Welding Rod Long Term Storage Idea

[Johnch]

Well this AM I got a care package from a friend
He owns a fab shop

Some of his contracts say he has to use welding rod from a tube not open longer than so long

So when the welding rod is to old he has to get rid of it

As such , from time to time I get care packages of partly used tubes of welding rod
Nothing wrong with it , just out dated

Well I don't weld every day
So I figured out a easy way of storing the rod


I use my Vacume Sealer
Todays welding rod was mainly 7018 and hard surfacing rod

So I cut some bags from a food storage roll
And vacume sealed the rod

So now I have rod sealed in bags with the type of rod printed on the out side of the bag with a Sharpie

Simple and easy for me to grab what I need when I do some welding

John

[bob208]

i don't know who he welds for but when i welded on army and navy contracts the rod could be out for 3 hours then had to go back in the oven at 400 deg. for 3 hours then it was good to go. if you have 7018 and you want it to weld right and be good welds it has tobe backed dry before you use it.

tractor supply has plastic tubes for storing welding rod in they are hobart.i have a bunch of them i keep my rod in. if going out on a job just put soom of the tubes on the truck.

[Artful]

I just keep mine in a sealed ammo (but larger) can with some dessicant

[MT Gianni]

Ours are kept in a wooden box/cabinet with a 100 watt bulb on a thermostat. 140F and no humidity issues.

[Lloyd Smale]

I have some of those plastic tubes rod comes in and leave mine in them out in the garage and somes been there like that for years. Still welds as good as im capable.

[oldred]

:mad:I am going to sue, you stole my idea!!!!!


Yep I have been doing that for years and it works like a charm, just be sure to bake the rods dry before storing them if they have been exposed for any length of time. Of course if they are to be used on anything critical or any type of alloy steel they should be baked anyway but for "normal" welding on common mild steel items it won't matter much and baking is not really necessary (unless they are actually wet or damp). Even for alloys requiring a low hydrogen weld they could be used right out of the bag if they are baked before storage so what I do is to bake them dry then place them in metal or plastic containers then vacuum seal the entire package that way they are always ready for use immediately.


Another note on wet or damp rods, if they accidentally get wet they can be saved if tended to soon enough before they have time to rust. If they are rusty then toss them and don't take a chance with them but wet rods can be saved by proper drying, place them in a warm oven at about 150 deg for an hour or so then turn up the heat to 400 deg for another 1/2 hour to an hour and they should be just fine. If wet rods are dried too quickly by placing them in a hot oven the flux will become crumbly and likely crack or even fall off, even if they don't crack while in the oven the flux will tend to crumble and crack while welding.

[country gent]

We made up a storage cabninet for rods out of an old dorm refridgerator installed a light socket and keep a 25 watt buld in it going.