6010 or 6011? Part 3

Honestly, the 6011 rod is often maligned by the true professional.  But that is probably because they never have used one.  Many industry professionals are typically die-hard types that have little room to try or experiment with anything new or different in their lives.

It’s often erroneously referred to as an “AC rod”. True, it is designated to run on AC, but it is equally designated to run on DC. It’s a cellulose based rod with many of the characteristics of the 6010 rod.   But to put it in laymen’s terms, it’s the consumer “Hummer” version of the “HumVEE” of the military. It’s a little more refined, not quite as harsh.  On paper, there are many similar features, but the ride is a lot different. The 6011 rod doesn’t typically have many sub categories, so rod selection is easy.

A word of caution here, though, not all brands are equal, and far from it, so experiment around a little to find the brand that works for you. When boiled down to the most basic character differences, the arc stability of the 6011 rod is far superior to the 6010 rod.  That’s because the 6011 has “arc stabilizers” made into the welding rod, so that the arc is steady, and produces less spatter than the more brutish 6010 rod.

That’s the reason the 6011 rod is designated as one of the few good performing welding rods for AC buzz box welders and AC/DC transformer welders.  (Which by the way are becoming few and far between these days.)