Thread: Kobe Welding Electrodes - poor quality if not made in Japan ??

Your pre-heating the rods hey? that makes them easier to start. Depending on what your welding, hit the steel with a little bit of heat too. Again depending on what thickness steel your welding, don't be afraid to experiment on amp settings, electrode angles (with in reason ) to get the flux to fall off easier and a flatter bead. A good heavy chipping hammer and a wire wheel on a grinder gets the stubborn bits. Undercut - slow down a little bit. let it fill. You welding Vertical up? I've used both, because they have been stated in the weld procedure. They are good once you get used to them. Can be difficult to weld for people who don't use them often. Judging by a pack l have, Kobe steel is in Japan, Kobe welding is in Singapore. As for price, l've never paid for a pack haha, work has always supplied them.

Thanks Brenton21,

well I've got a 5kg packet of 3.2mm rods to practice with so maybe I'll be a bit better with them when I get to the last one. I'm sure they have a bit better penetration than other 6013 rods which is one thing I like. My Satincraft 13 rods can leave a beautiful looking weld - if I manage to avoid beading up and trapped slag. I suppose if I can get the undercut issue sorted with the RB26s then the slag will release easier.

Just been doing some vertical up welds with the RB26s and had good success. Tried the Satincraft 13 and couldn't do vertical up to save my life. Amps low and they barely welded so I upped the amps a bit but then they just burned into the metal too much and the slag seemed too fluid.

I'm already warming to my RB26s.

Originally Posted by beefy

I read somewhere on this forum that Kobe (Kobelco) rods are great. Two which I've seen highly recommended were RB26 and the low hydrogen LB-52U, so I've went and bought a packet of each.

Haven't tried the lo-hi rods yet but I've tried the RB26 and I'm not too impressed. Hard starting and the slag is very difficult to remove. Plus they seem to undercut all the time. All my other 6012 or 6013 rods are much better in this regard.

Now it was mentioned to only get the rods that are actually made in Japan, because the ones made in Singapore are not as good. Well mine are made in Singapore, so I'm starting to wonder if where they are made does make a big difference. They were cheaper than other rods which surprised me given their reputation.

Does anyone have any experience of Kobe rods made in Japan & Singapore and have you noticed any difference in the same rod.

Hi Beefy
Kobe electrodes are great. Don’t let the fact that they are made else where than Kobe, Japan dissuade you.. The quality, wherever they are made, is top shelf. I have used them for over thirty years at various times and can vouch for them.
Kobe is a big company so their reputation is always on the line, so my guess is they would be likely monitoring quality of electrodes produced away from Japan with their own people.

Electrodes can be much like screwdrivers. While they are made to do the same basic job there are variations to the theme. Like screwdrivers, if you use the wrong one for the job it won’t do the job properly.

Take your LB52U, its an excellent rod for what is is designed for the LB52U is designed for placing a TIG quality root run bead in pressure piping so there’s no lumpy bits intruding into the smooth bore of the pipe. Basically there’s no better electrode available AFAIK. However, this is in the hands of a skilled and trained operator.
If you have are welding some high quality pressure pipework. The LB’s are the right choice for the job. If your welding other stuff ,you may well be disappointed again.

The Rb's are a general workhorse and I get perfect results from them
The RB-26’s if fresh from the packet should not need warming unless they have been exposed to moisture – if so wrap them in alfoil and put them in the oven for an hour at 100C. Work health and Safety tip –do it when SWMBO is not home - she will not understand the need for moisture free electrodes.

The symptoms you describe are indicative of damp electrodes.

You have not told us about you welder- they may be some set up problems with procedure and welding parameters. Help us ,help you - give us as much info as you can about the welder, the job, materials and material section.

From that, I am confident, we can get you sorted.

Cheers
Grahame

Originally Posted by beefy

I read somewhere on this forum that Kobe (Kobelco) rods are great. Two which I've seen highly recommended were RB26 and the low hydrogen LB-52U, so I've went and bought a packet of each.

Haven't tried the lo-hi rods yet but I've tried the RB26 and I'm not too impressed. Hard starting and the slag is very difficult to remove. Plus they seem to undercut all the time. All my other 6012 or 6013 rods are much better in this regard.

Now it was mentioned to only get the rods that are actually made in Japan, because the ones made in Singapore are not as good. Well mine are made in Singapore, so I'm starting to wonder if where they are made does make a big difference. They were cheaper than other rods which surprised me given their reputation.

Does anyone have any experience of Kobe rods made in Japan & Singapore and have you noticed any difference in the same rod.

Hi Beefy
Kobe electrodes are great. Don’t let the fact that they are made else where than Kobe, Japan dissuade you.. The quality, wherever they are made, is top shelf. I have used them for over thirty years at various times and can vouch for them.
Kobe is a big company so their reputation is always on the line, so my guess is they would be likely monitoring quality of electrodes produced away from Japan with their own people.

Electrodes can be much like screwdrivers. While they are made to do the same basic job there are variations to the theme. Like screwdrivers, if you use the wrong one for the job it won’t do the job properly.

Take your LB52U, its an excellent rod for what is is designed for the LB52U is designed for placing a TIG quality root run bead in pressure piping so there’s no lumpy bits intruding into the smooth bore of the pipe. Basically there’s no better electrode available AFAIK. However, this is in the hands of a skilled and trained operator.
If you have are welding some high quality pressure pipework. The LB’s are the right choice for the job. If your welding other stuff ,you may well be disappointed again.

The RB-26’s if fresh from the packet should not need warming unless they have been exposed to moisture – if so wrap them in alfoil and put them in the oven for an hour at 100C. Work health and Safety tip –do it when SWMBO is not home - she will not understand the need for moisture free electrodes.

The symptoms you describe are indicative of damp electrodes.

You have not told us about you welder- they may be some set up problems. Help us ,help you, give us as much info as you can about the welder, the job, materials and material section.

From that I am confident, we can get you sorted.

Cheers
Grahame

Thanks Graham,

I feel so spoilt with my wife, she's great when it comes to stuff like me putting welding rods in the kitchen oven. She's got a very practical brain and supports me with me workshop adventures. I've only done it once with some very old rods but had to put the oven on max. and it did create an odd "aroma" in the kitchen so I won't be doing that again. Not to worry though, I've built an electric heat treatment oven that can run at 1000 degrees C so 300 degrees will be a walk in the park for reconditioning lo-hi rods.

My welder is a little Unimig 170 DC inverter (damn I like it). I sometimes wonder if it packs a bit too much of a punch and I need to turn it down. Just been doing vertical up with 3.2mm RB26 and the had the dial at about 70 amps yet still getting good penetration. I've watched a video since my first post on getting good welds with 6013s (ChuckE2009 on Youtube) and I think I'm getting better results (together with a bit less current). Graham do you think the RB26s have quite good penetration for a 6013 ? The rods shouldn't have any damp problems because I got them out of a new pack which I kept in the house. The welds where I was getting the undercut were horizontal fillets. Can't remember what the amps were but I'm guessing I had them towards the high end because I'm so used to beading and slag inclusions with 6013s. The steel thickness would be about 5-6 mm. I've attempted overhead with them but I need a lot more practice at that, lots of beading and slag inclusions. Funny enough regarding moisture I'm sure it says on the packet to bake them at about 100 degrees before use. I've never seen that on a 6013 packet. Maybe I should try before and after baking welds to see if there's any difference.

Thanks for the notes on the LB-52U, I'll keep that in mind when I'm trying "normal" welds with them (i.e. non open root welds). I tried a couple last night for the very first time, just a stringer on top of an existing fillet bead. Seemed to have plenty penetration but didn't undercut too much. The slag was weird though, it would sag to the bottom of the bead, leaving only a thin coating on the upper part of the bead. Again I wonder if my little inverter welder gives out more than what the dial indicates. Tried a couple of Austarc 16TC too, they were smoother but likewise the slag sagged to the bottom of the bead. The 16TC slag came off a bit easier too. Other than that the two welds both seemed OK, I kept a tight arc all the way.

Keith.