The Stick Rod Series: fast freeze rods_uphill/downhill

Hello again.  This is another publication on the Stick Rod Series. Today we will look at Fast Freeze Rods/Uphill/Downhill.

As we discussed last time, the fast freeze rod is a common stick rod that has been a stable rod and around the welding trade from the beginning since flux coated rods have existed.

Our focus today will be the uphill and downhill positions of the fast freeze rod.

The best place to start with any rod is of course the flat position, but I want to focus on a little harder area today.
Depending on what you will be welding and in what code (if any) you will be accountable too, the two most common applications will either be uphill welding or downhill welding. Some like to refer to the downhill as downhand. I don’t but some do.
 
In general industry standards, there is very little acceptable downhill welding outside of the pipeline welding code 1101.
Most procedures nation and world wide will focus on the uphill root pass, hot pass, and cover pass. From experience where there is a fast freeze rod root pass and or hot pass, the cover pass will usually be with a low-hydrogen rod like 7018 or something similar.

Uphill welding is very different from the downhill welding. When welding there is a natural effect of heat that is fighting against the welder. Heat rises. You say, hey, that guy is smart. Thanks. Just kidding. Keep this basic principle in mind at all times when you are welding and it will help you redirect your weld when necessary because of what happens with radiant heat transfer.
Uphill welding has more penetration because the rod is burning the surface metal out of the way before the puddle comes behind to fill in giving more weld deposit deeper into the parent metal. It is easier to overcome a gap welding uphill; especially with fast freeze rod because while moving up and away from the area where the metal is being deposited, the weld has frozen or solidified by the time you come back down to deposit more metal. You are not fighting the tendancy of the metal to outrun you like downhill can do at high heat since gravity is pulling on the metal. Uphill welding is not as fast as downhill welding therefore you rarely see uphill welding on a pipeline weld. The pipeline weld is almost always all downhill from start to finish.

Sometimes it is necessary to stop and let the metal cool if the gap is too big. It is better to do this than to keep welding and run the risk of pushing to much metal through on the root pass. Now if you are welding plate to plate with no gap between the metal, then this is not usually a problem.

Uphill welding requires less amperage heat to weld than the downhill procedure. Not something drastic, but slightly different.
The reason for this is that downhill welding is more a dragging the rod than whipping or stepping the rod like the row of dimes we discussed from our last article and because gravity is working against you, the slag, or impurities that are cooking out of the weld while the process is going on, are following and often trying to overtake the downhill weld. Due to the nature of the gravity and slag feature on downhill the heat setting is usually higher than uphill welding. This extra heat is needed to keep the rod burning while fighting the slag trying to consume the rod arc. It could be upto as much as 10 amps higher.

One thing to be aware of when welding a gap uphill like on a pipe or but weld plate is this: it is easy to put too much metal into the weld joint because of higher deposition rate. If you hang to much metal inside the gap, it could disqualify your weld. While welding you are not necessarily pushing the rod hard into the gap but just touching the surface making sure not to leave undercut. Most of the time the metal on the inside will take care of itself. Moving to fast can leave not enough metal at times too. Practice will help you overcome these obstacles. It is just part of welding.

Rod angle and heat coupled with travel speed will either make or break your welding experience.
Once you learn the characteristics between these 3 critical components coupled with either uphill or downhill you will see a difference in your ability to weld, and the appearance of your weld.

While welding downhill it is best to keep the rod in the center of the weld piece. There is really not a need to move the rod from side to side. This is what I refer to as the dragging affect mentioned earlier. At some times there will be a need to move from side to side to allow the slag metal to pass around the good weld puddle. In this case gravity is helping remove that unwanted metal build up. While going uphill, the tendancy will be to move the rod either side to side or in a U pattern. Sweeping from side to side going up and back down into the puddle as it freezes. Now I am not talking about some super exaggerated movement here.

One more thing before I go is this: Welding is a multi-tasking process. While the hand is moving in a direction accross the weld piece it is also moving closer into the weld piece because the burning rod keeps getting shorter the entire time you are welding. To learn to sequence these movements while keeping the proper angle is the trick of making killer looking and proper welds.
Welding is a smooth fluent motion. It is best to make yourself as comfortable as you can while welding.  I very rarely weld with one hand because I find myself not as steady.

Experiment with these techniques and you will have success. Until next time, keep your eyes behind the welders lens

Thanks from the author!

The Stick Rod Series

Hello again from The Welders Lens, I hope this article finds you without burnt eyes or some other welding trauma.
Today we are going to start our  discussion about the anatomy of stick rod or arc welding with flux coated rods (electrodes).
Of course there are many types of stick rods but the best place to start is with a fast freeze rod.

Fast freeze rods are in a category that has been the foundation for stick rod welding. They are still an industry standard in many places. I have worked for companies that don’t use these rods in their process as a root metal, but most do. When we talk about root metals we are talking about those metals that are always the first metals to be applied to a weld joint, whether it be  pipe welding, plate welding , tube welding, structural welding, etc.
When we speak of this type of rod we are almost always talking about basic carbon steel (also known as black iron or mild steel).
Fast freeze rods have the ability to cool rapidly even while the weld process is in motion.
Imagine stacking dimes on top of one another with slight overlap from one dime to the next. Like a row of fallen dominos

Now this of course would be a flat continuous weld. Each time in welding with a fast freeze rod the rod is moved slightly forward and then back into the original puddle. As soon as you move forward with the stick rod the metal that has been deposited behind the rod is already becoming solid thus applying the term fast freeze. There is some ability to drag the rod without a great deal of movement, but because of the nature of the rod and its design, it wants to solidify rapidly so to prevent a great deal of build up when depositing the metal, you will naturally move the puddle more than some other rods.

The tighter the laying of one dime upon the next signifies good weld continuity. One thing that must be observed with this application is the tendency to undercut the areas of existing weld joint with the new metal that is being layed on top of it. When you step the rod out of the puddle, the area you move ahead to is being dug into by the action of this rod. That is why you step the rod back into the last dime of weld filling in the areas that have been dug out by the rod as it was moved ahead.
This type of rod has a great digging effort with it.

One tip of advice about this type of process is this: “Don’t be afraid to leave enough metal in the existing weld path before moving ahead”. Beginners especially have the tendency to move ahead to fast before depositing enough metal to prevent undercutting the parent metal (existing metal). Undercutting is a term that simply means the weld metal that has been depostied was not enough to flush out the weld with the surrounding surface. Normally, the weld deposited from the rod is enough to make the new weld higher or fatter than the original material. When the metal deposited during the welding process is shy or not enough, the newly deposited metal leaves a jagged edge next to the new metal instead of a nice rounded effect.

6010 electrodes, 7010 electrodes, 8010 electrodes, shield arc 85, 6011, 6013 are all fast freeze rods, just as some examples.
These rods are designed to dig into the parent metal and give good penetration. It is good on rusty metals and metal that is not very clean. Old material that has corroded over time, etc.

One trick you can apply with this type of rod is this: The polarity can be switched when welding this rod allowing for less penetration or digging as it is being welded.
Sometimes on thin metal or metal that cannot hold up to a great deal of scouring effort by the norm of these rods can be overcome by this little trick.
Make the ground positive and the hot lead negative (reverse polarity).You will find that the sound is a bit different while welding than it normally would be. You will also find that the welding rod does not have the tendancy to dig or penetrate as much.
This is a trick that comes in handy, especially when working on thin metals.

I have found for myself that these rods run smoother on a slightly higher heat than you might feel comfortable with. Running a hot puddle is better and becomes easier to handle the more you practice with it.
These rods can be run either uphill from bottom to top on a vertical plane or top to bottom on a verticle plane. There is more movement usually on the uphill and more dragging or leading on the downhill. They are actually all positions rods. Flat, overhead,vertical,horizontal,arkansas bell or 6g which incorporates all of the positions within the weld path.
Normally any pipe test you will ever take will be in the 6g position. There are some exceptions. One of the tests that I never liked taking was a fixed jig test.
This test simulates an actual field weld that will have to be made on the job. They can be a nightmare.

Heat, travel speed, and rod angle are the 3 most important factors when welding with stick rod.
I said heat, travel speed, and rod

One thing that does not usually hurt the stick rod category is wind. It has to really be blowing inorder to hurt the fast freeze series of welding rods.
Some of the rods I mentioned earlier are AC rods and some of them are DC rods. Keep that in mind when choosing your rod.
I have another article coming on that.

Well that’s all the time on this article.

Thanks from the author.