Princess Auto Welding Rods !

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Hi all,I am just wondering what any of you Canadians think of the in house brand welding rod that Princess auto sells.   I have a box of their 1/8 6013 and my beads look like well crap (im using an AC machine).   I could lay a half decent bead before with Lincoln 6013.  Could it be that these rods are crappy ?   Or could it be that I am out of practice ?   I can get a strong weld just not a nice looking one and in some spots I cannot reach with a grinder to clean the welds up so some look pretty bad (Im building a Bandsaw Mill).   Oh and for you Americans Princess Auto is pretty much a Canadian Version of Harbour Freight...I also purchased a box of 7018 rod that was labelled AC/DC rod (its 3/32's)I cannot get this rod to start no matter how hard I try.   I always thought that their were two different types of 7018 a DC only version (Most common) and an AC only version ?Thanks
Reply:I don't know if it will help but try putting the 6013 in your oven overnite @300*F. Sorry,I'm a "Yank", so don't know what that translates to in Celsius. I don't know if 6013 is like 7018 in that if it absorbs moisture it will make poor welds. Just something to try.  As to the 7018 AC/DC, I haven't heard of it. Maybe someone else here can enlighten both of us.                           MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:When i dried out old low hydrogen (7018,etc) EVEN  say 425 degrees F ( roughly 200 degrees celsious) for only 1&  1/2  hours .......it welded great . Maybe not totally perfect, but i could find nothing wrong in how it welded . usually splatter rod ( 6010,6011,6013 , etc. ) doesn't need to be baked or  RE-baked . Also , check & make sure your work is PERFECTLY  grounded.
Reply:Make sure that your 6013 has an AWS prefix or CWB 41013.   I would play around with your 13 on some scrap.  It might need more or less amperage.  Every brand of rod is slightly different.  After awhile you learn to adapt.    Also E 6013 is what they call a fast follow rod.  You should be able to run a very thin string like bead on light material.  When running on heavy material and set to the correct heat you should get almost no spatter and the flux should flake off with one blow of your chipping hammer.  If you have to beat the daylights out of it and there is spatter to scrape you have too much heat.   E 6013 likes to be dry but it is not as critical as '18E 7018 AC rod is problematic.  Although it will run on AC it is hard to start and unless you hold a really tight arc when starting you get porosity for the first inch or so.  Have you noticed that the very first strike with a fresh rod goes well but re-striking is difficult?
Reply:It's princess auto brand, probably not the best quality.  Havn't used any myself, but alot of their products are just so so.Owner of Welding Wiki,The free wiki based resource for weldor's around the world.http://www.weldingwiki.comWe have cookies!
Reply:ok well I have a bit of spatter and am beating the daylights out of the welds to get the flux off.   Around what temp should I run at to weld 3/16th steel with this stuff ?   I think the max it said on the box to run this rod was 90 amps its 1/8 6013????  I just looked on Hobarts web site and they say to run 1/8 6013 at about 75 to 125 amps ?  yes re striking the 7018 isnt easy !!!Thanks againLast edited by Newfie_1986; 04-15-2006 at 11:04 PM.
Reply:break the tip of flux off.  one good tap on concrete Last edited by TxRedneck; 04-15-2006 at 11:15 PM.IF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:Of course Cam you are aware thats an improper use of an apostrophe.  The proper format would be,    Owner of Welding Wiki,The free wiki based resource for weldors around the worldBy adding the apostrophe you are either making a compound word ie you are saying weder is or you are saying the weldor has posession of.  Well the weldor can not have posession of around the world correct?  Nor could the weldor is around the world.   Therefore no apostrophe IF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:Most of my stick welding was done years ago but here is what I would suggest.    Find a good quality brand, perferrably from a company in the welding business and stick with it.   Consumables do make a difference, besides as someone has already mentioned even they rods from the various welding vendors vary in how they perform.   The flux chip test is also a good indicator of the usefullness of your settings.As for amps I believe I use to run 1/8" rod at around 80 to 90 amps.   That was a very old welder also and the current values probably wheren't that accurate.    Which brings up the issue of current settings on welders, realize that these are not calibrated machines.    What one person gets performance wise at one current setting, on one welder, may not work to the best effect on another.    If the indications are that you are running to hot then turn the current down.    You are free to set the machine as needed.ThanksDave
Reply:dave is bang on.    youmust be the judge of the right settings,  numbers are not that importantIF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:oh wow  silver memberIF it Catches...Let it Burn
Reply:I've never tried them,but I am interested in your bandsaw mill .Do ypu have plans?pics?
Reply:I dont have any plans for the mill building as I go.   I may purchase a set of plans online though to help with the design.   I think I am going to keep it simple and build it like this one   http://www.pennswoods.net/~zigbug/   (that guy sells the plans for that mill)...Thanks for the help guys I will let you know how it goes once I get back at it !
Reply:House brand? You mean the Hyundai ones? In Manitoba all they (Princess) sell is Hyundai and Lincoln. I bought a whack of the Hyundai rods when they were on sale. I have lots of trouble with them too. LOTS of spatter and like you say, have to beat the heck of it to remove slag. I had Forney rods before and they seemed much better. But then again, I'm still getting used to my welder too, could be me.
Reply:Power First is the brand !    I have since adjusted the heat and do not find them that bad !Thanks Guys
Reply:Hey there the direct answer to more than one question on this page is YES... YES they are absolutely GARBAGE rods YES they are hyundia rods repackaged with the powerfist logo and yes even putting them in the oven for a month straight couldn't fix whats wrong with them. If your welding for your personal remember its your life and others around you that could be affected by these welds.. and if your a "jobber" welding remember that the better the weld the more referals you get... I once did an aluminum job for a farmer here in town and went to meet him at the "sale barn" and was bombarded by locals needing work done. IMHO for the $2 you save it aint worth it... Its funny someone asked this cause i just tried them out last night and was talking to my P.A.L. (princess auto limited) manager and he told me they finally got the hyundia to put their lable on the rods.WeldorguyHamilton-Welding.comBest RegardsJay Hollandhttp://www.hamilton-welding.com
Reply:7018 is an AC/DC rod however it doesn't work well with lower voltage ac buzz box type welders. The 7018AC was make to run on the lower voltage machines.
Reply:6013 is easy to run if you were fair with it before it shouldn't take you very long to pick it up again. If you're having problems give your equipment a good once over. If you don't find and problems go buy a small box of a name brand 6013 and give it a try.
Reply:theses rods you are having trouble with sound like the ones that have been rolling around the toolbox for a couple of years in a inch of water , we have used cheap rods before some a good and some are bad