7018AC on DC?

[youngnstudly]

So I bought a bunch of welding supplies on Friday for my new Everlast, and I just noticed that what I thought was plain 7018 is really 7018AC. I bought a 10# box of this rod and grabbed the first box on the shelf labeled 7018, which had a sticker bar code covering the end of the box. Of course I assumed it was 7018 even though I know better than to assume, but you know how it goes when buying supplies for a new welder on a Friday afternoon. The old "Kid in a candy store" feeling takes over!

Will this rod work okay with my 160STH (it's not an AC welder)? I will be welding hobby type stuff and making repairs, and I don't see any bridge building in my future or terribly critical welding being done. One source online says that the AC rod needs to be used as "AC only" , and another source lists this rod as being "versatile" and "works well on AC or DC." Thanks for your input.

[Rambozo]

I've used a few brands of E7018AC on DC with no issues. The labels I have handy say AC or DC+. What brand did you get?

[youngnstudly]

I bought Radnor brand electrodes (most of their supplies in the store were that same brand). I guess I'll give these 7018's a shot. I knew I wouldn't be able to return them if I removed the shrink wrap from the box, but I think they'll work fine for me. Airgas didn't impress me at all (certainly not enough to become my local welding supply store). They were cool about giving me a student discount and I bought my Argon bottle from them, but selection was very limited and prices were extremely high (IMO).

I paid $47.00(!!!) for a 10 pack of 2% thoriated tungsten, a pound of stainless 1/16" rod was $18.38, and the 150CF Argon bottle was $300 (filled), which was within $10 of 4 other welding shops in the county. Since I walked out of the store 8 minutes after closing time, those guys rushed me through and I didn't get a chance to go over my receipt while in the store. I usually end up getting (reamed) buying anything local here in the "whine country", but I know the next time I need that particular item, at least I have a brand name and the general details of what I want (and can then order the item online at a much cheaper price). I hate buying the wrong thing online and waiting a week for it to show up, only to find out it's not what I wanted! Anyways....

[Rambozo]

Those are some crazy prices. Even for Airgas. BTW Radnor is the "house brand" for Airgas. Most of it is just repackaged other brands.

[SeanMurphy265]

7018ac runs like a champ from inverter welders. I run it more than any other rod.

[youngnstudly]

Those are some crazy prices. Even for Airgas. BTW Radnor is the "house brand" for Airgas. Most of it is just repackaged other brands.

I walked out of the store with a bill for $525 and was completely blown away! I went home and checked down the list to see just how pricey they were...then I went online to see what prices were there, and low and behold, name brand items from numerous online welding supply places were much more reasonable! Now I know the reason behind their merchandise having no prices on it in the store! Missing on my attached receipt pics is the $31.00 charge for the 7018AC rods, and a $11.95 hazmat flat fee (they got cut off the page). Then of course State tax, County tax, and District tax. Surprised they didn't charge me for driving a truck with four tires and blue paint! Thankfully I was put on a student discount account (NOT!)!

All I got for my money was a (filled) 150CF Argon bottle, the 220 male plug for my welder, the female (mate) 220v receptacle for a future 110v-220v conversion cord, 2lbs. of stainless 308L, 2lbs. of ER705-2, a 10 pack of tungsten, 2 ceramic torch cups, 10lbs of 7018ac, and one previously opened and "discounted" (term used loosely here!) pack of 3 cast iron electrodes! The manager said he would give me a "awesome deal" on a 250CF Argon bottle for $390 filled, but I was worried about having to revive my credit card after it flat-lined (while also having to replace my broken back after lifting that bottle into and out of the truck by myself)! The sad part is that I called all of their competitors and was quoted $400 for a 250CF bottle (that was the next cheapest price). None of the other places had half of the items I wanted either, which means I would have needed to shop from store to store...I hate doing that, especially at $3.80 per gallon of gas, and no income! My welding projects will keep me from going crazy though, so I guess I can't put a price on that. I hate getting ripped off from shopping and supporting local stores!

[youngnstudly]

7018ac runs like a champ from inverter welders. I run it more than any other rod.

I am happy to hear this! I can't think of many projects where I will be using much of this rod, so I too will be running it more than any other rod (I'm not buying any more rod until this stuff runs out! haha). I do have future plans to build an offset vise though, and there's a "bit" of welding on that project.

[EchoSixMike]

Damn, I get a 330cf of 75/25 for $200 out the door. Admittedly it's not a nice newly painted bottle like I'd get at Airgas or Praxair but it's hydro'd and clean, so who GAS?

weldingsupply.com is the internet presence my local welding store(not where I get gases). Prices are pretty good. S/F....Ken M

[Rambozo]

The reason a lot of LWS's don't mark prices is that they charge different prices to different customers. It kinda sucks, and like some musical instrument shops, you are expected to haggle for a price. I hate that and generally will not shop at a place like that. One thing that helps is to apply for an account at a LWS, and then they tend to treat you better. I still like to support the smaller mom and pop shops, but all the ones in my area have been bought up by the big chains, and the customer service was lost in the transaction. It's kinda sad when I get better communication and customer service from on online seller, than a local shop I can walk into and talk to someone. I was lucky to find one last place that is semi local and great for getting gas, so I buy some odds and ends from them, too. But I have to say that they just can't compete with online prices, either US or offshore.

[performance]

Damn, I get a 330cf of 75/25 for $200 out the door. Admittedly it's not a nice newly painted bottle like I'd get at Airgas or Praxair but it's hydro'd and clean, so who GAS?

weldingsupply.com is the internet presence my local welding store(not where I get gases). Prices are pretty good. S/F....Ken M

$200? :0

60-80 locally for the 330 cf gas only. (tank is leased)

[cbmkr]

7018 AC will burn fine on DC the pics posted of stick welding with the 200DX was with some old 7018 AC rod i had.

Bottle fill price does vary depending on where you exchange, If i exchange my bottle here at the local farm store it is approx $51.00 w/sales tax for a 122 cu ft argon. If i drive 38 miles to North Kansas City it is $28.80 w/tax

[zedron]

Bottle price does vary by location adn also supplier. I currently get my gas from Matheson Tri-gas and pay $30 for a 330 cf bottle. I was paying close to $50 when I was getting it from Airgas.

[EchoSixMike]

$200? :0

60-80 locally for the 330 cf gas only. (tank is leased)

Yep, that's buying the tank.....fills are $30'ish. Helps working for a place that's been a customer since the 50's. I'd share my sources, but only after I pick up a few more tanks S/F.....Ken M

[youngnstudly]

The reason a lot of LWS's don't mark prices is that they charge different prices to different customers. It kinda sucks, and like some musical instrument shops, you are expected to haggle for a price. I hate that and generally will not shop at a place like that. One thing that helps is to apply for an account at a LWS, and then they tend to treat you better. I still like to support the smaller mom and pop shops, but all the ones in my area have been bought up by the big chains, and the customer service was lost in the transaction. It's kinda sad when I get better communication and customer service from on online seller, than a local shop I can walk into and talk to someone.

I wonder how much the difference is for opening an account with them, versus getting the student discount. I bet it's really not much better. At my old job, we dealt with numerous suppliers for welding supplies, simply due to outrageous prices from ALL the LWS! At school, my instructor told us that the welding suppliers in this area are outrageously expensive and that he wouldn't do business with any of them (if he wasn't the head of the welding department at the local JC). He said the same about all the steel suppliers as well, and I've found that to be true too!

I didn't pay much attention to it when the salesman was talking about refills, but I think he said a regular price on filling the 150 CF bottle was like $92.00...the 250 CF bottle was $108!!! And all this time I thought you were supposed to get a discount on refills by buying a larger bottle! The only reason I got the $35 charge for the Argon was because of my new (empty) cylinder purchase. I really wish I could have gotten a used cylinder off of Craigslist or locally (and inexpensively). What is the point of buying a new cylinder if it's going to get traded in for a used cylinder the first time you exchange bottles?

[zedron]

Im gonna say it again. Airgas is a rip no matter who you are and where you live. I have a customer who uses a pallet of 330cf 75/25 bottles a week and Airgas was charging them close to $100 to fill each one. They got a quote from Matheson for $57 a bottle and told Airgas and they pretty much said "go with them then". Another customer was getting charged .98 for some 7 cups from Airgas, when they switched their gas over to Matheson from Airgas they got the same cups for .38. Airgas is the biggest for a reason and it because they force people to pay high prices due to availability.