Rejuvenated rods...

[Mutley7370]

At the weekend I welded using Siftrodes I bought last year. I keep them indoors to keep them dry, but I noticed they were not as good as they should be (Or one of us wasn't..!) the slag was not forming well and was difficult to remove.
I wondered if this was due to damp rods? I have seen on the box you can dry them by heating in an oven for a given time / temp.

Does this work? Can you put them in a domestic oven if so does this cause any problems with the oven.
any advice...?

 

[BrokenBiker]

sounds like they might be damp. putting them In the oven will dry them out, that's what rod ovens are for, and no it wont damage the oven in any way.

I don't know what temp you have to bake them at, don't really thing it matters.

what welder do you have? if it is a transformer machine with a good duty cycle there is a little trick where you just stick the rod to a bit of scrap and it will boil the moisture out, but this isn't reccomeneded on weak machines or inverters where things will get damaged. usually seen it done on oil cooled machines with 100% duty

 

[Mutley7370]

Thanks for the quick reply. The box gives two options for temperature and time, if it will not damage the kitchen oven I will try that. It is an inverter so I wont try that in case it damages the set. I had seen them kept in old knackered fridges with a 60w bulb inside - I spose that's just a DIY oven..

 

[rtbcomp]

............ little trick where you just stick the rod to a bit of scrap and it will boil the moisture out,........

I've noticed some rods that I have work much better when they are warm, I usually do a couple of test welds on scrap when I start a new rod.

 

[rich r]

Putting them in the oven at 100C for an hour generally should do the trick, then let them cool and put them in an airtight box. I've noticed that Siftrodes tend to absorb moisture and develop a slight white dusty coating, whereas I've got a box of Fincords that have been open to the air for many years and are dry and clean and spark up without issue. Aldi rods seem to absorb a little and get the white coating, but perform fine once you've struck an arc.

 

[wheresmejumper]

Most inverters have anti stick feature so you cant dry out rods with them
lohy rods need good heat, like 250 deg C for an hour or so.6013 just enough so the visible dampness is gone seems to work

 

[BrokenBiker]

as for air tights packaging after baking them, I have found that the clear Tupperware cereal storage tubs work well for storing them

 

[rich r]

Those jars for dried spaghetti work nicely too

 

[Jan]

Don't forget that gas ovens produce water as a byproduct of the combustion process. Using oven/welding gloves remove the rods as soon as they've had enough time to dry out rather than leaving them in it to cool down. Then seal them in an airtight container - assuming that it's not likely to distort from the heat of the rods.

 

[Mutley7370]

Thanks for all the advice on drying and storage. I will cook a batch and I think we may have a suitable storage container in her kitchen
cheers!

 

[JDJones]

Hi Guy's I keep my electrodes in the airing cupboard, nice and warm in there, we had heating ovens, a stack of 4 with different temperatures for different electrodes for specialist welding. All the Best desmo11225

 

[Bill Edwards]

These are very good for storing rods anywhere:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rod-Guard...164?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f321a5514

 

[Mutley7370]

Well tried the rods today after a cooking session and they worked real well, with the recently repaired inverter set. Now they will be stored indoors :-)