What’s the difference?

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When we were doing stick early in the welding course, the rods provided by the school were Lincoln Excaliber 1/8” 7018.   I went looking for some of the same this evening, ended up at Lowes, and the 1/8” rods they had were E7018 -7018AC-RSP.   I bought 10 lbs.   I understand that the AC designation is they will run on either AC or DC current.   I don’t know what the RSP stands for, and was wondering how this rod differs from the Excaliber rod, which seems to be their premium version.  Can anyone here enlighten me on the difference?Miller Multimatic 215Spoolmatic 150 spool gun, Miller TIG kitPrimeweld Cut 60 Plasma CutterVevor Pipe StandsBauer Portaband/Swag tableGrinders-Milwaukee, Porter Cable, DewaltArcUnion M-20 portable rod oven
Reply:The 7018 ac has a different flux composition to make the arc easier to start and run on ac current. I don't use ac for stick, only dc, and in my opinion they don't run as well as " regular" 7018, especially Excalibur, which runs really nice on dc.
Reply:Admittedly my experience is limited to just 4-5 brands of rods, but I have never found a 7018 rod that runs as nice as fresh Excalibur rods, right out of the can. The box store 7018AC rods run like horse manure in my opinion. I won't use them unless I have nothing else on hand. If I can't get Excalibur rods, rather than running box store 7018AC rods I would much rather run the Hobart 7018 rods from Tractor Supply (not the 7018AC rods, their "regular" 7018s)Miller Multimatic 255
Reply:The ones I got at Lowes this evening are also Lincoln.   One would think it shouldn’t matter where the rod is sold, especially if the same manufacturer makes both excaliber and the ones I mentioned above.   I understand that a different flux component for A/C could be the issue.  I was under the impression however, that it ran well on D/C as well.   My impression might be faulty, due to inexperience!Miller Multimatic 215Spoolmatic 150 spool gun, Miller TIG kitPrimeweld Cut 60 Plasma CutterVevor Pipe StandsBauer Portaband/Swag tableGrinders-Milwaukee, Porter Cable, DewaltArcUnion M-20 portable rod oven
Reply:

Originally Posted by RCWelds

The ones I got at Lowes this evening are also Lincoln.   One would think it shouldn’t matter where the rod is sold, especially if the same manufacturer makes both excaliber and the ones I mentioned above.   I understand that a different flux component for A/C could be the issue.  I was under the impression however, that it ran well on D/C as well.   My impression might be faulty, due to inexperience!
Reply:And....it seems that the only 7018 rods sold at the big box stores, HD, Lowes, etc. are the AC rods.  Kinda dumb since probably the vast majority of stick welders are run on DC...duh!
Reply:

Originally Posted by Louie1961

It does matter. The stuff they sell in Home Depot and Lowes is cheaper and aimed at the noobie. It really is lower quality product.