Vaccum packed E/R

By newinsp (**)

Date 06-16-2013 18:50

E7018 4 hours max. If they have a certain suffix (R, HZR, M) you can go up to 9 hours.

By vignesh5585 (*)

Date 06-17-2013 05:01

Hey Thanx to all for ur valuable infooooo

By newinsp (**)

Date 06-16-2013 18:58

Don't forget to put them in a rod oven before time is up.

By welderbrent (*****)

Date 06-16-2013 20:54

There are manufacturers who claim their electrodes are 'vacuum' packed, but the packaging is totally bogus. If you get it in the foil packs, or a plastic box wrapped with tape... put it in a bake oven. Not a holding oven. Most of them aren't even close, the foil is ripped somewhere before you get it.

Use companies that supply them in sealed metal cans, either 10 or 50 lbs. The 10's have pop tops. They can also often be used up in a day so you don't have to worry about them. Most are, but make sure, as newinsp said, they are the 'R', 'M', etc ones. Those are good for 9 hrs and don't cost any more than the others. At least at my supplier.

Open the can, place most of it straight into a holding oven. That way there is no question how long it has been out. Use up the rest, grap fresh from oven.

I still have not had the problems mentioned by others in another thread with Excalibur. Mine continue to run great...3/32, 1/8, & 5/32. It is still my number one choice.

Have a Great Day, Brent

By 803056

Date 06-17-2013 14:16 Edited 06-18-2013 01:00

I hate to toss water on a great discussion, but I have to ask; "What welding standard are you using?"

AWS D1.1 is regarded as the bible for welders by many of us, but it has little relevance for welding to other codes or other standards.

I just received my new copy of AWS A5.1: 2012. If I may paraphrase the recommendations of A5.1;
Low hydrogen electrodes - storage conditions:
Ambient air - not recommended
Holding Ovens - 50 degrees F to 250 degrees F above ambient
Drying Conditions - 500 degrees F to 800 degrees F, 1 to 2 hours at temperature

Many welding standards leave it to the contractor to determine the storage conditions for the electrodes. I do not recollect any electrode storage requirements in ASME or API. Both include references to AWS/ASME A5.1/SFA5.1. As such, the storage conditions listed in AWS/ASME filler metal specifications can be applicable if the contractor decides it is suitable for the application at hand.

Let's face facts, there is low hydrogen, and there's really low hydrogen. The reason for using low hydrogen electrodes is to mitigate the potential for hydrogen assisted cracking. If the contactor is welding steel with a low carbon equivalency and the work is in a very dry or very cold climate, the need for low hydrogen in the weld is not as great as for a project being built in a region of very high humidity using quenched and tempered steel. Welding standards such as ASME or API impose very loose restrictions on the contractor. The onus is placed on the contractor to determine what electrode storage conditions are appropriate for their work.

There are applications where the storage conditions imposed by AWS D1.1 may be overly conservative. The experiment I use to demonstrate diffusible hydrogen in welds has proven to me that the E7018-H4R are highly resistant to moisture. So much so, that even when the electrodes are stored in an open container for several days, it still does not produce the desired “affect” when demonstrating the need to store low hydrogen covered electrodes in heated ovens. After all, I want to see the curtain of hydrogen bubbles to make my point. Thus the admonition to use “regular” E7018 low hydrogen electrodes when performing the experiment in front of a crew of welders least we inadvertently demonstrate there is “no need” to store electrodes in the heated oven.

After all the dust settles, I am in agreement with my friend Brent, AWS D1.1 is a good starting point. You cannot go wrong taking a conservative stance until you can prove otherwise. Rebake any electrode that isn't purchased in a sealed tin per AWS D1.1 and store at 250 degrees F until used. It doesn't hurt to rebake the 7018 electrodes at 500 to 600 degrees F for an hour if you are welding quenched and tempered steels.

Best regards - Al