My arc welding training was a few weeks at trade school, a long time ago. I doubt inverter welders were a thing back then, and in so far as I’m aware DC welding didn’t exist. (Could be wrong there but I’d never heard of it.)

Anyway, when the class was getting the hang of things the instructor invited us to try a few different types of welding rods. As I recall, there weren’t too many different types to choose from.

The rod I fell in love with was one called Satincraft. Probably because the flux would just about fall off by itself. And since then that’s all I’ve ever used.

So, now I’m about to buy a new welder. I was also looking around to see what’s available in welding rods. And blow me down I keep reading about rods classified by a number code (eg. 6011, 7018, etc.) that means little to me. And I read about hydrogen, sodium, potassium, and then there was cellulose and at that point I wondered if I’d found a horticultural website rather than a welding site. Then of course there are AC rods and DC rods.

Are most people like me who prefer to stick with what they know, or is it worthwhile studying all of those rod types and carefully making a selection based on the job that’s to be undertaken?


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