Dodgy Rods?

[HasBean]

Decided to practice laying down a pad for my evening classes
Must've spent 5 minutes welding and 30 grinding it back again
Bl**dy thing would stick every time, spatter everywhere, arc all over the place Decided there and then I've already failed.
Put in a new rod (Eutectic 4mm 6013's) to practice restarting...... What A Difference!!! Rod stuck on first strike (tweaked the amps up a bit) but after that nice and smooth, could even remove the slag by just flicking it with a finger
I've never had, or even heard of, a dodgy rod but that's all I can think of (unless my nerves made a miraculous recovery during a rod change .
Anyone else had iffy rods in the past or is it just me being a silly sod?

Paul

 

[simon718]

yep iv had the odd bad rod (even out of a box of quality rods) does exactly as you've said... if it sticks more than a couple of times bin it any grab another

 

[Wozzaaah]

What rods are they, all eutectic 4mm's or were the earlier ones different? If a rod sticks more than once or twice it's better to replace it rather than try to persevere with it.
I've had some rods which are difficult to use in the past although using them on a different machine they weren't too bad.

 

[HasBean]

Hi Woz, All the same rods mate but as you mention different machines the little Cebora Tig/MMA unit I tried on Tuesday was a swine to use on stick, whereas the big Murex Transtig job I played with the week before was an absolute delight. My IFL sort of falls somewhere in the middle.
'Tis nice to use different machines back to back (shame it's not improving my welding though )

 

[Wozzaaah]

I've got a Clarke AC buzzbox and it's a horrible machine, running rods on that then running the same rods on my Rehmann then my Dialarc is like going from a Lada to a Mondeo to a BMW
If you get a chance to try that transtig again, if you haven't already done so, run some rods on AC and then DC and see how different it is .

 

[HasBean]

Hi Woz,
Yeah did try that, funnily enough I found it easier on AC, but it was really obvious to see the difference in the weld formation (also it was a lot more difficult for one of them, can't remember which) between DC+ and DC-

Paul

 

[paulmowers]

Dodgy rods

Hi

I've had bad rods twice now, I always used to get 6013 unbranded rods from one of my tool suppliers which I could not fault, easy strike, smooth, good strong welds. Then they obviously changed their supplier, the rods were crap, wouldn't strike, if you did get them to arc it would go out after 1/2" of bead, and that was on the flat, position welding.... forget it!!!! I even got my uncle to try them, he has far more experience than me as he spent his working life welding ships, and he said they are crap, so in the bin they went.
The next time was my own fault, I purchased a 2.5kg box of unbranded 6013's on the net for about £5. Yes I got what I paid for, another box of cr*p, just the same as my first dodgy box, scrap bin for them too.
Do you think there is a company out there deliberately making these rods that are of new use to anyone or is it as some have said that certain rods work best on some machines and not others?
At the moment I am using Hilco (I think) red spot, or my old fav esab miltrodes, although I have to say I prefer the red spot for weld finish.