Thread: Good quality electrodes and cheap

Hi everyone,
For those so interested the following site

http://www.bobthewelder.com.au/home....ction=0&page=1

Carries all manner of interesting stick consumables.

.What caught my eye was the DC aluminium stick welding electrodes ( before you lot with out a tig or mig go racing for the credit card-you must have a DC stick welder for these rods OK!)

Some 1.6mm and 2. mm electrodes-they are from KOBE. A well known Jap brand. Also some other rods, stainless steel electrodes at extremely good prices.
I have no connection with this site, I just stumbled in on it.

Grahame

Thanks Grahame, Great website,seems like they sell a good selection.

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

you must have a DC stick welder for these rods OK!)
Grahame

Hi Grahame,

Please forgive me for my ignorance but when you say "you need a DC stick welder" does that mean one that doesn't run on electricity?

Cheers
MH

You can get Stick welders that have different polarity ie AC, DC +ve or DC -ve.

This is a little snippet from some notes I found

With an Alternating Current circuit, the electrode will change polarity itself many times per second. (possibly 50, hence 50Hz but dont quote me on that!!)
With a Direct Current circuit the current is flowing one way only, depending on e+ or e- makes it easier or harder for the current to flow off the rod, resulting in it melting quicker and laying more weld, but less penetration.

When your welding set is electrode+ (dc reversed) you get more penetration.
If you go e- (dc straight), the penetration will be less, but you will lay more weld.

Hi Metalhead,

DC refers to to the current flow of your welding machine.
Most mains powered welding machines are AC or alternating current, meaning that 50 times a second the current cycles from negative to postive and back again.

An alternator in a modern car generates AC power which must be passed through the diode pack to convert it to DC direct current which can be used by the car's electrical systems.

A DC welding machine( the older types -not inverters) has a set of diodes wired in between the transformer and the output terminals.


DC type welders can be identified easily as they will have a Positive (+) and Negative (-) marks at the terminals.

Stick TIG machines are nearly always DC (there are some exceptions with AC machines that tig aluminium only and some others that are switchable between AC and DC )

Also your big engine driven welders are DC with some carrying extravwindings as an alternator to run power tools. The hand piece cable and the earth cable on a DC machine can be swapped about to change polarity on the stick electrode. Stainless steel and low hydrogen electrodes are those that work well on electrode positive polarity.

Some electrodes will only run effectively on DC welders.
Does this explain it well enough for you?

Cheers
Grahame

Thanks Woodbutcher & Grahame for your replies.

Grahame without me having to go out into my garage. I have a AC/DC CIG TIG/ARC welder with VRD on it. Is it likely that this could weld on dc?

Cheers
Metal Head

Thx for the heads up Grahame Looks worth a look ..............

Regards Lou

MH,

I'm pretty sure that your welder can weld DC or AC. If you can get a picture of the dials on the front we might be able to work out which is what.

Metalhead,

There is no doubt of it at all.
You have a machine capable of AC and DC.
AC for Tig welding aluminium and DC for Stick welding of the same.
VRD is a pretty recent innovation so I would guess its probably an inverter welder.

If thats the case you will be switching AC to DC via some electronic button punching, me thinks.

A word of caution though.If you are thinking of the aluminium rods ,please know that the quality is not going to be better that Tig or even Mig.They may be Ok if all you had was a DC stick machine.Having said that I will probably try some myself, out of pure curiosity.

PS edited afterthought,
The arc of a DC electrode positive will be cooler on the parent metal side ,but the stick will over heat if you use normal amps.The amps setting is best reduced about 10%. I am not wanting people to be having a nasty surprise.

cheers

Grahame

Hi all
Just a bit of a follow up on the Aluminium rods.
I have been advised they are potential hazardous.

While i can't find any hard evidence to indicate they are banned locally, reading about them on the American AWS site indicates that the fumes are not good for you if you get a hooter full.
Respirators are called , etc! etc!

Please employ safe working procedures if you are welding with them-Electric fan behind you at least.

Grahame

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

For those so interested the following site

http://www.bobthewelder.com.au/home.php

Carries all manner of interesting stick consumables.

This has been a very useful post for me. I've bought a range of rods from this site. In particular, I bought some Gemini type 12 rods which are the best rods I've used.

Today I practised using some of the other rods I have but nothing impressed me. I don't know who makes the Gemini rods or where they come from but they seem fine to me.

Grahame, thanks for this tip; it has worked out very well.

Hi Steven,

I found Bobthewelder good because he replies quickly to your emails.
Also the range of electrodes he carries is good quality and can be used by professionals and amateurs alike.

The Gemini are a brand made by KOBI a brand many from the industry know well as top quality.
The Gemini is one of the very few electrodes available in the small 1.6 and 2mm core diameters for those masochists that insist on welding thin wall material. .Lol.-no flames its a joke ok!

I am on recess break.Time to relax? NO!
Just to trade one boss for another
SWMBO

Grahame

Originally Posted by Grahame Collins

The Gemini are a brand made by KOBI a brand many from the industry know well as top quality.

By now every tradie out there familiar with the brand must know I am losing it.
Its a bleedin KOBE for goodness sake.Apart from a few rare Fox Sum electrodes,KOBE's are probably the best quality electrodes I have had the pleasure of using.I have probably burnt a carton of LB52 U's in training for myself alone.

Can we see how you going with these new fangle electrodes


Grahame

By now every tradie out there familiar with the brand must know I am losing it.

Don't worry too much about it Graham.

We love you so much, we all got together and decided not to mention it to you.

Anyway.... It's medication time...

I've just done some searching about these Gemini rods and it looks like they come from Thailand. There should be a site at http://gemini.co.th but it seems that the site has been hacked. There are pages starting at http://www.gemini.co.th/en-product-weld-elec-main.html that list the rods.

I bought some 1.6mm rods with my recent order and after Grahame's comment yesterday (red rag to a bull) thought I'd better try them so the remnants of my 16g tube were put to good use today for practice. The rods are tiny so I used my new lightweight holder. They liked about 50 amps which was more than I expected. The arc was short and fragile so it needs a very steady hand (and holding the rod in my case). The welds are tiny and smaller than I could do with a 2mm rod.

The first image below shows welds on the 16g tube using the 1.6mm rods (type 12); a larger image is at http://phelum.net/temp/P1020726-1280.JPG. The second image shows welds on 35x35x3 tube using the 2mm rods; a larger image is at http://phelum.net/temp/P1020727-1280.JPG. I am trying to get my fillet welds better here. It seems to need more current than a butt weld. On the 3mm tube I used 60 amps for the butts but needed at least 70 amps for the fillets.