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I finally ran the numbers on welding rod moisture absorption and it scared me
I've been a boilermaker for about 12 years now, mostly out of Local 5 in St. Louis. Last week I was killing time waiting for a hydro test and started reading the Lincoln Electric rod storage guide. Turns out some low-hydrogen rods left out in a humid shop for just 2 hours can pick up enough moisture to cause hydrogen cracking in the weld. I always knew damp rods were bad but I figured it took days, not hours. We had a job last summer where three stringer beads on a pressure vessel failed inspection and we had to grind them all out. Now I'm wondering if that was from rods sitting open overnight. We keep our rods in a heated cabinet at the yard but out on site they just sit in a bucket. Has anyone else had weld failures that might trace back to rod moisture? I'm thinking about building a portable rod oven for field jobs.
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owens.anthony1mo ago
Three stringers on a pressure vessel sounds more like a preheat or interpass temp issue than rod moisture honestly. Moisture cracking usually shows up as那种 little wormy things running along the weld, not whole beads failing inspection. Built a portable oven out of an old plywood box and a 100 watt light bulb once, worked alright for keeping rods dry on site.
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susansingh1mo ago
Did anyone else try using a toaster oven for rods before realizing the thermostat kicks off way too low? @samk77 that bulb trick held up fine for me in a pinch, just had to check the box didn't get too hot.
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