Techniweld E7018 and E6010 stick electrodes criteque them

Date 07-28-2011 18:22

Hello everyone, as the subject line describes, I am basically looking for critiques on electrodes that you have received/purchased from these folks. We typically run either Lincoln LH78 E7018 or Lincoln Excalibur E7018, our E6010 rods are either Lincoln 5P or 5P+, we have also experimented a bit with the Hobart Pipemaster type E6010 with reasonable results.
We did notice that the country of origin for the Techniweld electrodes that we received was listed as Turkey, my partner conversed with some of the folks at Techniweld and they told him that they had their manufacturing plant located in Europe(Turkey obviously fits this description).
So, to the brass tacks of my inquiry., I am looking for comments from those of you who have used these products and your +'s and -'s regarding their performance and consistency of quality. Thanks ahead of time to any of you who are able to reply. Best regards, Allan

By js55

Date 07-28-2011 19:18

Its interesting, while I do not know about Techniweld offhand they may be a repackager, which has become a bit of a dirty word in welding world. But the interesting thing is, these days EVERYBODY repackages with some line of theirs or another. Many of the brands we consider as different come off of the exact same line and go into different boxes.

By aevald

Date 07-28-2011 19:29

Exactly, that's a part of my question. I know in the past that there have been companies that would put out some basic specifications for a particular product and then various companies would bid to produce that product for them. I am looking for that sort of information as well as satisfaction levels if this proves to not be the case. Thanks for the reply JS55. Best regards, Allan

By 99205

Date 07-28-2011 19:52

In my own biased opinion "Buy American".

By aevald

Date 07-29-2011 03:18

Hello Doug, I am of the mind that "buy American" is the way to go as well. However, as many of you know, determining which products and brands are truly "made in the USA" isn't quite so easy anymore and when we are faced with such limited budgets to outfit our programs, the $1.50 per pound savings is tempting. I would certainly rather have Turkey importing welding rod into the U.S. than the drugs that typically make it here. Thank you for your comments and best regards, Allan

By DaveBoyer (*****)

Date 07-29-2011 05:06

I know You want quality products for Your students, and there are good reasons to have them.

However, learning to run crappy rods is a learning experience too. :sad:

By js55

Date 07-29-2011 12:14

Allan,
Have the Techniweld rep give you a free sample. If he is unwilling to do so that might tell you something. If he is willing to do so then you can enlighten us.

By aevald

Date 07-29-2011 15:58

Hello again js55, they did send us a box each of their 1/8" E6010 and E7018. I actually liked the way that the E6010 ran, of the few sticks that I tried. Haven't run the E7018 yet. When I do I will give an opinion. Them sending us the boxes of product is how we discovered the country of origin, Turkey. Best regards, Allan

By Blaster (***)

Date 07-29-2011 20:47

Hi Allan

Sorry I can't address your specific question, but I will add that I have recently moved almost exclusivley to ESAB electrodes. We still use Lincoln 5P+, NR 211 and NR 232. However I have switched to ESAB's 7018 Acclaim, Coreshield 8 (we use both NR 232 and Coreshield 8), 710 XM E71T-1M, pure and 1.5 La tungsten, and their Allstate line of gouging carbons. We also use their steel MIG wire although I can't think of the model name now. All of it is made in the USA. Oh, and I also buy their ER70S-2 and ER5356 TIG rod.

I stick with 5P+ as in my opinion it just welds open root better than 5P, 10P, 10P+, and Pipemaster. I use NR 211 as it has been a choice for incidental welding for a long time. I like NR 232 due to its responsive (unforgiving / sensitive) nature. There is nothing I have found better at forcing a welder to really understand the fundamentals of the relationships between WFS, voltage/arc length, stick out, electrode angle, speed, base metal temp, base metal mass, joint geomentry, position, etc. It can also be a good tool to open the mind of a guy with some experience who comes in thinking he is already are pretty good welder.

The ESAB prices seem reasonable, but we do have 3 good sized vendors who are quite competitive on their bids for our orders. We ask for bids from Airgas, Pacific, and Praxair, as wells as from another local vendor. I try to hold out until I can order $5,000 - $10,000 worth in order to get the best prices and so the quantities are great enough that the manufacturer will pay the shipping costs to the vendor.

I have been very pleased with the quality of the ESAB product. I have not recieved any problematic electrodes yet... no noconcentric flux coating on stick rods, or coating over the striking end or where the stinger clamps on. For years I put up with the odd box of non-concentricly coated 3/32" from another American manufacture, and its resulting fingernailing. The 710 XM is great at lower wire speeds. 5G and 6G pipe is a snap with it.

I would like to hear your input on the Turkish electrodes should you decide to try them.

Rod