6010 vs 6011

For me, the 6010 has always been the "pipe rod" and personally I like the Lincoln 5P+. Smoothest running rod and well suited for low and high current applications. Flux slag nearly removes itself and they hold a super flat bead on horizontal joints.

The debate seems to arise when doing repair work, something I do a lot of. When doing new fabrication, the steel is clean and does not require a lot of prep and you have less chance of porosity and slag inclusions. Working on broken things is not as easy. You have dirt, oil, rust and a host of other things to deal with in the weld joint. Try as you may, in most cases, you simply cannot get all the crap out of the joint. The main thing I get is items that had been fixed before but not done properly. Most of the weld failures I see are caused by any or all of the following: Slag inclusions, porosity, poor fusion and or lack of penetration. Some welds are good but the joint was improperly designed causing the failure but that's another story in itself.

Slag inclusions are the hardest to deal with. In many cases you can't cut or grind enough of the metal away because of it's location or what not. Sometimes you have the option of carbon arc gouging the old weld out in order to remove the slag and get down to the base metal.

When you can't clean a weld good is where the 6011 comes into play. The flux ingredients on these rods will do a lot of cleaning if used right. The 6010's do not have the same flux coating composition and will not clean as well as the 6011's. Running 6011 DCEP (reverse) polarity, you can use a combination of technique and amperage to do a lot of things. Low amperage has less cleaning power but will allow for bridging wide open roots far beyond what a 70 or higher series rod will. Running at higher amperages, you can gouge and clean a weld as well as get a good root pass in all at the same time.

Granted I work on bigger machines, 100,000 pounds and up, so take this in the context of steel thicknesses. Normally I'll start out using the torch to remove as much of the old weld, slag and dirt as possible. Then grind clean whats left and go at it with a 1/8" 6011 around 130 to 140 amps for the cleaning root pass. Vertical up is the best if you can position the work to allow it, if not, overhead is second best choice. Gravity will help pull the slag and dirt out the weld so the more you can use it in your favor the better. Most times, I will always stay with a 1/8" rod unless I have stock over 1.5" thick in which case I'll start with a 5/32" or 3/16" 6011 running between 150 and 200 amps. The higher the amperage you can run without blowing through the better for cleaning. You will induce a lot of heat into the weld area which helps melt slag included in the old weld and also causes the flux to have a better blowing action to get the crud out of the root pass.

Second pass in a wide V groove on 5/8" or thicker stock is also done with a 6011 set at a lower amperage, 90-110 for 1/8", 125-140 for 5/32" and 130-165 for 3/16" all depending on how much cleaning and penetration I want get on the sides of the weld. Using second pass stringers on either side of the root is also acceptable for this but you need to get a good wash into the root to make it work right.

Follow-up filler passes are usually done with 7018, 8018, 9018, 10018, ect as required for the work and should be done when the root passes are still warm IE 400F or above to ensure good inner pass slag removal.

Given that most people deal with 1/2" or thinner materials, running a single good hot root pass with a 6011 on AC or DC and following up with one or two 7018 cover passes will usually hold anything the base metal will take. BTW, I did try some of the 7018AC rods the other day on an old Lincoln AC buzz box and they do lay a nice bead however, they do lack penetration you can get on DC.

Using 6010 for root passes on new fabrication is fully acceptable since you do need the full cleaning power. Penetration and weld bead specs for the 6010 and 6011 on new steel are about the same. When it comes to dealing with used equipment and broken welds, the 6011 has many advantages over the 6010. Not saying they won't work but in most cases you will find the 6011 will work a lot better for those weld you just can't clean good.

6013 is something I am not fond of. It'll do a nice weld on AC with the buzz boxes but is very easy to have problems with too. If you get 'em hot enough to get good penetration, you end up with a lot of spatter. If you turn them down enough to get a nice looking bead, you give up penetration and will also likely have a lot of slag inclusion if you lift the rod even a tiny bit. On DCEN, strait polarity, they will do OK but still have less than desired effects you can get from the 6011 or 6010. Someone suggested running the 6010 on DCEN but from what I have seen, this only gives a great risk of porosity and slag inclusion.

6011's will also run decent on buzz boxes too, just crank the amperage up and keep the arc tight. The tighter you hold the arc, the better the weld will be. If you can't feel the rod dragging on the stock without it sticking, you don't have enough amperage.

Not looking to start a rod war here, just giving my input on things having gone around the block a time or ten.

Mark, I would like to get your thoughts on another welding rod debate.

What do you think of 7016 as a general purpose repair rod ? 7018 is so touchy about moisture and proper storage. Around here the humidity is near 100% for a large part of the year.

-- bbott

First, for the most part, DIY'er and maintenance people can get away with two rods, the 6011 and the 7018.

7018's come in an AC version that does work on the little buzz boxes quite nicely but you have to get the amperage up and hold a tight arc with them, if you don't, you'll get little penetration and slag inclusions.

7016 and 7014 are limited in availablity and applications and because of this, I won't suggest them as general purpose choices. If you have specific applications for these, email me with them.

Never liked the way 6011 ran on DCEN but that's just me. I have done it to limit penetration on thin stock but would rather use other means such as going to a smaller diameter rod, tig or mig.

Truck frames are tricky and should only be done if you know what you are doing. No offense to anyone but it takes a certain skill to produce a proper joint and weld on a frame so it does not affect the safety of the vehicle. Each joint and frame repair requires knowledge of the application, stress points, tensile loading, flexibility stresses and so forth. Rarely are any two frame repairs made in the same manner. 6011's will give you less tensile strength in the weld but add flexibility which may or may not be desirable for the work. Intermixing weld alloys is a science in itself on frames and other high stress and flex applications. The types of joints and selections of materials is too great to get into here as is the application of such. For general purpose discussion, most frame work is done with 6011 root, intermediate filler passes and capped with 7018 or higher for strength matching that of the base metal. In addition to the welds, exterior plates and supports may be reqired to complete the job to maintain safety. Intricate knowledge of the base metal alloys and application data is required for all frame work no matter how minor or major it may appear. Broken / cracked frames are a sign of a bigger problem that must be corrected to prevet it from happening again. If you only fix the one problem, it will come back again and again if it does not lead to a more serious safety problem first.

Verical up's are for me the easiest and most prefered weld to make with stick rods. Pratice and instruction are the taming of the beast as well as having the right equipment and rods. V-up's can be done with a buzz box but it requires skill that comes from doing it. Running them with a quality DC machine is easier but it still takes skill and practice to master. Best thing you can do is find someone to teach you the technique through showing you how to then expand on that by doing it. Take your time and hold the sides, the middle will take of itself. Keep a slight upward angle no exceeding about 25 degree from perpendicular and hold a tight arc. Don't lag in the middle, move the rod from side to side with a definite purpose and form while you follow the filled puddle up the joint. Keep a light grip on the stinger and weave with your wrist not your arm. I always tell people to stick your index finger strait out as if pointing toward the rod in the holder gripping the stinger with your thumb and middle finger only, then allow the stinger to rotate between these fingers to get the weave. This will help control your desire to over steer and over run the puddle.

Storing rods or any other type of welding wire is critical to getting a good weld. You need to keep them dry and clean. I built racks for the side of my coal fired boiler to hold my rods. They maintain about 140F year round even in the high humid summer months without a problem. For those of you without this option, a rod oven is the best choice. I've read about people making them from plywood and such with a lightbulb in them but this is dangerous. You want a storage device that is NON FLAMABLE and that does NOT conatin plastics of any type such as an old refrigerator. You also need air flow so that moisture can escape the storage device. The best and cheapest and safest thing you can get is an old stove with an over or an oven alone. At the scrap yards, you can purchase one for under $10 depending on the weight / size. It's all metal and designed to safety handle heating sources. For the high tech junkie, you can install an electric humidy control element like the golden rod made for gun safes. For the less high tech people with some electrical wiring ability, you can install a ceramic closet fixture in the bottom of a gas oven where the broiler is located, please be sure to use only high temp wire and a ceramic light base, no plastic bases or rubber cord and use a three wire cord so you can attach the safety ground to the metal housing of the stove. Also fuse it properly for the single light bulb, I also strongly suggest using a GFCI circuit breaker for added safety.

You need to protect the bulb from damage as well, a broken bulb exposes electrically hot wires which will be conducted well by the metal rods very well.

I have some detailed information on welding that I have been working on for a couple years. I have not had the time to compile it all into one package yet but I hope to get it done sometime in the near future. I hope this helps somewhat and if you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to email me with them. I can't promise a speedy reply but I will reply in a few days. If you don't hear back from me in a week, re-send the mail. Be glad to help when I can.