6010 or 6011? Part 5

What is best for you and your situation?  A 6010 rod?  A 6011 rod?  We’ve been dealing with a running list of pros and cons for both rod types.  Cellulose based flux, fast freezing rods are definitely not going anywhere anytime soon. The decision is difficult if you are the type of person who weighs out such a decision with intense scrutiny and thought.

There are others out there that just want to be told what to do. If it, were me, I’d keep both rod types.  In fact, it is me.  I do keep both.  Which gets used more? 6011 rod does by far. But that’s because I do general fab activities that don’t demand the extra 5% that that the 6010 rod gives most of the time.  But when it does, I use the 6010 rod.  And the 6011’s seem to be cheaper in general, though not by much.

One thing that I haven’t mentioned because it is a small segment of the market is that the 6011 rod is a good welder to use in fabbing up wrought iron (cast iron mostly these days) parts to steel tubing which is used in fencing, doors, gates and panels.  There are more expensive rods that can be used, but apparently the carbon content found in the flux (from what people more knowledgeable than me tell me) is a good fit to make the transition between cast iron and mild steel.

It’s certainly not for structural use, but as a decorative weld, it works well.  But if your welding needs are not decorative or artistic in nature, and you have a welder that will support the 6010 welding rod with good arc stability, then the 6010 may end up being your go to rod.  A lot of guys find comfort in the fact that many pros use the 6010 rod and if it’s good enough for them, then its good enough for you.  If you do, then that’s the rod for you.