4 Types of Welding Electrodes: E6010, E6011, E6013 & E7018 Guide

A beginner walks into a welding supply store, stares at a wall of stick rods, and grabs the cheapest box of 6013s to weld a rusty trailer hitch — only to watch the bead sit on top of the metal like cold solder. The rod in your stinger matters as much as your technique, and four electrodes cover the vast majority of real-world stick welding jobs.

Why the Four Common Stick Electrodes Cover Almost Every Job

A farmer in Iowa backed his hay trailer into the shop one October afternoon with a cracked tongue bracket and a plan to fix it before dark. He had a 220-volt buzz box, a pile of leftover rods, and no idea which ones were in the box. He struck an arc, the rod sputtered and popped, and finally laid a bead that sat on top of the steel like a worm of cold solder. Two weeks later the bracket cracked again, in the same place, hauling a load down a gravel road.

The rod wasn’t the only variable, but it was the biggest one. The bracket was quarter-inch plate, dirty and slightly rusty, and he had loaded a soft 6013 designed for clean sheet metal. That electrode simply doesn’t dig deep enough to fuse into contaminated, heavier steel. A $9 box of 7018 rods would have saved him the second breakdown.

This is the quiet problem with stick welding: there are hundreds of electrode classifications, and almost nothing about a rod’s box or appearance tells a beginner which one the job needs. The good news is that a surprisingly small lineup covers the vast majority of real-world mild-steel work. This guide focuses on the four most-used stick electrodes in the world — E6010, E6011, E6013, and E7018 — and by the end you’ll know exactly which one to reach for.

What SMAW (Stick Welding) Actually Is

Stick welding goes by a less friendly name in engineering circles: Shielded Metal Arc Welding, or SMAW. In plain terms, you clamp a ground cable to the workpiece, hold a consumable metal rod in an insulated holder called a stinger, and strike an arc between the rod’s tip and the steel. The arc melts both the base metal and the rod at once, and as the puddle cools, the two pieces become one.

What makes stick welding endure on construction sites, farms, pipelines, shipyards, and repair shops is its portability and forgiveness. A single machine, a fistful of rods, and an extension cord will weld in wind, on rust, overhead on a ladder, and out in a field a mile from a power outlet. As the team at Miller Electric’s knowledge hub puts it, electrode choice is the variable that most often separates a sound weld from a frustrating one.

Stick is only one option, of course. If you’re comparing processes, our advantages of stick welding guide explains where SMAW beats MIG and TIG, and for non-ferrous work you can explore aluminum flux core welding or aluminum MIG welding instead. For plain carbon steel repair and fabrication, though, stick is hard to beat.

What the Flux Coating Actually Does

A bare wire would make a terrible stick electrode. The magic is in the flux coating — the ceramic-looking skin wrapped around the core wire. When the arc heats it, that coating performs four jobs at once:

• It conducts the current. The core wire is the electrical path from the machine into the puddle.
• It becomes filler metal. Much of your bead comes from the melting core wire and, in some rods, iron powder blended into the coating.
• It generates shielding gas. The burning coating releases a gas envelope around the puddle, blocking atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen that would otherwise cause porosity and embrittlement. Low-hydrogen rods like the 7018 lay down a thick, quiet blanket of gas; cellulose rods like the 6010 do it with a forceful, gas-rich arc.
• It forms a protective slag. Molten coating compounds float to the surface and freeze into a glassy layer over the hot bead, shielding cooling metal from air and slowing the cooling rate.

Change the coating chemistry and you change everything about how the rod behaves: how hard it digs, how smooth the arc runs, how much spatter it throws, and even whether it can run on AC or DC only.

Meet the Four Rods You’ll Actually Use

Nearly every mild-steel stick electrode sold falls under one governing document: the American Welding Society’s A5.1 specification for carbon steel electrodes. That spec covers the familiar family — E6010, E6011, E6012, E6013, E7014, E7024, and E7018, as Hobart Brothers’ classification chart also confirms. The 6012, 7014, and 7024 earn their keep in specific niches — 7014 for fast, low-spatter fabrication and 7024 for high-speed flat production work — but four rods cover almost everything the average welder, farmer, fabricator, or hobbyist runs into:

The difference between them is not subtle. A 6013 will leave a pretty bead on new sheet steel laid flat, then fail on the same project the moment the steel gets heavier or dirtier. A 7018 left out overnight in a damp shop loses its low-hydrogen properties and can cause a hidden crack days after the weld cools. Understanding why starts with reading the numbers stamped on the rod, which is exactly what the next section teaches.

Keep one principle in mind through everything that follows: the electrode is a consumable alloy choice, as deliberate as the base metal itself. Choosing well isn’t about memorizing rod trivia — it’s about reading the job, reading the rod, and matching the two.

How to Decode the AWS Number: Reading E6010 and E7018 Like a Pro

Pull a stick rod out of the box and the wrapper is stamped with a code: E6010, E6011, E6013, E7018. That code is not a price point or a marketing label. It is a standardized classification from the American Welding Society, and every character answers a practical question before you strike an arc: how strong will the deposited metal be, what positions can I weld in, and what coating chemistry and current does this rod expect?

The system is worth learning because stick welding, or SMAW, is the one process where the electrode itself does so much of the work. The covering supplies shielding gas, shapes the arc, adds deoxidizers to the puddle and, on low-hydrogen rods, controls the moisture that causes cracking. All of that is encoded in five characters.

The “E” and the First Two Digits: Minimum Tensile Strength

The leading E simply means “electrode,” a flux-coated consumable rather than bare filler wire. The next two digits give the minimum tensile strength of the deposited weld metal in thousands of pounds per square inch. So E6010 specifies a minimum of 60,000 psi, while E7018 specifies 70,000 psi. The scale keeps climbing: E10018 would indicate 100,000 psi, as Lincoln Electric’s AWS classification reference explains.

The Third Digit: Welding Position

The third digit tells you which positions the electrode is qualified for:

• 1 = all positions: flat, horizontal, vertical and overhead.
• 2 = flat and horizontal only.
• 4 = flat, horizontal, vertical-down and overhead, with vertical-up excluded.

All four rods in this guide carry a 1 in that spot, which is one reason they dominate shop and field work alike. A fuller look at what each position demands of your technique is covered in our all position welding rod guide.

The Fourth Digit: Coating Type and Current

The final digit is the one you actually feel through the stinger. It describes the covering’s chemistry and, with it, the compatible current. The Hobart Brothers AWS classification chart maps it like this:

Fourth digit	Covering type	Current	Arc character
0 (E6010)	Cellulosic sodium	DCEP only	Deep digging arc, fast-freezing slag
1 (E6011)	Cellulosic potassium	AC or DCEP	Deep penetration, rougher bead
3 (E6013)	Titania (rutile) potassium	AC, DCEP or DCEN	Soft, quiet arc, shallow penetration
8 (E7018)	Iron powder, low hydrogen	AC or DCEP	Smooth, stable arc, medium penetration

Notice the pattern: the coating decides the current, and the current decides which machine you can use. That single relationship explains why a cellulosic rod is picky about polarity while a rutile rod will run on almost anything.

The Suffixes: -H4, -H8, -R and -1

Letters after the numbers add hydrogen and toughness information:

• -H4 means a maximum of 4 milliliters of diffusible hydrogen per 100 grams of deposited weld metal. -H8 and -H10 are progressively drier allowances, though -H8 is the more common low-hydrogen rating you will see stocked.
• -R marks a rod with a specified absorbed-moisture limit, typically supplied in sealed packaging with a documented exposure life.
• -1 indicates supplementary requirements, such as notched-bar impact testing. An E7018-1 is qualified for low-temperature toughness work.

Put It Together: Reading a Whole Code

Try one out loud: E7018-H4 reads as an electrode, 70,000 psi minimum tensile strength, usable in all positions, iron powder low-hydrogen covering, AC or DCEP current, with a 4 mL diffusible hydrogen ceiling. Practice on the others and the pattern sticks: E6010 is 60,000 psi, all-position, cellulose sodium, DCEP only; E6013 is 60,000 psi, all-position, titania, runs on anything. Once the digits become automatic, choosing a rod stops being guesswork, and the same reading system carries over to alloy steel welding electrodes and every other AWS-classified filler you will meet. For a broader look at how these numbers translate into real-world choices, Miller’s electrode question-and-answer guide is a solid companion reference.

Type 1 — E6010: The Deep-Penetrating Pipeline Rod

If there is one rod that earns genuine loyalty among professional welders, it is the E6010. Ask a pipeline welder what is in their stinger for the root pass and the answer comes back instantly, almost reflexively: 6010. This is the electrode that earned its reputation digging through dirt, rust, mill scale and bad fit-up in the field, and it has been doing that job for decades without complaint.

What the E6010 Actually Is

The E6010 is a cellulosic sodium-coated electrode. That coating chemistry is the whole personality of the rod. When the arc heats the flux, the cellulose burns off and releases a forceful, gas-shielded arc that concentrates heat into a narrow, deep channel. The result is what welders call a “digging” arc: it punches into the base metal instead of sitting on top of it.

That aggressive arc is why E6010 is the standard root-pass rod for pipe. Inside a beveled pipe joint, you need a rod that will fuse the very bottom of the joint — the root face — completely, even when the gap is imperfect. E6010 delivers that penetration, and it does it out of position. It is a true all-position rod, capable of running vertical-up, vertical-down and overhead, which matters enormously when the joint is at an awkward angle on a jobsite. Earlbeck’s electrode selection guide specifically notes that E6010 produces flat beads with distinctive ripples, light slag, and X-ray quality welds out of position.

Power Requirements: DC Only

Here is the first limitation every new owner learns the hard way: E6010 runs on DC electrode positive (DCEP) only. It will not run on an AC buzz box. It will not run on a cheap dual-voltage machine set to AC. If your welder does not have DC output, this rod is simply not an option — which is exactly why its AC-capable sibling, the E6011, exists. Lincoln Electric’s AWS classification reference confirms the “0” suffix in the fourth digit denotes a cellulose sodium coating designed for DCEP.

Arc Characteristics and Bead Appearance

The E6010 arc is forceful and slightly noisy, but it is easy to see and control once you understand it. The rod produces a fast-freezing puddle and a thin, easily chipped slag that rarely sticks. Beads come out relatively flat with pronounced, evenly spaced ripples — the classic “stack of dimes” look that experienced 6010 welders take pride in.

The critical technique note is arc length. E6010 wants a tight arc, roughly 1/8 inch or less. Stretch the arc out and the penetration drops while the spatter climbs. Many beginners back the rod away because the arc feels aggressive; that instinct is exactly wrong with this electrode.

Contaminated Metal Tolerance

This is where E6010 earns its field reputation. The forceful arc blows through light rust, oil, paint, moisture and mill scale better than any of the other three rods in this guide. That does not mean you should skip cleaning — it means that when a repair job on a rusty tractor frame or a weathered trailer is not perfectly prepped, E6010 will still bite in and fuse. Of course, if you are working on aluminum instead of steel, none of this applies; aluminum needs entirely different prep and process, which our aluminum cleaning and prep guide covers in detail.

Amperage Starting Points

Miller Electric’s common electrode guide lists typical ranges similar to these:

Rod Diameter	Flat / Horizontal	Vertical & Overhead
1/8 in (3.2 mm)	75–125 A	65–100 A
5/32 in (4.0 mm)	110–160 A	90–130 A
3/16 in (4.8 mm)	140–210 A	110–160 A

Start near the middle of the range and adjust based on how the puddle behaves, not what the box says.

Ideal Applications

• Root passes on pipe (the rod’s home turf)
• General fabrication on mild steel plate
• Field maintenance and repair on dirty or corroded steel
• Welding where deep penetration matters more than cosmetic appearance

Drawbacks to Know

E6010 is not a beginner rod. The tight arc control and fast-freezing puddle leave very little margin for error, and a slow hand produces a lumpy, ropey bead with poor fusion. It also carries higher diffusible hydrogen than low-hydrogen rods like E7018, so it is not appropriate for many structural or code applications, and its DC-only requirement limits it to machines with a DC output. If you are still building foundational stick skills on hobby projects, the advantages of stick welding for beginners explain why practicing on simpler rods first is the smarter path before stepping up to a 6010.

Type 2 — E6011: The AC Field-Repair Workhorse

If the E6010 is the pipeline welder’s scalpel, the E6011 is the mechanic’s hammer. It shares nearly all of the 6010’s DNA — the same 60,000 psi tensile strength, the same all-position capability, the same aggressive digging arc — plus one change that widens its audience: it runs on AC as well as direct current electrode positive. That single difference turns a specialist rod into the most universally useful repair electrode on the market.

What Makes the E6011 Tick: Coating and Arc

The “1” suffix in E6011 tells you the coating is cellulose-potassium, compared to the pure cellulose-sodium coating of the E6010. Like the 6010, the cellulose burns off in the arc, generating a cloud of shielding gas and a forceful stream that digs deep into the base metal. Potassium is added because it ionizes easily, stabilizing the arc enough to let the rod run on alternating current. Miller Welds notes that E6011 produces a deep, penetrating arc that cuts through corroded or unclean metal, and that welders reach for it on repair work when a DC source isn’t available.

In practice the arc behaves like a 6010 that’s slightly softer and more forgiving. It still wants a tight arc length — roughly the core wire diameter — and it still crackles. When it bites in, it blows through rust, paint, oil, light mill scale, and even a little plating without choking up. That’s how a farm welder on a beat-up AC machine lays a root pass on a cracked trailer frame that fuses instead of sitting on top like a caterpillar.

E6011 vs E6010: What’s Actually Different

Plenty of welders use the two interchangeably, and on many repair jobs you can. But the differences are real:

• Power source: E6010 is DC electrode positive only. E6011 runs on AC or DCEP, so it runs on old “buzz box” welders, engine-driven machines, and multi-process units set to AC.
• Arc character: The 6010 arc is slightly harsher and digs marginally harder. The 6011 arc is a touch smoother, which is part of why beginners find it easier to strike.
• Spatter: Expect a bit more spatter with the 6011, especially on AC. It’s not terrible, but you’ll brush more beads clean.
• Coating chemistry: Both are cellulosic and both put more hydrogen into the weld pool than a low-hydrogen rod, so neither belongs on critical structural or code work.

If you have a DC machine and clean pipe to weld, the 6010 is the better tool. If you have an AC machine, a rusty surface, or a field repair that won’t wait, the 6011 earns its place in the truck box.

Where the E6011 Shines

The 6011 is the rod you reach for when the metal isn’t cooperating. Typical jobs include:

• Farm and equipment repairs on rusty, painted, or greasy steel
• Welding on sheet metal that’s seen better days — old implements, gates, and panels
• Root passes and hot passes on pipe when a DC machine isn’t on the truck
• Outdoor maintenance welding where the workpiece can’t be perfectly cleaned
• Positional work — vertical and overhead — on maintenance assemblies

As Earlbeck’s electrode guide describes, E6011 delivers X-ray quality welds out-of-position with flat beads, distinctive ripples, and light slag that peels with a tap of the chipping hammer. Lincoln Electric likewise points to it as a first choice for repair or maintenance on rusty, dirty, less-than-new metal when DC isn’t available. The bead looks like a 6010’s — flat, narrow, with pronounced ripples — though slightly wider and smoother.

Amperage Starting Points

Like the 6010, the 6011 wants heat and a tight arc. A reasonable starting range by diameter on 1/4-inch-or-thinner steel:

Diameter	Amperage Range	Best Use
1/16 in	40–70 A	Thin sheet, light repair
5/64 in	50–90 A	Light fabrication
3/32 in	70–110 A	General repair, thin-wall pipe
1/8 in	90–140 A	Everyday field repair
5/32 in	120–180 A	Thicker stock, root passes

Drop your amps slightly for vertical and overhead work, and keep the arc tight — a long arc with a 6011 will wander, spatter badly, and lose shielding. Our All Position Welding Rod Guide breaks down how each electrode behaves in flat, vertical, and overhead positions.

Limitations to Keep in Mind

The E6011 has clear boundaries. Its cellulosic coating introduces hydrogen, so it isn’t appropriate for structural code work where low-hydrogen consumables are specified — that’s a job for the E7018. It also struggles on heavy plate, where a 7018 gives a cleaner fusion profile. It runs hotter than a 6013, so clean new sheet can blow through if you’re heavy-handed. And on AC, stability varies with machine: a smooth buzz box runs it fine, while a weak inverter can make it feel temperamental.

One more caveat: they’re more moisture-tolerant than low-hydrogen rods, but not invincible. A rod soaked in a damp truck bed will pop and sputter. If the flux is crumbling or the rod has rusted, throw it out.

Bottom line: keep a carton of 1/8-inch and 3/32-inch E6011 in the shop and one in the truck. When the work is dirty and the machine is AC, it’s the rod that gets you home.

Type 3 — E6013: The Beginner-Friendly Sheet Metal Rod

If E6010 is the scalpel, E6013 is the felt-tip marker. It lays down a smooth, forgiving bead with almost no drama, which is exactly why so many first-week welders are handed a box of 6013s and told to burn rod until the stack of dimes looks right.

What the Coating Actually Does

The E6013 uses a titania (rutile) coating with potassium stabilizers. That chemistry is the whole personality of the rod: it ionizes easily, which lets the arc run at a shorter length without snapping out, and it produces a soft, quiet arc with minimal spatter. Earlbeck’s electrode guide sums it up neatly — medium deposit rates, moderate penetration, and slag that lifts off in satisfying sheets rather than chipping away like armor plate.

Because the coating is potassium-based rather than pure sodium cellulose, the arc works on both AC and DC, in any polarity. That versatility matters more than it sounds: a cheap AC “buzz box” in a home garage can run 6013s beautifully, and the same rod drops into a DC machine at DCEP or DCEN without a settings crisis.

Why Beginners Love It

Three traits stack up in the 6013’s favor:

• Easy arc starts. The potassium-rich coating fires up with a tap or scratch and rarely sticks cold.
• Low spatter. What lands around the weld wipes off instead of needing a grinder, so a hobbyist’s first project still looks like a project.
• Forgiving slag. It curls off the bead as it cools, so you spend your learning time welding rather than chipping.

Lincoln Electric’s AWS classification reference describes the 6013 as an all-position AC electrode for welding clean, new sheet metal, with a soft arc, minimal spatter and easy-to-clean slag. Miller’s electrode Q&A adds the practical rule: for thin materials or joints with wide root openings, choose a light or soft arc such as an E6013 — the gentle arc won’t blow through 16-gauge steel the way a digging rod can.

Where It Fails — And You Should Know Before You Buy

E6013’s softness is also its ceiling. Moderate penetration means it will not burn through heavy mill scale, rust, oil or paint. On dirty, corroded metal the arc wanders and the weld sits on top of the surface like cold solder — the exact failure in the story that opened this guide. It is also the wrong rod for structural, code-controlled work: the deposit is sound but not low-hydrogen, so it does not belong on a load-bearing joint inspected to AWS D1.1 practice. Thick plate is another weak spot; on material over roughly 3/8 inch you will fight lack of fusion unless you grind a bevel and make proper passes.

Settings and Amperage Starting Points

Use these as starting points, then adjust for position, plate thickness and machine duty cycle:

Diameter	Typical Amperage	Best Fit
1/16 in (1.6 mm)	20–40 A	Thin sheet, tack welds
5/64 in (2.0 mm)	30–55 A	Sheet metal repair
3/32 in (2.4 mm)	40–90 A	General hobby fabrication
1/8 in (3.2 mm)	75–120 A	Light plate, brackets
5/32 in (4.0 mm)	100–160 A	Heavier clean stock

Vertical-up behavior: gravity wants to pull the fluid 6013 puddle downward, so keep amperage on the lower end of the range, use a tight arc, and weave slightly to keep the molten pool from sagging. Thin-material technique: drop to the smallest rod your machine will hold, angle the rod back so the arc pushes rather than digs, and move faster than feels natural. A quick back-and-forth motion spreads heat and prevents burn-through.

Master the 6013 on clean scrap, learn its limits honestly, and you will never again weld a rusty trailer hitch with it and wonder what went wrong.

Type 4 — E7018: The Low-Hydrogen Structural Standard

If E6010, E6011 and E6013 are the rods you reach for to fix things, E7018 is the rod you trust to hold things together: structural frames, bridges, pressure vessels, ship hulls. The “70” means a minimum tensile strength of 70,000 psi, a clear step up from the 60,000 psi of the three rods we’ve covered so far, and the “8” marks a low-hydrogen, iron-powder coating. It is also the rod that behaves most unlike the others. Where E6010 digs and E6013 floats, E7018 runs smooth, quiet and steady, laying a dense, uniform bead that X-rays clean.

What the “8” in E7018 Actually Buys You

The thick coating is heavily loaded with iron powder, and that does two things. The powder carries extra current and puts more metal into the joint, so the arc stays medium-penetration while still filling fast. The flux chemistry is also deliberately low in hydrogen-bearing ingredients like cellulose. As Miller Welds describes it, the thick, high-powder flux produces a smooth, quiet arc with minimal spatter and medium penetration, making it a natural choice for thick metal such as structural steel.

That flux also shields the puddle more completely than the cellulosic coatings on 6010 and 6011, so weld metal comes out with very low porosity and very few inclusions — the kind that passes visual and radiographic inspection. According to Lincoln Electric’s AWS classification breakdown, E7018 is a low-hydrogen, usually DC, all-position electrode used when quality is the priority, producing more uniform weld metal with better impact properties below zero. That last point matters more than it sounds: a 7018 weld keeps its toughness in cold weather, exactly when a brittle weld is most likely to fail. The trade-off is that 7018 is fussier than every other rod in this article. It dislikes dirty metal, long arc lengths, and above all moisture.

The Moisture Problem: Rod Ovens, Rebaking and Exposed Life

Here is the chemistry in plain language. If the flux absorbs water from the air, that water breaks down in the arc and puts hydrogen into the molten weld pool. Hydrogen dissolves easily in hot steel; as the weld cools and hardens — especially in a stiff, restrained joint or in cold temperatures — the trapped hydrogen builds internal pressure that can pop the weld open hours after you’ve finished welding. This is hydrogen-induced cracking, also called cold or delayed cracking, and it is the single biggest reason 7018 has a reputation for being temperamental. Since hydrogen is invisible, you cannot see a damp rod. That is why low-hydrogen electrodes are handled like perishable goods:

• Rod ovens. Sealed, insulated storage ovens hold rods at an elevated temperature so they cannot pick up moisture between shifts.
• Rebaking. Most manufacturers recommend roughly 300–350°C (about 575–650°F) for around 60 minutes to drive absorbed moisture out of the coating, then returning the rods to a warm holding oven. Exact numbers are rod-specific, so check the manufacturer’s published data before rebaking anything.
• Exposed-life limits. Once rods leave the oven the clock starts. Codes and manufacturers set maximum exposure times — in field conditions often only a few hours — after which rods go back into a holding oven or are rejected and rebaked.
• Quivers on the job. Portable heated carriers keep rods warm while you weld outdoors.

Look for the hydrogen suffix on the box. -H4 and -H8 state the maximum diffusible hydrogen in deposited weld metal: 4 or 8 millilitres per 100 grams. Lower is better, and H4 is the common spec on cold-weather and highly restrained work. Some jobs also carry impact-testing requirements well below freezing.

Amperage Starting Points by Diameter

7018 runs hotter than a comparable 6013 because the electrode is usually longer and the iron powder wants current. Your machine’s or rod box’s chart is the final word, but typical published ranges:

Diameter	Typical DC Range	Best Used
1/8 in (3.2 mm)	110–135 A	Most common shop and repair size
5/32 in (4.0 mm)	150–185 A	Heavier plate, multi-pass fillets
3/16 in (4.8 mm)	200–250 A	Thick structural members, flat position
1/4 in (6.4 mm)	250–300 A	Heavy fabrication, downhand only

Drop roughly 10–15% for vertical-up or overhead, and keep your arc short — about one electrode diameter or less. A long arc does more than waste shielding; it pulls hydrogen in from the atmosphere and invites porosity. Our all position welding rod guide covers the technique adjustments that apply when you leave the flat position with any stick rod.

AC or DC: Which E7018 to Run

The classic E7018 is a DCEP (reverse polarity) rod, and that is where it performs best: smoothest arc, lowest spatter, deepest puddle control. Dedicated AC 7018 variants exist for welders with no DC output — old transformer machines and some engine-driven units. AC 7018 works, but it typically needs slightly higher amperage, starts more stubbornly and arcs slightly rougher. If your machine has DC, use DC 7018 and don’t look back. One practical note while shopping a rod wall: 7018 is not the answer to everything. Corrosion-resistant, stainless, aluminium and high-alloy joints each need their own filler system, which our alloy steel welding electrodes guide covers in detail.

Where E7018 Is the Required Choice

You’ll find 7018 specified — not just suggested — across the work that gets inspected:

• Structural steel under AWS D1.1-type procedures: buildings, columns, beams and moment connections.
• Bridges and transport structures, where fatigue and low-temperature toughness are design factors.
• Pressure vessels and piping, where weld soundness is verified by radiography and hydrostatic test.
• Shipbuilding and marine fabrication, where large restrained welds and cold service meet strict hydrogen controls.

In these jobs the rod choice, preheat, interpass temperature and storage rules are written into the welding procedure specification. Substituting a 6011 because it’s handy, or welding with rods that sat out overnight, isn’t just poor practice — it’s a code violation. The Earlbeck electrode selection guide makes the same point: once a job has a procedure attached, filler selection stops being a preference and becomes a requirement.

The Three 7018 Mistakes That Ruin Good Rods

1. Letting rods sit out. Rods left on the welder, in the truck bed or on the bench absorb moisture within hours. Keep a heated quiver or holding oven, and track open time.
2. Running a long arc. Extra length raises spatter, drops penetration, opens the puddle to atmospheric nitrogen and hydrogen, and produces the classic 7018 defect: fine-looking porosity hidden under the slag.
3. Skip-passing without cleaning. 7018’s slag is thick and glassy. Chips left between passes become lack-of-fusion defects that fail ultrasonic testing. Chip it, brush it, look at it, then weld again.

Get those three habits right and 7018 becomes the easiest rod to love: quiet arc, fat smooth bead, minimal cleanup, and weld metal strong enough — and tough enough — to carry a structure for decades.

Head-to-Head Comparison: E6010 vs E6011 vs E6013 vs E7018

Four rods, four personalities. Once you understand what each one does, choosing between them stops being guesswork and starts being a quick mental checklist. Below is the side-by-side view, followed by five real jobs and the rod that wins each one.

Side-by-Side Specification Table

Characteristic	E6010	E6011	E6013	E7018
Tensile strength	60,000 psi	60,000 psi	60,000 psi	70,000 psi
Current	DCEP only	AC or DCEP	AC, DCEP or DCEN	AC or DCEP
Penetration	Deep, digging	Deep, digging	Shallow to moderate	Medium
Arc character	Forceful, loud, tight	Forceful, slightly softer	Soft, quiet, stable	Smooth, fillable, low spatter
Slag	Thin, fast-freezing, easy peel	Thin, fast-freezing	Thin, lifts cleanly	Denser, heavier, must be chipped
Positions	All	All	All (flat/horizontal best)	All
Hydrogen level	Higher (cellulosic)	Higher (cellulosic)	Moderate	Low (H4/H8 = 4 or 8 ml per 100 g)
Best use	Pipe roots, dirty steel, tight fit-up	Field repair on AC machines	Clean thin sheet, hobby work	Structural, code, cold weather
Difficulty	Hard	Hard to moderate	Easy	Moderate
Typical 1/8″ range	75–125 A	75–130 A	80–130 A	110–165 A

Those amperage figures are starting points only. Always confirm against the range printed on the rod box or the AWS classification reference, because coating chemistry, diameter and manufacturer all shift the window slightly.

Five Real Jobs, Five Decisions

Rusty farm trailer repair. The metal is corroded, the fit-up is sloppy and nobody is grinding it to bare shiny steel. Run E6010 or E6011 on DCEP if you have it, striking a short arc and letting the cellulose coating blast through the rust. E6013 will sit on top of the scale and look pretty while holding nothing. If the trailer has aluminum panels instead, stop: this is a job for a different process entirely, as covered in Aluminum Flux Core Welding: What Actually Works in 2026.

Pipe root pass. E6010, no contest. Its fast-freezing slag and deep dig give you the keyhole control root passes demand, in any position. This is the rod pipeline crews build their technique around, and it’s the same reason All Position Welding Rod Guide treats all-position capability as a make-or-break feature.

Thin sheet metal hobby project. E6013 at the low end of its range, short arc, quick travel. Its soft arc and shallow penetration won’t blow through 20-gauge steel, and the slag peels off without hammering. Drop to a 3/32″ rod if the sheet is genuinely thin.

Structural beam weld in cold weather. E7018, and it has to be dry. The low-hydrogen deposit resists cold-cracking, the 70,000 psi strength meets the load, and the smooth arc fills wide passes efficiently. Keep the rods in a quiver or rod oven until the moment you strike them. For alloyed or higher-strength steels, step up to a filler selected for the base metal, as explained in Alloy Steel Welding Electrodes: Selection, Use & Safety.

Outdoor, windy, AC buzz box only. E6011. It deep-penetrates like the 6010 but runs on AC, which is exactly what those old transformer machines and engine-driven units put out. Wind still blows shielding away, so work close, keep travel speed honest and accept a rougher bead than you’d get in a shop.

Reading the Table Like a Welder

Notice the pattern: penetration and hydrogen move in opposite directions from E6010 to E7018. The cellulosic rods dig hard but carry more hydrogen; the low-hydrogen rod is calmer and cleaner but needs a prepared joint to shine. That trade-off is the whole decision. Match the rod to the joint condition, the power source and the code requirement, and the four-rod kit covers nearly everything a stick welder meets. When in doubt, the Earlbeck electrode selection guide walks through the same logic in more detail.

Common Electrode Mistakes, Storage Errors and How to Fix Them

Most stick welding problems are not technique problems. They are electrode problems wearing a technique disguise. A welder lays down a beautiful bead that cracks the next day, or spends an hour grinding a root that never fused in the first place, and blames their hand. Usually the rod in the stinger, the settings dial, or the way the box was stored overnight tells the real story. Here are the mistakes that cost the most time, and the fixes that get you moving again.

The Eight Mistakes That Ruin Rods and Welds

• Using E6013 on dirty, thick or gap-filled steel. The 6013 is a soft, quiet sheet-metal rod with moderate penetration and a denser slag that needs extra post-weld cleaning, a limitation noted in Miller Welds’ electrode guide. Expecting it to burn through mill scale, rust or a 1/4-inch butt joint gets you a bead sitting on top of the metal like cold solder.
• Running structural code work on E6011. The 6011 is a legitimate repair rod, but it is high-hydrogen in the field sense and it is not the low-hydrogen choice for loaded structural joints. Code work in the Alloy Steel Welding Electrodes: Selection, Use & Safety spirit of matching filler to service means checking the specification first, not the price sticker.
• Welding with damp E7018. This is the single most common cause of porosity and hydrogen-induced cracking. Rods left out overnight or carried loose in a coat pocket absorb moisture from the air.
• Wrong polarity. E6010 will not run right on AC. E6013 and E7018 variants are marked for a reason; the arc will start, so it feels correct, but penetration and bead profile suffer quietly.
• Amperage off target. Too hot gives undercut and a wandering, angry arc. Too cold gives sticking rods, high beads, and lack of fusion at the toes.
• Forcing arc length. Dragging a 6010 or 6011 an extra eighth inch off the plate kills the digging action and floods the puddle with flux.
• Skipping slag cleanup between passes. Slag inclusions are a hidden defect that shows up later, often as a rejected radiograph.
• No storage plan for low-hydrogen rods. If you do not have a rod oven, you at least need a sealed container and a habit.

Troubleshooting: Read the Weld, Then Fix the Cause

Symptom	Most likely cause	Fix
Porosity (pinholes)	Damp E7018, contamination, or paint/solvent residue	Rebake per maker’s instructions, clean the joint, increase travel speed slightly
Undercut at the toes	Amperage too high or too fast a travel speed	Drop 5–10 amps, slow down, keep the arc on the leading edge
Lack of fusion	Cold setting, long arc, or wrong rod for the thickness	Increase amperage, shorten arc, switch to 6010/6011 for the root
Hard to start / balling	Low amperage or weak machine output	Raise amperage, use a fresh rod tip, check ground clamp contact
Rod sticks to the plate	Cold arc, slow start, or drag angle too steep	Scratch-start with a slight wedge, raise amps, steady your hand

Storage and Rebake: Keeping Low-Hydrogen Rods Usable

Store E7018 in a cool, dry, low-humidity location and recondition it according to the manufacturer’s instructions rather than guesswork. Practical rules that work in real shops:

1. Keep opened cartons in a rod oven or a sealed, airtight container. Hold the oven around 250–300°F / 120–150°C only if the manufacturer specifies it for the electrode class.
2. Track exposed life. Low-hydrogen rods have a limit on time out of the wrapper; once exceeded, they need drying before use, not hope.
3. Do not rebake rods that have absorbed rain or been left in a damp truck bed beyond the allowed cycle. Discard them.
4. Return unused rods to the container at the end of every shift, and keep cellulosic rods like 6010 and 6011 dry too, since moisture raises spatter and arc instability.
5. Clean the joint itself. OSHA 1910.252 requires welding surfaces to be cleaned of coatings such as paint and solvent residue to reduce toxic exposure, and the OSHA welding fume fact sheet points out that rod composition is one of the factors affecting worker exposure to fumes.

For position-specific rod choices and the settings that go with them, our All Position Welding Rod Guide: Types, Uses & Tips goes deeper on vertical and overhead technique.

How to Choose the Right Electrode (and Weld Safely Doing It)

Knowing what E6010, E6011, E6013 and E7018 each do is only half the job. The other half is making the call quickly in the field, with a customer standing next to you and daylight running out. Almost every rod-selection decision comes down to six checks you can run in under a minute.

Six Checks Before You Strike an Arc

1. Identify the base metal and its thickness. Most stick work is mild or low-carbon steel, which is where all four electrodes live. If the part is stainless, cast iron, galvanized or aluminum, stop and reassess, because filler matching changes the entire conversation. Thickness then sets your rod diameter: 1/16 to 5/32 inch covers sheet and light fabrication, while 3/16 inch and up is plate and heavy structural work. For aluminum prep specifically, see Aluminum Cleaner for Welding: How to Prep Aluminum Right.
2. Assess joint preparation and fit-up. A beveled, reasonably clean joint with controlled gap fit-up gives you the freedom to run E7018 for a tough, dense weld. When fit-up is tight or the joint is not beveled, E6010 or E6011 digging arcs ensure sufficient penetration rather than a bead bridging cold across the surface.
3. Check the welding position. Overhead and vertical-up both push you toward the lower end of the amperage range, and a soft rod like E6013 becomes tiring overhead on anything thick. Our All Position Welding Rod Guide: Types, Uses & Tips breaks down which rods behave best where.
4. Check your power source. On a DC machine you have the full menu. On an old AC buzz box or a generator-driven welder, E6011, E6013 and AC-grade E7018 are your realistic choices, which immediately rules out E6010.
5. Decide if it is code work or hobby work. Structural, pressure or inspection-bound welds generally call for low-hydrogen consumables and a written procedure. A garden-tractor bracket does not.
6. Read the environment. Wind strips shielding and causes porosity, cold weather raises cracking risk, and a damp or dirty worksite punishes low-hydrogen rods hardest.

Quick-Reference Decision Flow

• Rusty, painted or scaled steel, needs to dig: E6011 on AC, E6010 on DC.
• Pipe root pass, open root, DC available: E6010.
• Clean new sheet, thin material, want an easy arc: E6013.
• Structural beam, code work, cold weather, load-bearing: E7018 from a rod oven.
• Only an AC stick welder, outdoor repair, farm work: E6011 first, E7018-AC if the joint is critical.

Setting Amperage Without Guessing

Amperage is set by three things together: electrode diameter, welding position and joint thickness, and the manufacturer’s printed range on the box is always the authority. As a rough starting point, many welders use about 1 amp per 0.001 inch of rod diameter, so a 1/8-inch rod starts near 125 amps and a 3/32-inch rod near 90 amps. From there, adjust by result: move up if the rod feels sluggish or the bead is cold and ropey, move down if you are getting excessive spatter, burn-through or a wide flat bead. For vertical-up and overhead, drop toward the lower end of the printed range and stay there until your technique catches up.

Weld Safely: Ventilation, PPE and Fume Control

Electrode choice and safety are linked, because cellulosic rods like E6010 and E6011 and basic low-hydrogen rods like E7018 each produce their own fume chemistry. OSHA 1926.353 requires mechanical ventilation, general or local exhaust, whenever welding is performed in a confined space, with local exhaust hoods placed as close as practicable to the work. OSHA’s fact sheet on controlling hazardous welding fumes lists acute effects of exposure that include eye, nose and throat irritation, dizziness and nausea, which are your body’s earliest warning that the plume is reaching your breathing zone.

Build the habit around a short pre-weld routine:

• Ventilate first. Work outdoors or with forced air and extraction; never rely on a respirator to compensate for poor airflow, and never weld in a confined space without the required mechanical ventilation.
• Wear complete PPE. Auto-darkening helmet with the correct shade, flame-resistant jacket and sleeves, gauntleted gloves, safety glasses under the helmet, and hearing protection on loud sites.
• Respect arc radiation and electric shock. Screen the area so bystanders are not exposed to the arc, keep electrodes insulated from the work by the holder only, and inspect leads, clamps and connections for damage before striking up. Never weld in wet conditions or with damp gloves.
• Protect the workpiece itself. Remove oil, paint, galvanized coating and moisture wherever practical, and follow the 1910.252 hot-work controls for fire prevention and fire watch (OSHA 1910.252).

Run the six checks, confirm your power source, set the amps from the printed range, and ventilate before you strike. It takes a minute up front and saves you a remade weld later, which is the whole point of knowing these four rods in the first place.

Conclusion: Build Your Electrode Kit Around Four Rods

If you remember nothing else from this guide, remember this: you do not need a garage full of rod boxes. Four mild-steel electrodes, all governed by the same AWS classification system, cover everything from a rusty farm repair to a structural beam. Their four-digit codes quietly encode tensile strength, welding position, coating type and compatible current. Once you can read those digits, a wall of electrodes stops feeling intimidating and starts making sense.

The Four Personalities, One Last Time

• E6010 — the digger. DC-only, cellulosic, aggressive arc that punches through mill scale and rust. It is the rod for pipe root passes and dirty, out-of-position work, with fast-freezing slag and flat, rippled beads.
• E6011 — the AC field-repair workhorse. The same deep-biting character, but it runs on AC, so an old buzz box or an engine-driven welder can cut through corroded metal in a farmyard or on a jobsite where DC simply is not available.
• E6013 — the soft sheet-metal rod. Quiet arc, minimal spatter, easy slag and moderate penetration. It is the friendliest rod for thin, clean stock and the best place to learn puddle control.
• E7018 — the low-hydrogen structural rod. 70,000 psi tensile strength, smooth arc, dense X-ray-quality welds with high impact toughness for cold weather and high-strength base metals.

Everything else — E6012, E7014, E7024 and their specialised cousins — is a variation on those four personalities. And if your project happens to involve aluminum rather than steel, none of these rods apply; Aluminum Flux Core Welding: What Actually Works in 2026 explains what actually does.

A Starter Kit That Covers Real Work

A sensible first kit is small and cheap: five-pound boxes of 1/8-inch E6013, E6010, E6011 and E7018, plus a couple of pounds of 3/32-inch for thin material and a 5/32-inch for heavier plate. Store the low-hydrogen rods in a sealed container or a rod oven, and run every rod on scrap plate in all four positions before you commit to a repair you actually care about.

Match the Filler and Respect the Code

These four electrodes fall under AWS A5.1 for mild steel, which is why filler matching matters: the deposited metal should be compatible with the base metal in strength, toughness and service conditions. Alloy steels need their own classified fillers, as covered in Alloy Steel Welding Electrodes: Selection, Use & Safety. If the job is structural or code work, the governing specification and the engineer or inspector decide which classification is acceptable. Never swap rods on a code job just because the diameter and amperage happen to match.

Finish With the Spec Sheet

Amperage ranges printed on the box are starting points, not suggestions. Always consult the electrode manufacturer’s printed amperage range and safety data sheet before use, and adjust for position, plate thickness and joint fit-up. Treat fume control just as seriously: OSHA 1926.353 requires ventilation and protection against welding fumes and confined-space exposure.

The Skill That Lasts

Electrodes change; the decoding skill does not. First two digits tell you tensile strength in thousands of psi, the third tells you welding position, the fourth tells you coating and current. Read that number and you already know roughly how the arc will behave before you strike it. Keep practicing on scrap, keep the rod dry, keep the settings in the manufacturer’s range — and the right electrode becomes a deliberate choice instead of a guess.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 4 main types of welding electrodes?

For mild-steel stick welding, the four most commonly used electrodes are E6010, E6011, E6013 and E7018. Together they cover pipeline root passes, field repair on dirty metal, clean sheet metal work and structural low-hydrogen welding.

What does the number on a welding electrode mean?

In the AWS system, ‘E’ stands for electrode, the first two digits give the minimum tensile strength in thousands of psi, the third digit indicates welding position, and the fourth digit identifies the coating type and compatible welding current.

What is the difference between E6010 and E6011?

Both are deep-penetrating all-position cellulosic rods, but E6010 runs on DC only while E6011 runs on AC or DC. E6011 is the go-to choice when all you have is an AC stick welder or engine-driven machine.

Can a beginner use E7018 electrodes?

Yes — E7018 is often described as one of the easiest electrodes to run because of its smooth, quiet arc and minimal spatter. The main challenge is rod handling: low-hydrogen rods absorb moisture and must be stored properly to avoid porosity and cracking.

Which electrode is best for welding rusty or dirty metal?

E6010 and E6011 are the best choices for rusty, oily or painted steel because their cellulosic coatings produce a digging arc that cuts through contamination. E6013 and E7018 perform best on clean, prepared metal.

Why is my E7018 electrode poring and sputtering?

Moisture is the usual culprit. Low-hydrogen coatings absorb water from humid air, which introduces hydrogen into the weld pool and causes porosity and potential cracking. Recondition or rebake the rods per the manufacturer’s instructions and keep them in a heated rod oven or sealed container.

Is E6013 good for structural welding?

No. E6013 is a soft-arc rod intended for clean, new sheet metal and light fabrication with moderate penetration. Structural and code work typically calls for low-hydrogen electrodes like E7018, which deliver 70,000 psi tensile strength and better toughness.

Do I need to clean slag between weld passes?

Yes. Slag inclusions are a common cause of weld defects. Chip and wire-brush the bead completely before running the next pass, especially with E6012/E6013 type rods that leave denser slag.