Which welding rod?

[JBaz]

Hi

I asked for, and was given, a cheap (Chinese) mini-welder for Christmas and am currently installing a 30 Amp socket to run it.

The next thing will be welding rods and although I have decided to start with 6013 2.5mm rods, there is a huge range of these available at and equally huge cost variation.

Can anybody shed any light on the potential difference between similar (6013) rods from different manufacturers and what that means when using them?

Cheers

 

[Spectric]

I assume you are talking about a stick welder, (MMA) and if so and they are still around I used to like the Stubbs rods. Always keep welding rods indoors in the dry, if they get damp you will never weld with them. There is a vast array of rods, some all position and others more specialised for say vertical welds and you need to talk to the welding supplier you use.

 

[pcb1962]

There's a welding forum at MIG Welding Forum that you may find useful, lots of beginner info there, and not just MIG.

 

[JBaz]

Thanks for the link. The MIG Welding Forum had some useful posts.

It seems there is a difference and not necessarily based purely on price.

 

[pcb1962]

Thanks for the link. The MIG Welding Forum had some useful posts.

It seems there is a difference and not necessarily based purely on price.

Personally I find anything with the 'Parweld' brand, both welding consumables and grinding disks, to be good value and decent quality.

 

[Dave Moore]

Vodex are a good general purpose rod although not the tidiest finish. Esab mildtrode have a nice finish although probably a little bit more expensive than Vodex. I suggest you go to a proper engineering suppliers as it will probably work out cheaper. One packet of 2.5mm rods will probably last a while but as mentioned keep them dry.

 

[ian_in_the_midlands]

I have found that make of rod makes a lot of difference. Oerlikon fincord are expensive, but easier to use than others I have tried. How much current does your welder deliver? Does it need a 30A socket? You should be able to run a modern welder with 2.5mm rods off 13A without issues.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

I asked for, and was given, a cheap (Chinese) mini-welder for Christmas and am currently installing a 30 Amp socket to run it.

The next thing will be welding rods and although I have decided to start with 6013 2.5mm rods, there is a huge range of these available at and equally huge cost variation.

That must be one huge welder. There is no way that you need a 30A socket for a medium to small welder. They will happily run with a 13A supply.
If you are learning and don’t intend to be dealing with 2mm and up material then you will find the joys of burn through. To avoid that then pick up some 1.6 mm and 2 mm rods also that will let you weld with a lower burn through rate

if your going to weld bigger heavier stuff then 3.2 mm rods and 7016 as well as 6013 will be useful. I have not found that any rods available here will work equally well.

I don’t know if these brands are available to you but these are the ones my professional welder neighbour likes me to get for him to use

This is a construction he built for us from our design. The supply for his welding was on a 13A extension.

 

[clogs]

I guess you've got an MMA or stick welder....?
Oerlikon are excellent....If I can get them thats what I buy.....but here there's not much choice....
6013 are just general welding rods ideal for gates and frame work......
7016 is a directional rod for up and down hand welding......
I have all kinds of welders up to 500amps plus migs etc......I use up to 6mm rods.....
so for me its easy to adapt between rod manufactures but I have some that I bought that just went in the bin.....
the rods will vary a lot between manufs....some go on like butter and others are b awful.....
always be over supplied with current....running near max on a 13amp plug is a danger and the welder just will not work well....
esp on a bad day, on an extension lead with low voltage at the mains will effect your welder....
if you can weld great but if not get somebody to help you get going.....

weldequip.co.uk will help you out with all consumeables.....

 

[Retired]

Hi,

Cheap as chips and these work; they'll get you started;

IMPAX E6013 2.5 Welding Electrodes 2.5 x 350mm 2.5kg

kind regards, Colin.

 

[JBaz]

Thanks for all the responses.

The Esab Ok 46.30 from Engweld or the IMPAX from Screwfix look to be in the price/quality "sweet zone", so I'll go for one of those.

As to the power supply, the welder is a Minleaf ZX7-250 and the spec sheet says it can supply up to 250 Amps at 27 Volts. By my calculations that comes out at 6.75 KW, so at 240 Volts I need a 28 Amp supply.

I'm sure I will never take it to it's max, but I reckon I could exceed the capacity of a standard 13 Amp plug and socket. Fortunately, I have 3 phase supply and a spare 32 Amp single phase breaker, so wiring in a wall mounted socket is not a big deal. However, a 6 mm2 extension cable looks like costing more than the welder!

There's always a "gotcha".

 

[Spectric]

If you have a three phase supply then why not buy a secondhand three phase welder, you will get a lot more for the money? Also look at the likes of the Oxfords, simple non invertor machines that last forever just heavy.

 

[JBaz]

Roy

I'm basically a woodworker and have the 3 phase for my machines.

A couple of years back, on a whim, I bought a metal lathe (Chinese again, but a 12/30 gear head, so reasonably capable) to play with and have enjoyed doing bits and pieces with it, particularly when they can be incorporated into the wooden pieces I make.

The welder is my latest whim (probably Covid related) and I have no specific jobs in mind a present. Hence my going for the cheapest one I could find that had some decent reviews on YouTube. If I do get into it I will certainly consider moving up to a more robust bit of kit and will be back on the forum looking for guidance. However, I haven't welded anything since uni days in the 70's, so it could be a while before I am ready to move up to the heady heights of MIG, TIG (and Bobtail?*).

Cheers

John

* You probably need to be a baby-boomer to understand this.

 

[Dee J]

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