Welding rod question.

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I have a question, i am building a pipe fence and Im using sucker rods for the middle part of the fence. The problem i am having is that the sucker rod is breaking off after welding to the pipe. the sucker rod is so hard that the material is breaking not the weld. I am using E6011 rods now. Any suggestions would be great ! Thanks, GK
Reply:If the sucker rods have just recently been used in a well they are sometimes magnetized, will look like you have them welded up and go out the next day and they are laying on the ground. I've just laid them on the ground for a while and then used them, or, instead of welding, cut a hole in your post, weld them up, if weld does not hold at least they won't fall to the ground. Other than that, I don't know how to set the welder up (postive vs negative) or what rod would be best. Good luck!
Reply:If magnetisim is the problem use AC...
Reply:Here are couple of options:1. Try E7016's if you can find them, second choice would be E7018's.2. If magetism is the problem, heat to 800° and allow to cool
Reply:Switch to 7018 rod. Best there is for magnetized material.
Reply:In the past I did a lot of pipe & sucker rod projects, including fences.  Like Weldinglifer said, use the heat if you have a problem with magnetism. I always had good luck with using a 6011 rod for the root past thena second pass with a 7018 rod.  You have to use the 7018 rod fairly quickly.  If you let the 6011 weld cool to much, especially overnight, the weld will break.  You have to be patient and line up several welds when you work with sucker rod and oilfield pipe.
Reply:Thanks guys for the help. The sucker rod is real old and has been laying on the ground. I have welded it all up and its cracking and falling off like jayray said. I guess i will go back over the welds with 7018 but i will try to heat it up first. Thanks again. GK
Reply:When I had pipe fences with sucker rod below I woule weld the pipe with 1/8 6010's and the sucker rod with 3/32 7018. That way you don't have to keep changeing the amp setting on your machine. They weld close enough to the same setting on all the machines I've used. Sucker rod is high carbon steel and needs the 7018. You won't have any problems if you use it.
Reply:Ask any roughneck and he'll recommend 6013 for sucker rod. I personally haven't done alot of rod welding but everyone I work with uses 6013 When building their sucker rod structures. My grandfather used sucker rod to make muscadine arbors, so I kinda know your frustration.Just my insight.
Reply:I hate to get off topic, what is sucker rod?
Reply:yea, I'm with gimpy, what is a sucker rod?
Reply:Originally Posted by gimpyrobbI hate to get off topic, what is sucker rod?
Reply:I only understand that its part of an oil well. BUT that is more than I knew before. Thanks for the heads up.
Reply:I'm no expert eitherThink of the casing (the big pipe going into the ground) as sort of a cylinder on a motor.  The sucker rod (small diameter rod) goes inside the casing and travels up and down to actuate the thing at the bottom of the well.  Marvels of modern science causes the oil to be forced to the wellhead, and from there it goes to tank batteries, and eventually into your car.  This isn't really my cup of tea, so don't take this to the bankI do know that stuff f's up at the bottom of the well, and pulling units come in occassionally to pull the whole mess up, and attempt to fix the problem.  Doods that rent various kinds of pulling tools make VERY GOOD moola."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Simple description. The tubing goes down into the oil formation, the pump ( basically a piston pump) goes in the bottom of the tubing, and the sucker rod connects the pump jack to the pump rod to lift and lower it forcing the oil up the tubing and thru the flow line and production equipment and into the stock tank. Sucker rods stretch from the constant start and stop motion of the pump jack and become brittle. Moving back and forth in the earth's magnetic field magnitizes them. This makes for fairly cheap but difficult and not too dependable material to use in welded structures.It is the same principle as a windmill on a water well. Just a LOT heavier duty.Last edited by Oldtimer; 05-09-2010 at 08:06 AM.