It's In the Air

[Old and Reliable]

6011 is basic 6010 pipe rod- but stabilized to run on AC- 6010 (Lincoln 5P) and 7010 (Lincoln HYP- we called it "Hippie Rod" will only run on DC reverse polarity- 6011 will run on AC, also DC reverse and straight-

If you are having trouble starting an arc- first make sure you have a good clean area for the ground on the metal- grind off the paint, grease, cow poop- and check your leads (both ground clamp and stinger)- also make sure the brass teeth in the stinger are clean and free of slag and crud- keep the rod clean and dry, wet or rusted welding rod- no good- then watch for one of the three most common mistakes rookies make in SMAW (1) too "cold" a setting on the machine- AC rods require more amp. for their dia. than comparable DC reverse rods- but AC has a great advantage- no magnetic arc blow- (2) too fast a travel speed, undercut usually is the dead giveaway to that, along with bead shape after slag removal (3) too wide a 'weave" pattern-better to make many interlocking passes than try to do a one shot 'cover pass'

Save some money here- "Blue" rods?? use Lincoln 308-16L stainless rod instead- I've even weldedcast iron with it--