6011 Welding Rods – Tips for Vertical Uphill Tee joints

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6011 welding rods are very much like 6010 rods.

The 6011 rod was designed with some stabilizers in the flux to allow welding on AC without the arc snuffing out.

6011 rods will run on AC , DC straight , or DC Reverse ( also called DC positive and DC neg)
Whereas 6010 rods typically only run ok on DC.

6011 rods and 6010 rods burn almost the same and welding schools often use 6011 rods because doing that provides a good opportunity to teach polarity and also allows the student to learn the difference between AC and DC.

And some schools still use 6011 rods simply because when the school curriculum was written, there were lots of AC welding machines.

Personally, I like 6011 rods way better than 6013’s.

For general purpose stick welding like if I am building or fixing something outside where there is a bit of wind, some rust or paint on the metal, or when all I have available is an AC buzz box, You cant beat 6011 welding rods.

For thin sheet metal like exhaust pipe and mufflers, I like the tiny little 1/16″ diameter 6011 rods. They weld sheet metal downhill about as well a small 115 volt flux core welder.

This weeks video is about vertical uphill welding using 6011 rods on a Tee joint.

This tee joint is a very common skill exercise used by welding schools and some students hit a plateau and can maybe use a little nudge to help them over the hump.

So here are 4 tips for vertical uphill welding using 6011’s.

1. find a way to prop yourself and be comfortable. A steady hand welds better. Sure its possible to prop with one hand and weld with the other. Welders do it all the time. But if you are a student, you will progress faster and start getting a paycheck quicker if you get past this joint. So figure a way to prop and things will go better.
2. use a slight whip and pause technique. About one per second. I even had someone tell me they like to hum the song “Black and Yellow” while stick welding with 6011 in order to get in a good rhythm.
3. about 85 amps is a good place to start. Much colder and your puddle will not flatten out. Much hotter and you might struggle with arc blow toward the end of each rod. machines differ and some folks like to weld hotter, but 85 amps will get you in the ball park.
4. What is dig? if your machine has a dig setting and more and more welders have the dig function these days….set the dig to 50-60 for 6011 rods.
5. when welding with 7018 rods, the dig setting should be on around 30. 7018 rods are designed differently and for different applications than 6010 or 6011 and run better using a different dig setting.

Another thing I really like about 6011 welding rods is their ability to weld downhill. That makes them very versatile.

( As always, feel free to visit us at our sister site, WeldingTipsAndTricks.com. )

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