SMAW help

[freekforge]

I taught myself how to weld with 6013, 7014, and 7018 but yesterday i picked up some 6011s and am having trouble maintaining an arc. it is almost like im snuffing out the arc but i dont think i am. i am keeping the same tight arc length that i do with the other electrodes. I am using the whip and pause technique. Is it normal for 6011 to to be kinda temperamental? Or am i not feeding the rod in fast enough? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[chubbs]

6011's are a great rod to burn in deep with. But they are a little quirky until you get use to them. Definitely use a whip technique. You may need to turn your amperage up. What are you running it at currently? Also what machine are uou using

 

[freekforge]

I was running 40-100 amps they are 3/32" rods so i tried everything inside the recommended amperage range. I am using a everlast 140st which runs everything else great.

 

[Ellis]

If I remember right, 6010/6011 are best run hot and fast. Are you storing the electrodes properly? Don't think 6011's need oven storage but moisture can affect them.

 

[Ellis]

Also, what are you welding on and what position? Is your material clean? Thickness of material?

 

[freekforge]

I usually store my rods in cooler with moisture absorbing packets with them but i just bot this box yesterday. Metal is clean and im going flat left to right and bottom to top also in the flat position. I tried a beveled joint with a 60 degree bevel with a 1/16" gap and land i had hardly any penetration with zero backface reinforcement. The same joint with 7018 gave good penetration and an acceptable amount of backface reinforcement.

 

[Ellis]

Could you post a picture of the weld? I don't exactly know what you mean by backface. Are you meaning the root of the weld? Like if you flip the part over it looks looks like weld , not just globs of metal?

 

[Moparracer89]

Crank up the amps. I only use 6011 for a deep root weld, other than that use 7018.

 

[freekforge]

sorry didn't get picks of the beveled joint but yes by backface i mean the underside of the joint. it was still open even though it only had a 1/16" land. im slowly getting stuff figured out. they seem to run better on a transformer welder as opposed to an inverter based welder. you really have to move with the 6011s kinda surprised me how fast you have to go.