Proper Storage of 7018 Rods
This is from Keen Ovens
7018 welding rods allow very little hydrogen into the weld pool unless they have moisture in them from not being stored correctly. Moisture allows hydrogen into the flux, which is then introduced into the weld pool adversely. What happens is the moisture is superheated and then bubbles up to the surface leaving an open pocket in the finished weld bead. So at that spot the weld is weaker because it is not a solid bead.
Many people just leave 7018 welding electrodes in the boxes they come in, while others think they are using proper storage methods when they really are not. There are three common myths that are really widespread in the shop and field.
One is wrapping the welding rods in plastic and storing them in your freezer. Besides making your wife mad as hell, this will actually introduce moisture into the flux. As soon as the package is brought out into the atmosphere, it will be attacked by moisture from the cold rods being soaked in the warm outside air.
I wear glasses, and on a cold winter day my glasses immediately fog over when I walk into a warm room. That’s the same effect you’re gonna’ get with your freezer rods.
Another, and probably the most widely spread and widely used myth is putting the welding electrodes in an old refrigerator with a constantly burning light bulb inside. (Remember that old question: If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there will it make a sound? Or does the light bulb REALLY go off when you close the freezer door? Well in this case you WANT the bulb burning all the time.)
Supposedly the bulb will make it hot enough in the refrigerator to keep the welding rods at the recommended temperature. Only trouble is there ain’t no light bulb out there that is going to keep a constant 250 to 450 degrees, which is the correct specification for open welding electrode boxes! It’s something like using a garden hose to put out a forest fire, just not gonna’ work.
Now don’t feel bad if you’ve done this because I’ve done it too, and I’ve seen major shops and building corporations doing it too! I worked in a huge “black iron” shop where they did millions of dollars of fabrication and production of beams, girders, columns and the like for the construction industry. Our storage area consisted of a dusty little room with a crummy refrigerator with a 150 watt light bulb.
I remember seeing the chief engineer come in for a job we were doing for an “earthquake proof” (yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it!) hospital in California. He had come in to make sure us welders were properly certified. When he saw that pitiful little welding electrode storage area he just about shut the whole job down! It took a lot of convincing and the ordering of a REAL welding rod oven to make him happy again!
Another job I was working on was a big coal-fired power plant in the middle of nowhere. The middle of nowhere in this case was a hundred miles from Amarillo, between Earth and Muleshoe, Texas. At the time there was hardly any work up north and east, so a lot of Iron Workers boomed out to Texas. (An Iron Worker who leaves his local area to travel to another local to work is referred to as a “boomer”.)
There were a lot of funny looks given in our union hall when the business agent would tell the guys from Wisconsin or New York to take a bunch of farm roads a hundred miles or so until you are right in the middle of Earth and Muleshoe!
Anyway, one day I’m welding on the outside of a huge girder about 20 floors up. I’m hanging there in my basket when just a few feet away from me a refrigerator goes by heading up to the 22nd floor. I’m thinking either they are going to provide us free beer, or there goes a “rod oven.”
So I’ve seen these refrigerators used by major companies who had bought into the myth.
The third myth on 7018 welding rod storage is that you can “bake” them in your oven at home to get the moisture out. (re-condition) That sounds logical, but again you are going to have your wife mad as heck when she sees a bunch of welding rods in her oven. (Or your husband for you lady welders out there!) 
To recondition wet 7018 weld rods you need to heat them to around five our six hundred degrees. Do that with your oven and you better have a fire extinguisher handy!
Thank goodness today more and more people are realizing these myths are not cool, and they are finding out that it really is affordable to purchase a good welding electrode oven. First thing most people think is that a rod oven is going to cost them WAY too much money. That ain’t so if choose the Keen brand of welding rod ovens!
A portable welding electrode oven is only going to set you back $154 bucks!
You can get a killer bench electrode oven for $500 to $700 bills!
If you’re a really big shop or jobsite, you can get a super floor rod oven for a couple of thousand greenbacks, or a fantastic re-conditioning electrode oven from four to six thousand greenbacks!
Welding flux ovens run from 1500 to $4 grand.
When you purchase a product from Keen, you are buying from a company that provides rod ovens to “industries such as aerospace, shipbuilding, oil and construction, and are sold worldwide” by a company that has been around since 1972.
I’ve been in welding about 25 years and I’ve known of their reputation from the beginning. They are a top notch company.
The best claim they make and keep is the following…
“As a customer-focused company, we strive to deliver the highest-quality products at the most affordable prices.”
In this day and age of “no customer service” it is refreshing to know there are companies like Keen who put the customer FIRST!
