SMAW electrode survey

[Darkhorse]

G’Day forum members,

I’m new to this forum. I’ve some questions I’d like to ask pertaining to Shielded Metal Arc Welding consumables.

I’m currently in the process of writing curriculum for a community college welding program. The program has not been updated for nearly 20 years. In updating this curriculum I want to streamline the SMAW course. It is my opinion that too much time is currently spent instructing students to become skillful with electrodes that are seldom used in industry anymore.

I believe it is important for student welders to become familiar with the less used electrodes as they are still available, but not necessary for them to become intimately proficient at using them.

In the last 20 years I have had the opportunity to perform quality audits of various shops. I have seen a decrease in the use of SMAW and an increase in the wire feed processes (for obvious labor saving and quality reasons). In our welder training programs I have not seen the same changes, with the exception of increased emphasis on the wire feed processes.

The electrodes I consider to be less used are listed in the questions below.

The questions I want to aks here are:

1. As welders, how often do you select or are required to use the following electrodes:

E6012 A. Not at all
B. Yearly
C. Monthly
D. Daily

E6013 A. Not at all
B. Yearly
C. Monthly
D. Daily

E7014 A. Not at all
B. Yearly
C. Monthly
D. Daily

E7024 A. Not at all
B. Yearly
C. Monthly
D. Daily

E7015 A. Not at all
B. Yearly
C. Monthly
D. Daily

E7016 A. Not at all
B. Yearly
C. Monthly
D. Daily

E7028 A. Not at all
B. Yearly
C. Monthly
D. Daily

2. (For those in welding supply sales) Approximately what percentage of SMAW electrode sales are these electrodes:

E6013

E7014

E7015

E7016

E7028




3. (For those in welding supply sales) Who purchases the greatest percentage of the electrodes listed in question #2 (please answer for each class of electrode):

A. Job Shops
B. Independent Field Welders
C. Schools and training facilities
D. Farm & Ranch
E. Maintenance Departments
F. Other (Please explain)


E6013

E7014

E7015

E7016

E7028


Other comments from forum members concerning the use of these electrodes and their use for training welders is welcome. Thanks in advance for your responses.

[DDA52]

Hey Darkhorse.
First of all welcome aboard!
As for your first ques. ... here goes .
6012 - never
6013 - monthly to yearly ( never really liked them much )
7014 - never
7024 - yearly - only use it if fab project requires a high dep. rate and position will allow ( which ain't often )
7015 - never
7016 - never
7028 - never
Hey, that was easy!:) Which gets me wondering why you didn't mention these... 6010, 6010+, 6011, & 7018. :confused:
These make up the bulk of my rod purchases. E6022's will show up once in a great, great while if we have a good deal of decking to do. The same goes for most of the guys I work around, with the exception of 6013. 'Bout 20 yrs. ago I had to use 7010-a1's for a job and a stadium full of Corten required 8018-G's. That's about it. Hope this helps.:D

[DDA52]

:o OOPS
After the fact edit to follow:
Corten required AWS class 8018-W ... We used Atom Arc 8018-G. Same class, just a different # system. I figured I had better fix that before someone else did!:D

[69 nova ss]

6013 is the only one on your list that I use, mostly 7018 or 8018 though, and I hardly run SMAW anymore... unless the MIG gun won't fit.

[MPK]

I use mostly 6010, 6011, 7014, and some 6013 just because I have a lot of them on hand.

[dsyork]

I use 6010 some, 6013 & 7018 daily.

[Snidley]

Weekly I use
6011
6013
7014
7018

[stever]

Here in this part of the USA (western NC/SC) I teach 6013 simply because of the home hobbiest. These people purchase an AC machine, then try to learn to weld. When they get the machine the 6013 is sold as "the" rod to use with the buzzbox. I travel 40 miles from home to school. During this twice per day travel I've seen some scary looking homebuilt trailers. I've seen several come apart. My hope is to educate people that the 6013 is considered a sheet metal rod by the manufacturer and if it is going to be used there is a proper way to do such. Enough of that rant.

6010
7018
6011
7014
These make up the bulk of industries most used SMAW electrodes in this area, so this is what is taught.

Dealers in this area don't even stock the 6012. I have used the Hobart training books that require the 6012. I had to stop because the welding suppliers could get the rod as a special order which means that the price is unreal.

[Darkhorse]

Thanks for the replies guys! This helps greatly. However, I'm still looking for more replies.

To answer the question as to why I didn't mention some other electrodes in the survey is due to the fact that E6010, E6011, E7018 and simialar electrodes with higher strengths (E80XX, E90XX, E100XX, E110XX, etc.) are still commonly used by industry.

I have had the feeling that welder training programs have been the largest purchasers of these "less used" electrodes for some time now.

I would still like to hear from some welding suppliers regarding these electrodes.

Again, thanks for your help.

Dark Horse

[John C]

I use 6010, 6011, 7018, & 7024 on a daily to weekly basis; cast iron & stainless steel on a weekly to monthly, & 6013 just to say I have some if somebody were to ask.
If I were limited to having to weld with an AC power source, then I might try 6013 more often.
As far as the other rods that you mentioned I might have tried them on occasion, but never bought any.
Why waste the students & taxpayers money on welding rods that are either outdated or very seldom used unless the job is spec.'d for that particular rod? Why not focus more on some hands-on fabrication or repair projects for the students.
I don't know how many welding repair & fabrication shops or manufacturing plants ther are close by,but you might pay a visit to some & see what weldors do use.

[7018]

I use 6011,7018, some 6010 but not too much! We use the orthers every day hope this helps!!!

[Sberry]

I dont use any of them on that list. As far as training people on them,,, if they can run 5p and lo-hi they can run those too.

[trich]

I agree with sberry, learning to use 6010 for a root pass on 2" & 6" sch 160 in the 6g position and 7018 for the hot & cap passes will enable students to handle all the rods you mentioned. The next step is learning to weld stainless and monel. This is what is used in most oil refineries where stringent welds must be made.

[pjt]

I know what 5p is, what is "lo-hi"?

[Sberry]

Its slang for 7018, low hydrogen.

[bomberz1qr20]

At the community college I attend we use 6011, 6010, 7018, and we started off with 7024.

They may or may not stock other electrodes, I haven't seen em.

The instructor uses 7024 to teach students to strike an arc and run a decent bead , this cuts down on cursing and throwing things in the lab. Less chance of stuck rods = less intimidated students.

[kllrjo]

6011/7018/316L damn near daily