Overhead Stick Welding with 7018 5/32"

My best tip for overhead stick welding with 7018 is...

"Set the amperage hot enough so that when you hold a tight arc, the rod wont stick...

...then hold a tight arc." ----jody collier

In this video we are doing some overhead stick welding using 5/32" 7018 rods.

I have been getting a few request lately to show overhead welding using 5/32" 7018 so for this video, that is exactly what it is.

A simple tee joint 3 pass fillet weld.

7018 1/8" is pretty easy compared to 5/32"

If I were using 1/8" electrode I would have amperage set to around 120-130 amps and that amperage setting would be hot enough to hold a tight arc length without sticking the rod.

But 5/32' is a bit more difficult.

Due to the large puddle, its a bit harder to control and manipulate the puddle so 165 amps was used along with the arc control aka dig function set to 10.

Arc control is different on different welders and on this lincoln 210mp, an arc control setting of 10 might be comparable to a setting of 5 on an Esab or other welder....it just takes some arc time to figure out best settings.

Why 5/32" 7018?

5/32" 7018 is more productive.

Sure its harder to handle than 1/8" but more and more welders are being required to use it for field welding because once you can handle it, its much faster than smaller electrodes.

why not 3/16" 7018?

3/16" 7018 are great for flat and horizontal welding.

but for out of position welding like vertical uphill and overhead, 3/16" can be just too big.  Maybe you can handle it.  If so , that is great.  But most welder struggle with 3/16" 7018 on overhead and vertical.

5/32" is manageable with a bit of practice, but 3/16" is just not practical for overhead and vertical uphill for most applications.

What are the critical variables for overhead stick welding with 5/32" 7018 electrodes?

• Amperage and polarity
• arc length
• angle of electrode
• manipulation of electrode and technique
• speed of travel

Amperage was 165 with arc force set to 10 on DCEP (direct current electrode positive)

Arc length was as tight as possible without sticking rod

Angle of electrode was about 5-10 degree drag angle

For the most part, no manipulation was used other than a very slight motion.  it was mostly just dragging the rod with a tight arc.

speed of travel was slow enough to avoid undercut and to make an even leg fillet weld.

Overhead Welding with 1/8" 7018