if your not running on 1/2" or thicker Plate, stick to 1/8?  I was at Brewers game a few weeks back (since I got into welding I can't go anywhere without looking at the welds around me).  There was a vertical column with vertical welds running 4' to 5' in length, aprox twenty beads wide. At that time I was wondering how long did it take for that section of welds to get done???  A couple hours? One working day? Do they let it cool off every few runs, or no stop straight through?
Reply:Originally Posted by M J DI have seen those welds your talking about in Miller park ( at that time). They were nothing to look at either. .
Reply:Originally Posted by old miner called PopYeah pretty much use 1/2 inch plate for heavier rod practice...at the very least 3/8 plate, some of the root welds you can play with 5/32 rod and see what happens with it, some situations you would run into you can run a 5/32 rod from the start.  Im trying to picture what these welds would be you are talkin about at a stadium. I know what you mean about lookin at welds...one and only vacation I ever went on was a cruise with my wife...having worked in few shipyards I seen some good welds and some not so good welds and I checked em out on the ship
Reply:Originally Posted by 123weldalright...,  i see,  "billy boy brewer" was inspecting welds at the brewers game.  hmmmm.      just so i know ur not yanking our chain, i want u to show run out on the field at next game, like this:
Reply:Originally Posted by Billy Brewerhmmmm. I'm not sure you're a real Trump supporter. Most Trump supporters I know mind their own business, raise families and act like gentleman in public spaces. I'm convinced your a lefty out to make Trump supporterslook like they're all suffering from arrested development. ...or you are a Trump supporter that actually does suffer from arrested development. Don't take it personally.
Reply:Originally Posted by 123welddont try to drag religion and politics in this w/ me kid.        i was just trying to be funny, comical and stupid w/ u,  as that pretty much how i see  ur threads.
Reply:Originally Posted by Billy BrewerDid it not occur to you that I was trying to be funny too?  You dished a little out and I dished a little back.  If you are the man you portend to be then you should be alright.
Reply:Thought it might be of interest :          https://weldingweb.com/vbb/threads/1...ng-appreciated          https://weldingweb.com/vbb/threads/7...-running-E7018  Good LuckAirco 250 ac/dc Heliwelder Square waveMiller Synchrowave 180 sdMiller Econo Twin HFLincoln 210 MPDayton 225 ac/dcVictor torchesSnap-On YA-212Lotos Cut60D