using old 7018 rod, rusted tubing

[byen00]

The last time I welded using my Honda EW170 & 7018 rod (kept in plastic container) was back in 1998. I have some old 2" & 1.75" tubing (.120 wall) that's been sitting in the open...lots of surface rust, inside & out.

I plan on welding up a rear bumper, which has snatch points. Would it be a bad idea to use these items (rusted tubing & old 7018 rod)? I could get rid of the outside surface rust with wire-brushing, but I'm concerned about the rust on the inside. (will it eventually eat through?)

[enlpck]

If the tubes end up sealed, the rusy on the inside will quickly stop. If they arn't, then rust through from the insie depends on how much moisture can get in.

You should clean the weld area inside. Try a small flap wheel on a die grinder, or a wire brush on a die grinder.

[Sandy]

Like enpck says, make sure it ends up sealed. Or make it wide open and breathable. Tubes and metal containers with tiny holes tend to sweat something fierce and act like condensing chambers.

As to rusting through, it probably will in about another 16 years or so.

What kind of snatch points are you going to have on .120 wall? Light pulling. I guess it depends on the overall bumper design.

Treat yourself to some new rod. Few pounds won't hurt.

[boilerman79]

How do you like your Honda welder?

[boilerman79]

I HAVE a honda welder also,dont use it much.i have a Miller trailblazer that gets 99% of the work.I found the honda to be ok with 7018 rods ,stainless rods and some specialty maint.rods.But really lacked the arc voltage to do very well with 6010.although they say [honda] that it puts out 26.5 arc volts.It will do ok with 3/32 6010 rods but not what it should do.ALSO i tryed to run my wire feeder from it and it bogged down,even at the low end.[3045f.c. miller feeder].i bought it used and the price was right.the generater part of it works great.i have run a weld-pac 100 off of it with no problems.You dont see many people with these,so i just wondered how you liked yours.

[byen00]

Originally posted by boilerman79
I HAVE a honda welder also,dont use it much.i have a Miller trailblazer that gets 99% of the work.I found the honda to be ok with 7018 rods ,stainless rods and some specialty maint.rods.But really lacked the arc voltage to do very well with 6010.although they say [honda] that it puts out 26.5 arc volts.It will do ok with 3/32 6010 rods but not what it should do.ALSO i tryed to run my wire feeder from it and it bogged down,even at the low end.[3045f.c. miller feeder].i bought it used and the price was right.the generater part of it works great.i have run a weld-pac 100 off of it with no problems.You dont see many people with these,so i just wondered how you liked yours.

I don't have anything to compare it to, since it's the ONLY welder I've ever used. Never took a course on welding, I self taught myself on it (along with a bunch of books I bought).

I used some 60xx rod (forgot if it was 6011 or 6013, small diameter < 1/8"), it was a lot easier to weld than the 7018 1/8".

I got the EW170 for remote use (like going to the offroad races. See http://www.airextreme.com). I saw one race team carry a EW170 on a trailer. I brought it with me to Baja for the '91 solar eclipse. (see http://www.comet-track.com/eclipse/secl91/secl91.html). I got stuck on the beach (torqued a wheel off the rim), & the carburetor was so fouled I drained the battery dead. Only the EW170's generator & a 120v battery charger saved the day.

I'd like to hear of some "remote solutions": generator + portable mig welder. There are welding kits to use the alternator:

http://www.samsoffroad.com/samsoffroadsto/PremierWelder.htm
http://www.off-road.com/products/showcase/ppw.htm
http://www.fly-n-hi.com/readyweld.html