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Stick Welding rods sticking

31K views 31 replies 13 participants last post by  chase1994 
#1 ·
Well I have a 230 amp century stick welder and everynow and then, the welding rods stick. But they only really stick when the flux burns off of the metal rod and the part of the rod that only has metal touches it, that is when it sticks. SO is my welder alright or is the coil or something burn out in it?? Thanks
 
#4 ·
The rods are sticking? Wow, I have never heard of that happening! :D


Ok, sorry about the joke but the point is sticking is common with stick welding (maybe that's why it is called "stick" welding :drunk: ) and many things could cause this. Not enough heat, wrong polarity for the rod, bare rod end, technique or any and all of the above, believe it or not even a worn "stinger" that will not grip the rod tightly will cause the problem. Some rods, for example the E7018, will easily start without sticking in the larger sizes while the small ones like a 3/32" can sometimes be a PITA to run without sticking. This is because the small rod will be more flexible and also tend to fit looser in the holder, both conditions contributing to the rod being drawn into the weld puddle by the current. Also once a rod has been stuck and broken loose the flux will be cracked and the end of the rod may still be very hot, it is nearly impossible to start an arc without sticking if the end of the rod is red hot.

Now for your particular problem we need to know a couple of things, what kind of welder? AC or DC? What type/size of welding rod?



BTW, once a rod sticks NEVER just wiggle it loose and re-establish the arc and continue on as if nothing has happened! This is probably one of the most common serious mistakes a lot of welders make and it will most certainly leave porosity in the weld in the spot this takes place. If you can not restart the weld with a new rod then, using a piece of scrap, burn off the end of the rod until the area of damaged rod/flux is burned away which usually takes at least 1/4" or so of the rod and sometimes a great deal more than that.
 
#5 ·
Ok, thanks you guys. It is a ac welder and it really don't matter what heat setting I put it on or what size rod I use. It still does it. But the end of the rod is bare when it sticks, thats what I was thinking that caused it. It is also a 230 amp welder so it ain't a cheap one. And thanks for the tip oldred. I do yank it off sometimes when it sticks or either pull the stinger off the rod, but I want do it now. so thanks u guys. :welcome:
 
#6 ·
99% of the arc welding I do is with an older Century 110 A/C arc welder.. running 110 amps with 6013 rod, I'll weld most anything with little trouble.

1 thing I learned to do, is use a 'cheater plate', clamped to your work by the ground clamp.. once the tip of the rod is glowing red, it won't stick.. what you do is strike an arc on the cheater plate, get the tip good and hot, then move to where you want to weld, quickly so the tip doesn't cool off, then you can just touch your work and it'll arc and you can weld
 
#8 ·
Matt I must say you have me a bit puzzled there, it is nearly impossible to establish an arc with the end of the rod red hot. :confused: Certainly a "starter" plate or tab such as you describe is an excellent idea just as a run off plate at the end is required for maximum weld integrity. But the advantages to starting the arc on this plate or tab is to allow the arc to stabilize and establish a shielding plume around the weld puddle to prevent porosity and weld bead oxidation which occurs to a small amount when ever the arc is started. Starting the bead along the weld such as occurs whenever the rod is changed will do this also to a small degree, as long as succeeding starts do not occur in the same place but at the beginning and end of the weld this effect will be cumulative. This results in the beginning and end of the weld bead being of very poor quality and riddled with porosity unless these start up and run off tabs are used which can then be cut or ground off leaving only solid weld material. These tabs need to be located right at the ends of a weld bead and the arc established on them then the weld would continue on over the area to be welded without breaking the arc but to intentionally try to start an arc with the rod end itself (not the flux) being red hot is usually just frustrating.




BTW, this effect is true with MIG also but to a much lesser degree and unless a weld is really critical it is not too much of a concern, TIG and O/A welding however are not affected any appreciable amount.
 
#12 ·
Definitely save that link! :thumbup:

I was going to mention the file trick but figured I would get laughed at over that one! :)

That's a really good link but I would like to add my opinion on a couple of things, that one about the stick rod and body welding in particular. Of course they are right and I am not disagreeing or challenging anything they are saying about it BUT I think they make the impression that it is not too hard to weld body panels with the right rod. Nothing could be farther from the truth! Welding body panels with a stick welder is extremely difficult even if it can be done by a skilled welder and even 1/16" rod is actually too big. The bottom line here is that unless a person is already absolutely sure they can do it then don't attempt to do body work with a stick welder! Also with AC even though 7018 can be used it sucks when used on AC. There are special, but easily found, E7018AC rods meant for that type welder but they are little better and I actually prefer regular 7018 if I am forced to use AC.

I especially liked his section on MIG welding and that is one of the few times I have had someone agree that letting the tip stick out slightly past the nozzle makes the darn thing run better, it does! Most times people will argue that it will cause the wire to stick from spatter on the more exposed tip or that the tip is too easily ruined by bumping it against the but I have found neither to be a problem. I have seen many times when someone would be totally frustrated with their claiming they "just can't get the heat set right" when it was nothing more than the darn tip recessed 1/4" or more back inside the nozzle, it makes a big difference.
 
#13 ·
welding with no flux on a rod is like welding with no gas on a mig, when the flux burns it creates a gas and helps penetrate the steel. Instead of heating the rod up before you go to your project piece to scratch your arc usually if you just take and bust the flux that hangs over the end of the rod off it will start especially will 6011. A/C welding sucks with the right rod and sucks even worse with the wrong rod. If it is an A/C welder it is a cheap welder. The only way to go is DC, you pay more money for it but it is worth it if you are going to use it quite a bit. JMO
 
#14 · (Edited)
crussell85 said:
welding with no flux on a rod is like welding with no gas on a mig,

Well not quite as bad, in the beginning the rod was just a short piece of bare steel wire with no flux at all. Back in the 20s and even earlier welders were usually just open coils (the OSHA/IMSHA inspectors would have the big one!) and welding "rods" was just a coil of bare wire and the welder (weldor) would cut off about as many pieces as he thought he would need in the lengths he preferred. I know of one large earth moving machine (A Page walking drag-line) that was welded together with bare wire back in the early forties so I know it was still sometimes done that way as late as then, I personally knew one of the welders who worked on building it. Just looking at the welds it was obvious the welding was crudely done but it was not nearly as bad as some might think and most of those welds were still holding just fine in 1992 when the old machine was finally retired. I am not saying this is an acceptable way of welding anymore, with today's welding supplies it would be simply ridiculous to so, but it does work a lot better than most people would think.
 
#17 ·
Just a note about using coat hanger wire, while there have been probably many millions of welds made with it and almost certainly more non-professional exhaust pipes welded with it more than anything else the fact is the stuff is junk! It may work fine for welding a tail pipe or something like that but anything else is a crap shoot and it almost always makes poor quality welds that are sometimes difficult to do. The reason for this is that the stuff is made from scrap and has next to no quality control and certainly no thought given to welding alloys during manufacture. Also some of the no-name welding rod sold at some auto parts, hardware, farm supplies, etc is not much better and poor welds of unknown strength along with lots of torch popping during welding will be the result of using this crap. Get some REAL welding rods such as those manufactured by Linde, ESAB, etc because these are manufactured using controlled methods and known alloys in exact amounts, coat hanger and cheap rod however is made from 100% unknowneum.
 
#18 ·
oldred said:
Just a note about using coat hanger wire, while there have been probably many millions of welds made with it and almost certainly more non-professional exhaust pipes welded with it more than anything else the fact is the stuff is junk! It may work fine for welding a tail pipe or something like that but anything else is a crap shoot and it almost always makes poor quality welds that are sometimes difficult to do. The reason for this is that the stuff is made from scrap and has next to no quality control and certainly no thought given to welding alloys during manufacture. Also some of the no-name welding rod sold at some auto parts, hardware, farm supplies, etc is not much better and poor welds of unknown strength along with lots of torch popping during welding will be the result of using this crap. Get some REAL welding rods such as those manufactured by Linde, ESAB, etc because these are manufactured using controlled methods and known alloys in exact amounts, coat hanger and cheap rod however is made from 100% unknowneum.
I would ''never'' do it with todays hangers.. :nono: :pain:
 
#19 ·
welding

i have a ac machine and find if i tap the used rod on the floor and remove slag it will start easly, i also use a scrap piece to start the arc and hop back to weld. re the coat hanger i still use them for gas welding. i also have a problem useing 7018 on a ac machine. a welder (pro) has told me it is a wast of time useing 7018 on a ac as the strength is diminished with the ac arc,true or not cliff
 
#20 ·
cliff tate said:
a welder (pro) has told me it is a wast of time useing 7018 on a ac as the strength is diminished with the ac arc,true or not cliff


A 7018 can be used on AC without significant loss of strength although it is a bit harder to control and there will be a lot more spatter but strength however is not an issue, this according to the manufacturers and AWS codes. The special E7018AC rods made just for 7018 welding with an AC machine fair only marginally better than a regular 7018 but they are a bit easier to start and seem to work somewhat better for out-of-position welding, IMO they are not very good on AC or DC. AC is sometimes used with 7018 or other low hydrogen rods for welding heavy parts that are slightly magnetic which is VERY difficult to weld with DC and this is accepted industry practice. Where this would apply to the type of welding most of the guys here might be doing is that they may very well be limited to an AC only machine but that should not discourage them from using 7018, or other high tensile rods, for critical welds such as frame repair or welding steel castings (NOT cast IRON! :nono: ) parts. An AC machine can be used quite successfully for this without compromising weld strength even if it is a bit more difficult to use, use of the 7018AC instead of regular 7018 may be a help to some welders.
 
#21 ·
thanks. well I don't really know what # the rods are. But I use mild steel and low hydrogen rods. I don't have a problem with the low hydrogen rods to start arcing but the mild steel rods I have a little problem with. But my problem is that when I weld everynow and then it will stick. Thanks guys. There is a lot of good tips out there. And thanks for the link JeffB.
 
#22 ·
chase1994 said:
. But my problem is that when I weld everynow and then it will stick.

Don't feel bad about that you are just part of a big crowd! :)



Now since you are just starting out and you can still see, hear and breath OK and your skin is not leather-like and burn scared let's discuss the most important part of welding- SAFETY! Starting right now get yourself a good respirator, a bunch of those soft disposable ear plugs and a pair of safety glasses and wear them all the time when you weld, wear those safety glasses any time you are working. NEVER weld with short sleeves and always make sure all of your skin is covered when you weld, be especially careful of the neck area under the bottom of your helmet. A lot of us who have done this for many years will attach a "Bib" on the bottom of the helmet to protect the area just above our Tee shirt, unfortunately for most of us however we did this much too late! Welding almost always involves damaging noise and believe it or not there is a high frequency sound that comes from a cutting torch that will destroy your hearing even though it does not seem uncomfortably loud, wear those ear plugs! Never expose any area of your skin to arc rays not even for a few seconds at a time, the damage is cumulative and you will get more than enough in spite of your best efforts so take every precaution you can. There are a heck of a lot of older, and some not so old, welders out there who look a lot older than they are, have difficulty breathing and couldn't hear an atom bomb go off in their back yard. :rolleyes: Take these precautions NOW while they will still do you some good because once the damage becomes apparent it will NEVER go away but it simply does not need to happen and it is easy to avoid but if you don't you will regret it, go ahead and ask me how I know all this!
 
#23 ·
Just like to clarify something I said earlier about AC machines and their use. I said they could be used successfully with 7018 and other high tensile rods for frames and steel castings but not cast iron but I meant the 7018 and other steel rods could not be used on iron castings not the welder, AC welders with the proper rods (Nickel) will weld iron castings just fine.
 
#24 ·
I agree with oldred, I don't weld as much as I used to but still burn a few pounds of rod a year. I use my old faithful 1946 SA- 200 Lincoln that I've had forever. I usa 7018 and 7014. The 7014 I use for general purpose and 7018 for just about everything else. I spent 30 plus years as a heavy equipment mechanic/ welder in construction. I now work for the state.
 
#26 ·
sticking rods......

Hi Guys,you all forgot something,if a rod is damp,it will USUALLY stick...i have a plastic rod box with a rubber gasket,i keep rods in it,sometimes for a year or more,and they dont get damp, but,since ive had my mig welders,i dont stick weld much anymore.
 
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