Welding info.

I figured I would add some Tech to this board, and choosing the proper electrode for arc welding is generally over looked and often can be a little bewildering to a beginer and novice. First I would like to mention, I needed to do some research for all the info here, I generally only use E10024, E8037 and E8038 Electrodes, so I needed to Look up what some (cough most) of the other Numbers and letters stand for. Basically this came from some conversations with the mechanics who work for me an was using the improper rod for the medium he was welding. When I was asked, exactly how he should choose the correct rod, I had a half assed answer “cause I you work for me and I said so” JK so here is my little write up for you folks, enjoy..

Typically an arc welding rod has a part number like: E6018 or E8018-B1-H4R.
First, you need to be able to decode in order to choose the correct electrode for the material and field you are welding. Decodeding is fairly easily when your staring at a chart. So print this out and laminate it!

Short codes first
Quite simply the E stands for "Electrode"
The first two digits are an abbreviation of the weld's strength. To figure out the strength of the weld, take the 2 digits, for example 60, and multiply by 1000 to get the weld strength in PSI. so the strength of a weld with E6018 will be 60000 PSI (note, if there is a 5 Digit Number, E11010 for example, you multiply the first 3 numbers by 1000)
I am assuming you are thinking, How do you measure PSI in strength, here is an example; if you had welded two plates together, with the weld covering one square inch of material (or even 1/4" x 4" : that's still one square inch) that weld could take 60,000 pounds of pulling force, pretty strong!
Generally the values for the strength you see are 60,70,80,90,100,110.
The 3rd digit tells you what position the rod is recommended for.
Very simple here, no math what so ever…
1 = Flat, Horizontal, Vertical, Overhead.
2 = Flat and Horizontal only.
3 = Flat, Horizontal, Vertical Down, Overhead.
As for choosing the correct position, usually you can’t go wrong with 3 for automotive applications
The last digit tells you about welding current and the coating. (this I am Copy/Pasting since I don’t want to type it.

1 : DC:ROD+ ................... cellulose sodium
2 : AC or DC:ROD+ or DC:ROD- .. cellulose potassium
3 : AC or DC:ROD- ............. titania sodium
4 : AC or DC:ROD- or DC:ROD+ .. iron powder titania
5 : DC:ROD+ ................... low hydrogen sodium
6 : AC or DC:ROD+ ............. low hydrogen potassium
7 : AC or DC:ROD+ or DC:ROD- .. iron powder iron oxide
8 : AC or DC:ROD+ ............. iron powder low hydrogen

Generally a rod + will give deeper penetration, and the rod - will give faster deposition, this would be important to know for the thickness of your material. Honestly, I tell my mechanics not to worry about the coatings, I tend to find it is the least important in choosing the correct rod.

Long Codes next
For the beginner and perhaps novice, I would recommend avoiding these Electrode if you can, honestly it will simply confuse you. In my day to day I rarely use them, in fact I am pretty sure I don’t even have any in inventory. But for the sake of making this thread a bit longer and that I had to look this up… Another cut/paste chart..

If you are looking at a longer part number, the second grouping of letter and number refer to the chemical composition of the weld deposits. The third grouping of letters and number refers to the maximum amount of hydrogen that will be diffused from the rod and the trailing R means that the rod is moisture resistant. I assume that moisture resistant electrodes are good to carry for trail repairs, like I said before, we don’t use them in our facility. For the beginner and perhaps novice, I guess I would recommend avoiding these Electrode if you can, honestly it will simply confuse you, confuses me too.

Another cut/paste..

A1 0.5%Mo
B1 0.5%Cr 0.5%Mo
B2      1.25%Cr 0.5%Mo
B3       2.25%Cr 1%Mo
C1            2.5% Ni
C2      3.25%Ni
C3      1%Ni 0.15%Cr 0.35%Mo
D1      0.25-0.45%Mo 1.25-2%Mn
D2 0.25-0.45%Mo 1.25-2%Mn

Hope this helps..

Enjoy