E7018 kept in sealed container

[canoecruiser]

Probably OK for hobbyist type work. The flood gas should be dry (low dew-point); it's the water vapor that's the problem. But viewing it theoretically it could work, and probably quite well.

For any welding process calling for lo-hy rod it would be a non-starter. The rod manufacturer specifies how the rod is to be handled to preserve its properties. Any referenced WPS would have to approve your handling procedure. For critical work getting that to occur would be about zero.

Or let's say you were to fab an on-road trailer and it comes apart and kills someone. If a lawyer were to find out you saved a few bucks by not following the manufacturer's handling specs (rod ovens aren't that expensive), you would almost certainly be in an indefensible position.

It does make me wonder when I grab a 5 lb. box of 7018AC at Lowes and it is packaged in a cardboard box with a ripped cellophane shrink-wrap. How good can they be? And yet I've never found any cracked welds made with 'em.

I did a side job for my employer a few months ago (I'm not a weldor by trade) and bought a 10 lb. can of Lincoln Excaliber and charged it to the job. The remainder went into a plastic rod-can for around the house use. Lo-hy not really required but I got a few sticks out of the deal.

[Roger]

If you have to have dry rods must keep them at proper specified storage temperature as that is only way to know they are kept dry. Storage in vacuum or with desiccant might give you dry rods or not.No way to tell. Re drying is another problem requiring higher temperature.

Thinner metals should not be a problem unless your welding on disc plows. Then preheat and slow cooling in insulating bed of ashes or perlite might prevent cracking.

[usmcpop]

Sure I've thought about it. If you put in a moisture-free inert atmosphere or a vacuum, you are golden.

[canoecruiser]

Sure I've thought about it. If you put in a moisture-free inert atmosphere or a vacuum, you are golden.

I thought about getting a plastic sheet type seal-a-meal (AS SEEN ON TV!!) and making up a bunch of pockets, sliding a few sticks in each one and heat-sealing the final edge. The rods could be popped out as they are needed while the rest are snuggled up nice and dry.

[usmcpop]

I... Storage in vacuum or with desiccant might give you dry rods or not.No way to tell....

Storage in a vacuum or in a relatively pure inert gas should do the trick. After all, this is chemistry, not particle physics. We don't need to be in a zero-G place somewhere in outer space. I'll bet if you were out in the Sahara desert, 7018 would last a whole lot longer out of the box than on the coast of Oregon.

[Alan Murfee]

There are no exact timings but yes the concept Is that if you will keep the rod at normal temperature it will gain moisture and will retain it for ever. And this way you will never be able to use it again. So always keep it in a hot environment and take it out one hour before the use.