brands of good arc rods

[lovelectricity]

hi just bought some 2.5mm bohler thyssen 7018s on ebay (4.2kg)??? for £23 on the doorstep. dont know what the going rate for these is, but the petrol to drive to the next town to buy some rods makes it reasonable for me, anyone got any ideas of price per box?? (oh and at 03.29am there is 1 box left up for grabs if this price is any good, item no 310043470029).

 

[snowcat]

I buy 4mm bohlers for just under £60 a carton, So thats around the going rate for a packet, My local firm runs its own Van service, So everything comes out to the shop....

Thats certainly reasonable as I doubt you would get that price walking into a supply shop to buy one carton......

 

[SRG WELDER]

2.5mm Rods are dearer you would expect to pay from a supplyer £28.50 for 4Kg box........

Ste.

 

[lovelectricity]

cheers for the quick responses, im even happier now. oh and srg cheers for the 7016 info. i was wondering about the difference, it doesn't seem to be a very common rod.

 

[neelpeel]

wozzaaah, the shipping cost is £9 from that WECS site.

Just ordered...pack of 2.5mm + pack of 3.2mm - came to £28 delivered.
This will be my first experience of Arc welding so I'll not be able to give much of an opinion.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Shipping is what kills the price of cheap rods like that, 2 packs is a fair old weight. Still works out cheap though.
Let us know what you think of them.
Oh and don't blame me if you don't get on with them .

 

[TPS-FRONIUS]

Bohler Thyssen And Elga Rods Are Far Superior , Companies Like Scottish Coal, North Western Ship Repairers All Uses These Not To Name But A Fw

 

[mart]

Rods are here Mart, thanks. Not done a side-by-side test yet but they are exactly the same as mine. Did you check out that link, 2.5mm £7+vat and 3.2mm £8 +vat, can't find out how much delivery is though without registering.

Hi Woz
That place is only about 6 or 7 miles from me. Does it state what make they are? I had a quick look but could not see any ref to the make. Good price but are they good rods??

Another place in Sheffield that i been to sold me the 2.5 rods for £17 (from the same box as the ones i sent you) . I got some 3.2 this week-£17, and the guy says that the 4mm are also £17. All supposed to be Oerlikon. Of course the thicker the rod the less the quantity. There are 167 of the 3.2 rods in the box.

 

[Wozzaaah]

My gut feeling is that they are Oerlikon Mart. The box in that link I posted is identical to yours and mine. Regarding are they 'good' rods, they're good for the likes of you and I who don't use them on a professional basis, at that price you can practice all you want without it costing you the earth. Pro's tend to find a brand they like and stick with them regardless of cost although they tend to buy larger quantities so the cost comes down considerably from the single box price.

Oh and I nearly had a 'peeler' the other day, well, it was a 'cracker' actually, the slag sort of cracked and almost fell off, I couldn't replicate it though so I don't know what I did right

 

[snowcat]

.

Oh and I nearly had a 'peeler' the other day, well, it was a 'cracker' actually, the slag sort of cracked and almost fell off, I couldn't replicate it though so I don't know what I did right

Speed and amps wozz, hit the two right and your be there.....

 

[Wozzaaah]

Yep, I definitely need more practise!
Was playing about the other day, trying out all my different rods at different settings etc, getting on reasonably ok. Now, old age is creeping in and I've got a habit of getting a bit close to the work so I can see a bit better. Was running a bead when there was a strange plop and everything looked slightly different......the cover lens had melted and dropped out of my Siflite!
Must go to specsavers!

 

[matt1978]

Yep, I definitely need more practise!
Was playing about the other day, trying out all my different rods at different settings etc, getting on reasonably ok. Now, old age is creeping in and I've got a habit of getting a bit close to the work so I can see a bit better. Was running a bead when there was a strange plop and everything looked slightly different......the cover lens had melted and dropped out of my Siflite!
Must go to specsavers!

LOL

 

[Wozzaaah]

Just in case anyone reads that and think Siflite cover lenses are cr@p, can I just say that I'd been running rod after rod on the same piece of steel so there was an awful lot of heat being given off and my face was pretty close to it .

 

[matt1978]

Rod after Rod and still no peelers hey Woz.........Tsk Tsk

I have melted a fair few outer lenses in my time too, thats a definite advantage of the old skool style masks with just a glass cover plate....more heat resistant.

 

[Wozzaaah]

No peelers Matt, one 'cracker' but no peeler .
1st one will be mounted as a trophy!

 

[matt1978]

You will find it hard to get one on very hot plate, like you must of had when you were laying rod after rod......get your self some 6mm plate, grind any rust off, lay it flat and put a run down with a 2.5mm 6013 at about 70ampsish and you should see the slag peel off.

Also, I usually find DC- better

 

[snowcat]

220 amps A/C+, 6013, 5mm cap on 1" plate will give you a pealer everytime.....

BTW, Iv melted lens covers before as well, mostly siting down looking under the work with the TIG.....

Matt, disagree on the DC-, A/C+ every time on a 6013,....., no wonder learning such a curve no one in the job ever agrees.. Oh except welding 3G, then its best...

 

[gavuk]

i really struggled when learning tig to see weld pool ,we were cosmetic welding stainless at 30-50 amps no filler and ground and polished afterwards,i tried welding with glasses but struggled using flip down lids ,our welding rep supplied me a magnifying lens which i use at home all the time ,,at work now we use mig or mma so don't bother ,it doesn't need to be that good .never really got on with reacting lens and have stuck with my old kemppi with flip up glass,added bonus i can see grinding too.must be my age 40+

 

[matt1978]

I always found that DC+ was a little bit fierce, and caused spatter, but to be honest, apart from laying the odd rod on a demonstration (which is next to never, because who needs a MMA demo) I ain't done any serious MMA welding for years, so maybe it was just the rods I used to use were ****e.

 

[Weldingartisan]

So whats A/C+ then?
I agree with Matt DC- for most rutile applications, what do use on your pipe butts Flange Jockey? W/A