Why are damp/wet welding electrodes impossible to weld with?

I need to get a TIG outfit, have not had the capability since I sold my business; I can go there and do it, but not always available. BTW, just rebuilt a 9" SB lathe circa 1928, made a new spindle, old one badly worn, and rescraped orig bearings to fit new spindle; it will be handy for small parts that are not so handy on the 19" Regal Leblond.
 
Not trying to be awkward here but if moisture causes hydrogen embrittlement how does underwater welding work?
Just curious.
 
i can't exactly say,
but i would have to think that the shielding gas pressure created by the burning rod must be greater than the surrounding water pressure.
good question though...
 
benmychree said:
I need to get a TIG outfit, have not had the capability since I sold my business;
Click to expand...

You can dry line TIG with about ant stick power source even a tombstone with the DC option. Current control is about non existent and you have to scratch start, but it's possible. Another option is a big car alternator with a feedback loop or a controller board. You just mount the alternator to a 8 or 10 HP gas engine and do some mods. The plans are all over the web and there are even some slick electronic control boards if you want to go further than just a rheostat to feed the output of the alternator back to the field input. There are all sorts of ways to get a workable solution if you lack the funds for welding equipment. All the water cooled, high current square wave stuff is great if you are welding for a living. I have been running a 1980's Airco Heliwelder 300 that has very little in options, and it's a transformer unit so it's heavy and only has 60 Hz sine wave AC and DC output but for the stuff I do it's fine. Te only real complaint I have with it is the open circuit voltage on AC is a bit low causing it to want to burn through really thin aluminum like pop can side wall thin. Other than that is does a fine job and it was reasonable price wise.
 
I read this thread before posting mine about rod storage .... I am more concerned about preventing moisture absorption rather than dealing with wet rod, and the dorm refrig and lightbulb is similar to what we used to do ... just hoping there is something better out there short of an oven.
OBTW, for "BE" - there are many times when using stick is a lot easier than MIG - wind disrupts gas shield if you are outside and cannot block wind from weld; sometimes position is harder with MIG than stick (I used to build gooseneck trailers and spent a lot of time doing a pirouette on my head with spatter coming down on me :) ... there are many times stick is just plain the only gig, so it has its place. I have MIG, TIG and stick and they all get their fair share of time .... Take care Guys - ddj
 
Here in Florida moisture is always. I got into the habit of shorting the rod for a few seconds before every weld. I have come to believe the welds go better whether the rod seemed damp or just plain old n crappy. The coated aluminum rods are useless after any exposure however.
 
I weld only very small tasks a few times a year, so I remain a rather poor welder. My machine is the HF 80 Amp inverter stick welder and I've never used any other stick welder so I don't have anything for comparison. I've always found it very difficult to get the arc started when the rod is cold. This is with both a freshly opened box of rods, or one that has been opened, but kept closed and on the shelf for many months. So when I did a little job (2 rods) last week, I toasted the rod tip with a propane torch for 20 - 30 seconds, until the flux started to look "toasted" a bit. This really seemed to get the rod primed to start easily. This was with Lincoln E6013 1/16" rods at about 70 A DC+.
I know some rods are very sensitive to moisture and are stored in warm ovens. I don't think 6013s need that treatement, do they? And here in inland San Diego County, we are rarely a humid environment. Why is my rod toasting working? Any downside to it? And is it: the hotter, the better?
 
One of the advantages of living in a dry climate is not having to take extraordinary measures to keep rod dry. I run pretty much just DC and mostly 7014 that just sits in it's original open can with no ill affects. Occasionally use some high nickel rod for work on cast and it seems to work fine after years sitting on the shelf. Most shop work is MIG, but stick definitely has it's place. If you want really good penetration It's hard to beat, and I use it almost exclusively on heavy equipment and large structural steel members. I'm very fond of my old gas powered Miller Big 40 for jobs around the ranch. Mike
 
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