Stick Welding Settings: The Complete Amp & Electrode Guide

A weekend fabricator buys a $200 stick welder, clamps a 1/8-inch steel plate to the bench, drops the machine to a random dial position, and spends an hour chipping off bird-poop beads while the rod keeps sticking to the metal. Nine out of ten beginner stick welding failures never touch skill — they are settings failures. This guide fixes that.

Why Stick Welding Settings Matter More Than You Think

A weekend fabricator buys a $200 stick welder, clamps a 1/8-inch steel plate to the bench, and turns the dial to what looks like a reasonable position. The rod sticks to the plate. He pulls harder, the arc sputters, and five minutes later he is chipping bird-poop beads off the metal with a hammer, convinced he has no talent for welding. Nine out of ten beginner stick welding failures never touch skill. They are settings failures.

The good news is that settings are learnable, predictable, and fixable in an afternoon. This guide will hand you the exact amperage ranges for every common rod, the polarity logic behind them, and a troubleshooting map for the beads that go wrong. But first it helps to understand why stick punishes a wrong dial position so much harder than other processes do.

What Stick Welding Actually Is

Stick welding is formally called shielded metal arc welding, or SMAW. An electric arc forms between a consumable, flux-coated electrode and the workpiece. The arc melts both the rod and the base metal into a shared puddle, and as the flux coating burns it releases a gas cloud that shields the molten metal from oxygen and nitrogen in the air. That last detail is the whole reason SMAW stays dominant in construction, pipeline, maintenance, and repair work: the electrode carries its own shielding with it. There is no gas cylinder to knock over, no hose to freeze, and no shielding gas to blow away in a crosswind. It tolerates wind, rust, paint scale, and position in ways that gas-shielded processes simply do not. You can see the same logic at work in why SMAW still beats newer processes in the field.

So What Settings Do You Actually Need?

Stick welding settings come down to five levers, and it is worth committing them to memory because every section of this article builds on them:

• Electrode type and diameter — the rod you load determines the ballpark for everything else.
• Amperage — the machine setting that controls heat input and puddle fluidity.
• Polarity — AC, DCEP (reverse), or DCEN (straight), which changes how heat divides between the rod and the plate.
• Arc length — the distance between the rod tip and the puddle, controlled entirely by your hand.
• Travel speed — how fast you move, which sets bead width and penetration depth.

Notice that three of those five are welder-controlled, not machine-controlled. That is exactly why stick feels unforgiving. A MIG gun feeds wire at a fixed rate and the machine regulates current second by second, so the process buffers a lot of your inconsistency. Stick gives you no buffer. The same dial setting produces a good bead, a cold lumpy one, or a burn-through depending on arc length and speed alone.

Why the Rod Drives the Settings, Not the Other Way Around

The single most useful mental shift for a new stick welder: choose the electrode first, then set the machine to suit it. Each rod family has an amperage window designed into its flux chemistry. Run a 7018 too cold and the slag freezes over the puddle before it can wet out; run a 6013 too hot and it digs and burns through. The rod’s manufacturer data sheet, not the machine’s front panel, is the authority.

That means machine capacity becomes a practical constraint. Beginner and home-shop machines commonly available today deliver roughly 90–140 A on 120 V input and 160–250 A on 240 V input. A 120 V machine will happily run 3/32- and 1/8-inch rods, but it will struggle with 5/32-inch 7018 on thick plate. If you know your machine’s ceiling before you buy rods, you avoid the frustration of a rod that simply will not get hot enough. Incidentally, input voltage matters more than most people expect: a machine dialed to 100 A can deliver noticeably more or less than 100 A if the supply sags, and duty cycle limits how long it can hold that output. We will dig into that in the machine setup section.

For now, hold on to two ideas. First, settings are a system, not a single dial number, and they are judged by the bead in front of you. Second, the electrode is the starting point of that system. Everything that follows in this guide flows from that principle.

How This Guide Is Organized

We will start by decoding the numbers stamped on every stick electrode so you can read a rod like a spec sheet. From there, you will get a full amperage chart by electrode and diameter, then a second layer of judgment for material thickness, joint geometry, and welding position. After that: polarity and machine setup, rod-by-rod technique notes for E6010 through E7024, a troubleshooting table for the most common settings-driven defects, a safety section explaining why hotter settings have health consequences, and a practice routine plus setup checklist you can take to the bench. Whether you are running your first bead or diagnosing a weld that has failed inspection, the answer is almost always sitting in one of those five settings.

How to Read a Stick Electrode: What the AWS Numbers Mean

Before you ever touch your amperage dial, you have to learn to read the rod in your hand. For shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), the American Welding Society utilizes AWS A5.1 electrode classifications to tell you the strength, position capability, flux type, and compatible current for that exact stick electrode. Treat this numbering system as your roadmap. Without it, every setting you make from here on out will be nothing more than a guess.

Breaking The Code Digit By Digit

Nearly every mild steel stick electrode you’ll reach for starts with the letter E, which simply stands for “electrode”. Following it are four numbers that paint the full picture:

• Tensile Strength (1st and 2nd Digits): These two digits tell you the minimum tensile strength of the deposited weld metal in thousands of pounds per square inch (ksi). An E60xx electrode will produce weld metal with a minimum tensile strength of 60,000 psi, whilst an E70xx will produce a minimum of 70,000 psi.
• Welding Position (3rd Digit): This digit dictates where the rod is designed to run. A ‘1’ means the electrode is capable of all-position welding (flat, horizontal, vertical, and overhead). A ‘2’ restricts it to flat and horizontal fillet work only. For welders wanting a broader breakdown of position capabilities, you can reference an all-position welding rod guide for more context.
• Flux Coating & Usable Current (4th Digit): Arguably the most important for your machine settings, this digit tells you the makeup of the flux and what current types it will run on. These pairings directly impact penetration, arc stability, and which polarity you’ll need to select.

The Most Common Rods And What They Mean

With the code broken down, it’s time to apply it to the rods that you’ll see the most. Each of these have drastically different fluxes, all of which will change the way you set your machine:

• E6010: Marked by a ‘0’ for its cellulose sodium coating. This rod is DCEP only, produces an extremely digging arc, and is notorious for its deep penetration. It’s the go-to for pipe roots and dirty, rusty repairs.
• E6011: A ‘1’ cellulose potassium coating allows this rod to run off of AC or DCEP. It keeps much of the digging nature of the 6010, however, its arc is far more forgiving to run off of older transformer machines.
• E6013: The ‘3’ denotes a rutile (titania) coating, making this electrode compatible with AC or DC in either polarity. It produces a soft, controllable arc with minimal spatter, making it one of the most beginner friendly rods on the market.
• E7014: Also sporting a rutile based coating, this iron powder infused rod can run on AC or DC. It is a fast-fill electrode, providing high deposition with an incredibly easy, straight-drag arc.
• E7018: The ‘8’ coating is a low-hydrogen iron powder flux, designed to run on DCEP or AC. It produces some of the strongest, most ductile welds possible with stick, however, this strength comes with a massive caveat: moisture control.
• E7024: This high iron powder, rutile electrode is primarily used for AC or DC welding. It’s built for speed, designed strictly for flat and horizontal fillet welds, and can lay down an astounding amount of metal in one pass.

Diffusible Hydrogen: The Reason 7018 Needs Special Care

When working with code work or high strength joints, you’ll notice some E7018 rods have supplementary designators such as H4 or H8 printed onto them. These numbers aren’t referring to tensile strength or position, but to diffusible hydrogen. Specifically, an H4 rated rod means no more than 4 milliliters of diffusible hydrogen per 100 grams of deposited weld metal, whilst an H8 means no more than 8 milliliters per 100 grams.

This is critical, as excess hydrogen can cause hydrogen-induced cracking, especially within thick plates or restrained joints. For this reason, low-hydrogen electrodes must be kept dry at all times. Most fabricators will keep fresh 7018 in their factory sealed hermetic cans, and for opened rods, utilize a calibrated rod oven. Exposing them to humid air for extended periods can reabsorb moisture into the flux, undoing every benefit that the low-hydrogen coating was made for. This is an expectation seen across countless welding codes, all in the pursuit of crack free welds.

Electrode Quick Reference For Settings

To use this section as a foundation for the amperage charts to come, use this compact breakdown to match penetration, purpose, and typical polarity at a glance:

Electrode	Penetration	Best Use	Typical Polarity
E6010	Deep (Digging)	Pipe roots, dirty/rusty steel, open root passes	DCEP Only
E6011	Deep	Field repairs, rusty/painted steel, older AC machines	AC or DCEP
E6013	Shallow to Medium	Sheet metal, general fabrication, beginner practice	AC or DC (Any Polarity)
E7014	Medium	Production work, fillets, sheet to plate, easy fill passes	AC or DC (Any Polarity)
E7018	Medium	Structural steel, pressure, critical joints, code work	DCEP or AC
E7024	Shallow	High deposition flat/horizontal fillets, heavy build up	AC or DC (Any Polarity)

Take this knowledge to heart. The numbers on your rod aren’t arbitrary, they’re the key that unlocks every correct setting that follows. From amperage, to polarity, all the way down to your technique, you’ll always be referring back to this code to make the correct call for your joint.

The Complete Stick Welding Amperage Chart by Electrode and Diameter

If there is one number every stick welder wants, it is this: what do I set the dial to? The honest answer is that the dial setting is the last decision you make, not the first. Amperage follows the electrode, the electrode follows the material thickness and joint, and everything downstream in the weld pool is a consequence. Get the amps right and half the technique problems people blame on ” shaky hands ” disappear. This section is the reference chart you will come back to, print out, and tape inside the welder door.

The 1 Amp per 0.001 Inch Rule (and Why It Is Only a Starting Point)

The classic rule of thumb is beautifully simple: run about 1 amp per 0.001 inch of electrode diameter. A 1/8-inch rod (0.125 in) starts near 100 A. A 5/32-inch rod (0.156 in) starts near 155 A. A 3/32-inch rod (0.104 in) starts near 105 A in its raw form, but in practice 3/32-inch rods generally live in the 40–90 A band across common mild-steel electrodes because they are chosen for thin material, not for maximum output.

Here is the catch: the rule gives you a center point, not a setting. Electrode type shifts that baseline noticeably. Low-hydrogen E7018 runs hotter than E6013 at the same diameter because its coating needs more heat to flux properly and maintain a fluid puddle. The same 1/8-inch rod that welds beautifully at 90 A as a 6013 will freeze and stick at 90 A as a 7018. Diameter sets the neighborhood; the classification sets the house number.

Amperage Chart by Electrode and Diameter

These are typical published ranges for the mild-steel rods most hobbyists and fabricators actually buy. Values are for DC unless noted; check your machine plate and electrode box, since manufacturers publish their own windows. Amperage charts from welding suppliers and machine settings guides stay remarkably consistent with these numbers.

Electrode	1/16 in	3/32 in	1/8 in	5/32 in	Typical Current
E6010	—	40–90*	75–125	110–165	DCEP
E6011	—	40–90*	75–125	—	AC / DCEP
E6013	20–40	40–90*	80–130	110–180	AC / DCEN / DCEP
E7018	—	40–90*	90–160	130–220	DCEP / AC

* The 40–90 A band is the general working range for 3/32-inch mild-steel electrodes rather than a rod-specific published range. The 1/16-inch E6013 at 20–40 A is the rod that saves thin sheet work: on 1/16-inch material, a bigger rod simply burns holes no matter how carefully you manipulate the arc.

Amperage Chart by Material Thickness

Work backward from the plate. Match the rod to the thickness first, then set the amps to the middle of that rod’s window and adjust from the bead.

Material Thickness	Suggested Rod	Starting Amperage	Notes
1/16 in (1.6 mm)	1/16 in E6013	20–40 A	DCEN, straight drag, watch for burn-through
1/8 in (3.2 mm)	3/32 or 1/8 in	75–110 A	The most forgiving range for beginners
3/16–1/4 in (4.8–6.4 mm)	1/8 or 5/32 in	110–160 A	Drop 10–15% for vertical or overhead
3/8 in and heavier	5/32 in or larger	160–220 A	Requires a machine with real duty cycle headroom

The “Start Low and Adjust Upward” Workflow

1. Set the rod and polarity first. Diameter and classification determine the range before you touch the dial.
2. Dial to the low end of the published window for that rod and thickness.
3. Lay one short test bead on scrap of the same thickness as your actual joint, not on cold clean plate of a different gauge.
4. Read the bead (chart below), then move in 5–10 A increments. Small jumps, not 30 A lunges.
5. Lock in at the middle of the range once the bead flattens out and ties in at the toes, then re-check after the first pass because a partially preheated joint behaves differently from cold plate.

Reading the Bead: Too Hot Versus Too Cold

The arc tells you the truth faster than any chart. Learn to read these two failure modes and you can correct settings mid-job without stopping.

Sign	Too Hot (Amps Too High)	Too Cold (Amps Too Low)
Bead shape	Thin, wide, flat, washed out	Tall, narrow, ropey, sitting proud
Arc behavior	Violent, crackling, heavy spatter	Hard to start, wanders, rod sticks
Edge tie-in	Undercut at the toes, possible burn-through	Cold lap: weld rides on top without fusing
End of bead	Crater, sometimes cracked	Rounded, lumpy stop with trapped slag

Cold lap and sticking are the two signatures of a machine set too low, and they are what the beginner in our opening story was fighting. Cranking the dial 10–15 A upward usually transforms a rod that “won’t run” into one that flows. Position matters as much as diameter here, since vertical and overhead work wants roughly 10–15% less current; the All Position Welding Rod Guide covers which rods tolerate those shifts, and Alloy Steel Welding Electrodes explains why alloy steels demand their own, tighter windows rather than mild-steel numbers borrowed off a chart.

Choosing Settings by Material Thickness, Joint Type, and Position

An amperage chart gives you a starting point, but the job on your bench is what decides the final dial setting. Three factors will always translate it from there: material thickness, joint type, and welding position. Get all three right, and your rod will behave as intended. Get just one wrong, and it’ll stick, undercut, or blow through regardless of skill.

Thickness and Fit-Up

Thickness sets your baseline, but fit-up is what will often force the largest nudge to it. A tight, clean, well-clamped joint can sit near the low end of an electrode’s range. Gaps, on the other hand, require more control over both amperage and travel to properly bridge the space. Heavily clamped sections can act as a heat sink as well, pulling heat away from the puddle and demanding the upper end of your range to compensate for it.

Condition	Dial adjustment
Tight, clean, well-clamped joint	Low end of the range, normal to slightly fast travel
Open root or visible gap	Mid-range amps, smaller rod to reach the root, slower travel
Wide or uneven gap, poor fit-up	Step amps up and/or drop a rod size, slow down, shorten steps
Heavy clamped section acting as a heat sink	Upper end of the range, as the heat drains into surrounding metal

Joint Geometry

The shape of a joint directly changes where heat goes, so your dial and rod angle must follow suit.

• Butt joint: Heat spreads across a single plane. On thicker, beveled plate, keep the root pass near the low end of the range to prevent blowing the opening apart before closing it.
• Lap joint: The top sheet’s free edge heats the fastest. Split your arc between that edge and the bottom plate, and travel slightly faster than you would on a butt of the same thickness to prevent rounding or cold laps.
• T-joint and fillet welds: With heat pulling in two directions, aim your rod along the 45-degree bisector. On 1/8-inch material, this is often best within the middle to upper portion of the range. Biasing towards either plate will leave one leg cold or cause undercut.
• Open root and gap joints: For these, deep-penetrating fast-freeze rods earn their reputation. A digging arc that can punch a gap is worth far more here than raw deposition rate.

Position: Why Gravity Rewrites the Settings

Position is by far the largest settings change you’ll make. It’s also one of the key reasons stick continues to dominate field work, as covered in Advantages of Stick Welding. In the flat position, gravity keeps the puddle planted where you want it. Flip to vertical-up, and it will try to run back down the plate, forcing you to hold a much smaller, tighter puddle. Overhead only amplifies this, with any excess amperage quickly showing up as sag or drips.

The general rule is to drop roughly 10–15% of your flat-position amperage for vertical and overhead work, compensating the rest with travel speed and motion. Hobart Brothers technical guidance notes that vertical-up E7018 is commonly run about 10–15% below flat amperage with a slight weave, a tight arc, and a 3–5 degree drag angle. For horizontal, drastic cuts are rarely needed, as travel speed and weave width will do most of the work to prevent sagging towards the bottom plate.

Three Worked Examples

Example 1: 1/16-inch sheet with E6013. With thin sheet, the smallest rod possible is your safest bet to limit heat input. A 1/16-inch E6013 at 20–40 A is the classic setup. Run a straight drag with no weave, travel quickly and confidently, and tack often to spread heat. If your machine cannot hold a stable arc that low, use the lowest stable setting, brace over a copper heat sink if possible, and rely on speed as your primary burn-through protection.

Example 2: 1/8-inch mild steel fillet with E7018. On a flat T-joint, run 1/8-inch E7018 on DCEP at roughly 110–130 A per Bakers Gas’s electrode amperage chart. Keep your arc tight (around 1/16 inch or less) with a steady drag. For the same joint vertical-up, cut 10–15% down to 95–110 A, add a slight weave, and hold a 3–5 degree drag angle to stack the puddle instead of letting it run.

Example 3: 1/4-inch plate, vertical-up, 6010 root then 7018 fill and cap. For this standard open-root sequence, start with a 1/8-inch E6010 on DCEP at 95–110 A with the position cut applied. Its digging, fast-freeze puddle is ideal for vertical-up penetration. Follow with an E7018 hot pass at 100–115 A, running slightly hotter and faster than the root to wash into the sidewalls without trapping slag. Finish with a 5/32-inch E7018 cap at 120–145 A (140–170 A flat reduced by 10–15%), using a controlled side-to-side weave to tie both toes into the plate.

Notice the pattern: the electrode and joint decide your starting number, thickness narrows it, fit-up nudges it, and position subtracts from it. Once you read a joint this way, the dial stops being a guess, and starts being a calculated adjustment.

Polarity, Machine Setup, and Dial Placement: AC, DCEP, and DCEN

Before you touch the amperage dial, the machine asks a more fundamental question: which way is the current flowing? Polarity decides where the arc’s heat actually goes, which rods will run properly, and how much of your dial setting shows up at the puddle. Set it wrong and the rod will misbehave no matter how carefully you dial in the amps. E6010 on the wrong current crackles and wanders, 7018 throws spatter, and most beginners blame their shaking hand instead of the switch.

What Polarity Actually Does at the Arc

DC current flows in one direction, so one side of the arc runs hotter than the other. Roughly two-thirds of the arc’s heat develops at the positive terminal and one-third at the negative. That single split explains almost everything you need to know about polarity:

• DCEP (direct current electrode positive, also called reverse polarity): the electrode is positive, so about two-thirds of the heat builds in the rod and one-third at the work. The core wire melts at a controlled, steady rate and delivers good penetration on moderate currents. This is the everyday setting for low-hydrogen rods.
• DCEN (direct current electrode negative, straight polarity): the heat balance flips toward the plate. The arc digs harder while the rod runs cooler, which is why E6010 run on DCEN is the classic aggressive root pass and gouging setup. If you do a lot of beveling and washout work, our guide to air arc welding and carbon arc gouging goes deeper on that technique.
• AC (alternating current): the current reverses direction many times per second, splitting heat more evenly between the two sides. You lose some penetration compared with DCEP on the same rod, but AC is immune to arc blow and it is the only option on older transformer welders that only output AC.

Electrode	Preferred current	Why
E6010	DCEP only	Fast-freezing deep-penetration root passes; DCEN used for gouging
E6011	DCEP or AC	Potassium-modified cellulose coating runs happily on either
E6013	AC, DCEP, or DCEN	Soft arc; follow the package label for your current
E7014	DCEP or AC	Iron-powder coating for fast flat and horizontal fill
E7018	DCEP or AC	Low-hydrogen deposit; DCEN is rarely specified
E7024	DCEP or AC	High-deposition flat and horizontal work

E6011 deserves special mention. Its potassium-modified cellulose coating lets it run on both AC and DCEP, which makes it the great equalizer for farm shops and garages still running an old AC-only “tombstone” welder. That versatility is a big part of why stick welding still wins in repair work where no other process is available. For current requirements by rod, Miller’s electrode reference is a solid cross-check.

Your Dial Setting Is an Estimate, Not a Measurement

Here is the part that trips people up: a machine set to 100 amps does not always deliver 100 amps at the arc. A welder plugged into a 120 V outlet will produce noticeably less current than the same dial position on a 240 V circuit, especially as the machine heats and the duty cycle pulls it back. Long, thin extension cords make the drop worse. Rod diameter and brand matter too, because a 1/8-inch rod from one manufacturer does not always draw exactly the same current as a 3/32-inch rod at the same dial setting from another.

Arc Blow: Why the Arc Wanders at the End of a Joint

Magnetic arc blow is the sideways push caused by the magnetic field around the flow of welding current. It is worst near the ends of joints and corners on DC, where the current path becomes asymmetrical and the arc physically deflects off the intended line. The standard remedies are simple:

• Move the work clamp closer to the joint, or to the opposite end of it, so current flows symmetrically.
• Shorten the arc length and slow down slightly to let the puddle catch up.
• Reduce amperage a little, since lower current means a weaker magnetic field.
• Switch to AC if your machine offers it, since the field reverses too fast to push the arc consistently.

Hot Start and Arc Force: What the Extra Knobs Do

Inverter machines often add two controls that used to be impossible. Hot start briefly boosts current during arc initiation, which stops the cold-stick problem at the beginning of a bead. Arc force raises output when the arc starts to shorten, keeping the rod from freezing into the puddle during tight, out-of-position work. Run both at moderate settings and dial them up only when you feel the specific problem; cranked to maximum, hot start blows the puddle open and arc force turns the arc choppy and spattery.

Also check your physical setup: heavy, short electrode cables carry current more efficiently than long thin ones, and a clean, tight work clamp on bare metal beats a rusty one every time. Good all-position rod technique assumes your machine is actually delivering what the dial claims, so verify your cables and ground before you question your hands.

Get polarity right, confirm the machine can really make the current you asked for, and clamp the work lead where the arc wants it to go. Once those three are settled, the amperage chart in the next section becomes a trustworthy map instead of a guess.

Electrode-by-Electrode Settings and Technique

The amperage that lays a buttery bead with one rod will burn a hole through the next. Coatings change how hard the arc strikes, how much heat sits at the work, and how fast the puddle freezes, so “what amps should I use?” never has one answer. Here’s rod-by-rod guidance: a practical amp window, the arc feel to expect, and the technique mistake that wrecks most welds. Treat these as starting points and fine-tune on plate first, as the published electrode amperage charts intend.

E6010: The Digging Root Rod

Its cellulose coating produces a forceful, penetrating arc with a fast-freezing puddle, exactly what you want for open root passes, positional work, and dirty or rusty metal. On DCEP, a 1/8-inch 6010 typically runs around 50–90 amps, with 5/32-inch jumping to roughly 75–125 amps. Arc feel is medium: a crisp, aggressive crackle, held farther off the puddle than with a 7018. Use a whip-and-pause (whip forward to wash the puddle, pause back to tie in) or a slight drag on thin material.

Biggest mistake: crawling with a tight arc like you do with a soft-arc rod. The fast-freezing puddle piles up, the flux traps un-melted slag ahead of the arc, and you get a lumpy bead with a cold-lap edge. Move, then pause — do not creep.

E6011: The Field-Repair Alternative

Potassium in the coating lets 6011 run the same digging cellulose arc on AC, the go-to rod for rusty, painted, or galvanized repairs on older transformer machines. A 1/8-inch rod runs about 40–90 amps on DC and slightly hotter on AC to keep the arc stable. Arc feel matches 6010: forceful and audible, with a puddle that sets quickly. Drop the dial low and it cuts thin sheet with a light touch.

Biggest mistake: setting AC amps at the same number as DC. The AC arc is less stable, so it usually needs a modest bump to stop stuttering. That trade-off is covered in the all-position welding rod guide.

E6013: The Beginner-Friendly Soft Arc

Rutile flux gives 6013 a quiet, forgiving arc that starts easily and lays flat, low-spatter beads — the reason most schools hand beginners a 6013 first. Typical ranges: 3/32-inch at 30–55 amps, 1/8-inch at 40–80 amps. On thin sheet, use a straight drag (backhand) angle, a tight arc, and travel slow enough that the puddle stays wet at the leading edge.

Biggest mistake: pulling a long arc to see what is happening underneath. The voltage climbs, the arc widens, spatter increases, and penetration drops. If you cannot see, your shade is too dark or your head position is wrong — not your arc length.

E7014: Fast-Fill Production Rod

Iron powder in the coating boosts deposition, so a 1/8-inch 7014 runs hotter than a 1/8-inch 6013, often 60–110 amps, and fills a joint in fewer passes. It runs happily with a slightly longer arc than 7018 and a steady drag. Flat and horizontal work is its home: stringers, fillet caps, bracket work where speed beats versatility.

Biggest mistake: taking it overhead or vertical. The iron powder does not respond well to gravity, so it sags, washes out of the joint, and leaves an uneven profile. Trade versatility for deposition speed deliberately, not by accident.

E7018: The Low-Hydrogen Standard

The structural workhorse wants a tight arc — almost riding on the puddle — with a drag (backhand) angle for smooth, low-spatter beads. A 1/8-inch 7018 commonly runs 70–120 amps, 5/32-inch about 100–150 amps; Hobart Brothers’ 7018 amperage guidance lines up with that window. Move steadily and let the flux do its shielding work.

Storage matters as much as amperage. E7018 is low-hydrogen: once the pack is opened, humid air picks up moisture that deposits hydrogen into the weld and can crack restrained joints, so code work requires controlled storage and oven re-drying per the manufacturer’s schedule. Alloy steel welding electrodes need the same discipline.

Biggest mistake: lengthening the arc to watch the puddle. That lets air contaminate the deposit, causes spatter, and slows the slag coverage that keeps the bead clean.

E7024: The High-Deposition Flat Rod

With a heavy iron-powder coating, 7024 dumps metal fast: 5/32-inch commonly runs 120–170 amps and 3/16-inch roughly 160–220 amps. It wants a straight drag, a moderately long arc, and flat or horizontal positions only. The reward is wide, smooth beads with minimal cleanup; the cost is the same positional trade 7014 makes.

Biggest mistake: using it as a root or gap-bridging rod. It lays metal on top rather than digging in, so a 7024 cap over a poorly penetrated root just hides the problem instead of fixing it.

Electrode	1/8-in amps (typical)	Common polarity	Arc length feel	Best position
E6010	50–90	DCEP	Medium, crisp crackle	All positions
E6011	40–90	AC / DC	Medium, rougher on AC	All positions
E6013	40–80	AC / DC	Short, soft and quiet	All positions
E7014	60–110	AC / DC	Medium, smooth	Flat / horizontal
E7018	70–120	DCEP	Very tight, almost touching	All positions
E7024	120–170	AC / DC	Medium-long, silky	Flat / horizontal

The pattern holds: cellulose rods want a hot, active arc, 7018 stays tight to the puddle, and iron-powder rods demand amps and position discipline. Miller’s electrode Q&A agrees — match the coating to the job, then set the dial around it.

Common Stick Welding Settings Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Even with the correct rod and polarity, a small change in your settings can turn a clean puddle into a frustrating mess. Most bad beads are caused by incorrect amperage, arc length, or prep work rather than shaky hand control. With a little troubleshooting knowledge, you can skip chiseling out failed beads and get straight to laying solid welds.

Rod Sticking (The Classic Cold Start)

If you tap the rod to strike an arc and it fuses itself to the plate, you are feeling the most recognizable symptom of a cold setup.

• Symptom: The electrode welds itself to the base metal on strike and needs a hard twist to break free.
• Likely Settings Cause: Amperage too low for the rod diameter, a rushed cold start, or running on thick, unpreheated stock.
• Corrective Dial Adjustment: Bump amperage up in 5–10 amp steps until the rod strikes with a firm scratch or tap start. Very thick, cold steel may also want a slight preheat. Start low and creep up rather than jumping to the top of the range.

Porosity (Pinholes Through The Weld)

Porosity shows up as tiny pinholes or bubbles after the bead cools. They are unsightly and can seriously compromise joint integrity.

• Symptom: Small holes scattered through the solidified weld metal.
• Likely Settings Cause: An arc far too long, which breaks the shielding gas cloud produced by the flux. It gets drastically worse with moisture-contaminated low-hydrogen rods such as E7018, or with dirty, rusty, or painted base metal.
• Corrective Dial Adjustment: Shorten the arc to roughly the diameter of the electrode core wire, store low-hydrogen rods properly, and clean the joint. Flux protection wins over a perfect dial setting every time.

Slag Inclusions (Trapped Slag)

Slag inclusions happen when flux refuses to float and gets trapped under solidified weld metal. This is one of the most common multi-pass errors.

• Symptom: Black, flaky, or glass-like material under the bead, usually found when grinding or breaking a test coupon.
• Likely Settings Cause: Travel speed too fast, wrong arc angle, or laying a bead over an uncleaned previous pass, all of which let the puddle solidify before the heavier slag rises.
• Corrective Dial Adjustment: Slow your travel just enough for the puddle to wash properly, and chip plus wire brush every pass before the next. Welding codes require it for a reason: seconds of cleaning prevent hours of rework.

Undercut (Grooves Along The Toes)

Undercut is a groove melted into the base metal along the edges, or “toes,” of the weld. Left unchecked, it creates a stress riser that fails easily under load.

• Symptom: A visible trench along either side of the bead instead of metal flowing gently into the toes.
• Likely Settings Cause: Amperage too high, or travel far too fast with no pause at the toes, melting base metal away without filling it back in.
• Corrective Dial Adjustment: Drop amperage slightly, slow your travel, and use a slight weave, pausing momentarily at the toes of a fillet weld so the puddle fills the groove.

Burn-Through On Thin Metal

Burn-through is every sheet metal fabricator’s nightmare. One overconfident second can blow thin stock wide open.

• Symptom: Holes blown through the back of thin gauge metal, usually with excessive puddle sagging.
• Likely Settings Cause: Drastically overpowered amperage for the sheet thickness, especially a larger rod such as E6013 on anything below 16 gauge.
• Corrective Dial Adjustment: Drop amps significantly, use the smallest rod diameter suitable for the job, and speed up travel. If the machine still runs hot, tack with small skip welds to spread heat input across the joint.

Excessive Spatter

A little spatter is inherent to SMAW, but heavy, peppered spatter means the arc is unruly.

• Symptom: Tiny molten droplets peppered across the surrounding base metal and your cleanup workload.
• Likely Settings Cause: Amperage too high or an excessively long arc, both of which turn droplet transfer violent instead of steady.
• Corrective Dial Adjustment: Bring amps to the middle of your range, tighten the arc to its shortest stable length, and make sure the rod matches the joint. That alone clears up most spatter.

Craters (Weak Ends To Beads)

A crater is a depression at the bead termination. As it cools and shrinks, it becomes prone to cracking.

• Symptom: A divot at the end of the bead, sometimes with tiny cracks radiating out.
• Likely Settings Cause: Breaking the arc abruptly without filling the puddle back in. Excessively high amperage makes the puddle, and the shrinkage stress, much larger.
• Corrective Dial Adjustment: Focus on termination: backstep, feather the amps off the end, or pause at the tail to fill the crater before breaking the arc. Correct amperage keeps the puddle small enough to finish cleanly.

Diagnose Your Bead: A Quick Troubleshooting Table

Bead Appearance	Top Suspect	Dial Fix
Rod sticks on strike	Amps too low / cold metal	Increase amperage in 5–10 amp steps; preheat thick stock.
Pinholes throughout bead	Arc too long, moisture, dirty metal	Tighten arc, verify E7018 storage, clean the joint.
Black slag trapped under bead	Travel too fast, uncleaned passes	Slow down; chip and wire brush between passes.
Groove along toes (undercut)	Amps too high / travel too fast	Drop amps slightly, slow travel, pause or weave at toes.
Holes blown through sheet	Overpowered for thickness	Drop amps, use a smaller rod, skip weld.
Excessive spatter	Amps too high / arc too long	Lower amps to mid-range, tighten arc, match rod.
Divot at end of bead (crater)	Abrupt arc break / oversized puddle	Fill at termination, backstep, or reduce amps.

Stick welding settings are never a “set it and forget it” affair. Every rod, joint, and position has its own sweet spot. Diagnose by the bead in front of you, change one setting at a time on scrap, and never skip prep. Master these fixes and your settings will work for you instead of against you.

Stick Welding Safety: Settings Choices Have Health Consequences

Many welders spend hours perfecting their bead appearance, but far fewer realize that the exact amperage they dial in can have a direct impact on their long term health. With stick welding, hotter settings and longer arcs generate significantly more fume than a tight, controlled arc. On top of that, every electrode’s flux coating produces its own unique blend of metal fume and gas by-products, meaning the flux composition alone can change fume chemistry from rod to rod. Simply put, safe settings aren’t just about a cleaner weld, they’re about cleaner air to breathe.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is Your Last Line of Defense

Before striking an arc, your gear needs to be just as dialed in as your machine. For stick welding, the minimum PPE includes an ANSI-approved helmet with an appropriate filter lens shade, flame-resistant long sleeves and pants with no synthetics, gauntlet-style leather gloves, hearing protection, safety glasses worn underneath the helmet, and safety-toe boots. The reason for the “no synthetics” rule is crucial, as materials such as polyester can melt into your skin when hit with spatter or radiant heat. Your helmet is especially important, as OSHA’s construction standard 29 CFR 1926.353 requires suitable eye protection for all welding, cutting, and heating operations. Never rely on your auto-darkening helmet’s reaction time alone to justify skipping any of these items.

Ventilation Must Always Come First

No respirator in the world can make up for working in a fume cloud. The same OSHA standard states that mechanical ventilation must be sufficient to keep welding fumes and smoke within safe limits. This is an engineering control, and it should be your first priority before you ever consider respiratory protection. For smaller, open-air jobs, you can utilize local exhaust ventilation, such as a fume extraction arm placed as close to the arc as possible without interfering with your cable or puddle.

However, don’t fall into the trap of thinking fresh air equals safe air. According to OSHA’s fact sheet ‘Controlling Hazardous Fume and Gases during Welding’, workers should position themselves to avoid breathing fumes, such as staying upwind outdoors, and welding outdoors does not automatically guarantee adequate ventilation. Wind direction can shift without warning, pushing a thick plume directly back towards your face. These factors become even more difficult to combat for intricate jobs, such as the tight work found during alloy wheel welding, where the part itself can block natural airflow.

Respirators, Confined Spaces, and When They’re Required

There will be times where engineering controls simply cannot dilute fumes down to safe levels. In these instances, OSHA requires respiratory protection. More specifically, 29 CFR 1910.252 states that respiratory protection is required when ventilation cannot reduce contaminant levels below permissible exposure limits, and supplied-air respirators may be required in confined spaces such as the interior of a vehicle. These environments restrict airflow to an extreme degree, allowing toxic by-products to build up incredibly fast.

With that being said, respirators supplement but do not replace engineering controls. The type of respirator needed varies based off of the rod, base metal, and work area, so it is never a decision to guess. For low-hydrogen rods specifically, the added moisture sensitivity isn’t the only thing to respect, as their fume profile can be just as demanding as any other electrode. Much like dialing in the correct amperage for your all position welding rod, respiratory selection needs to be intentional for the job at hand.

Fire Watch and Hot Work Culture

Fume safety isn’t the only consequence to your settings. The more amperage you run, the more spatter and the larger the area of molten metal you’re producing. Sparks from stick welding can travel upwards of 35 feet, easily igniting rags, cardboard, fuel vapors, or sawdust that may be out of your direct line of sight. For this reason, a fire watch is mandatory for any job with combustible material nearby, and in many shops or job sites, a hot work permit must be obtained before striking an arc. Keep a fully charged fire extinguisher within arm’s reach, sweep your work area before and after welding, and never leave a recently welded piece unattended until it’s cool to the touch.

The bottom line is simple. The same discipline it takes to avoid rod sticking or undercut is the discipline that keeps you safe. Control your arc length, run only what amperage the job calls for, ventilate first, suit up with the correct PPE, and never treat fume as invisible. After all, a perfect bead means nothing if it comes at the cost of your lungs.

Practical Practice Drills, Setup Checklist, and Conclusion

Everything above is reference material. This closing section turns it into muscle memory, because knowing that a 1/8-inch 7018 wants roughly 110–130 amps is one thing and feeling a puddle sit correctly is another.

The One Drill That Teaches Amperage Judgment

If you only do one exercise, do this: clamp scrap plate flat, pick a single rod (7013 or 7018 both work), and run three beads of the same length at three settings — low, middle, and high for that diameter. Chip and brush between each. Nothing teaches amperage judgment faster than seeing one rod on one plate produce three visibly different results in ten minutes.

• Too cold: the bead sits proud and ropey, humps up without wetting into the corners, and slag chips off in chunks or refuses to release at the toes.
• Just right: the puddle flows smoothly, the ripple pattern is even, the bead ties into the plate at both toes, and slag peels off in a continuous strip.
• Too hot: the puddle gets wide and watery, the arc sounds harsh, spatter increases, and the plate edge may begin to melt back.

Once you can name the three beads on sight, adjust two amps at a time until you land inside a 5-amp window on command. Manufacturer charts like the Baker’s Gas electrode amperage chart are excellent starting points, but bead appearance and your machine’s real output are the final judges.

Then Move to Fillet T-Joints

After bead-on-plate, weld fillet T-joints flat first, then repeat the same joint vertical-up. Gravity helps in flat and works against you out of position, so the second round feels completely different. Expect to drop roughly 10–15% of your flat amperage and slow your travel. Our All Position Welding Rod Guide: Types, Uses & Tips covers rod choices for vertical and overhead in more depth.

Pre-Weld Setup Checklist

Run through this every time until it’s automatic:

1. Joint prep: remove mill scale, rust, paint, and oil from the weld zone; bevel thick material as needed.
2. Fit-up and gap: confirm the root gap matches the pass you intend to run.
3. Clamp placement: attach the work clamp to clean metal as close to the joint as possible, keeping the current path short to fight arc blow.
4. Rod selection: correct AWS class, correct diameter, dry — especially 7018.
5. Polarity: set DCEP, DCEN, or AC per the electrode, then verify on the machine’s label, not memory.
6. Amperage dial: start at the chart’s midpoint for your diameter and thickness, then adjust by bead appearance.
7. Filter shade: helmet shade roughly 10–12 for most stick work, plus safety glasses underneath.
8. Ventilation: fume extraction on, or position yourself upwind outdoors.

What to Buy Before Anything Else

Skip gimmicks and spend on boring consumables: a chipping hammer with chisel and pointed end, a stiff wire brush, and needle-nose pliers handle most cleanup. For rods, storage matters more than brand. Sealed plastic tubes and storage quivers keep moisture out for home use; code work calls for heated holding ovens at roughly 250°F (120°C). Low-hydrogen 7018 exposed to humidity loses its advantage quickly, which is why the H4 and H8 designators carry handling rules. Lincoln Electric’s AWS classification reference is worth keeping printed near the rack.

When a Machine Upgrade Actually Matters

You don’t need a new welder to learn. But if you’re fighting an old transformer that stalls on starts and sticks rods constantly, an inverter with arc force and hot start makes a real difference: arc force bumps current as the rod nears short-circuit to prevent sticking, and hot start adds an initial surge for easier ignition. Older transformers largely lack both. Input power matters too — a machine set to 100 A on a 120 V circuit with a long extension cord may deliver noticeably less than the same dial setting on a solid 240 V feed.

The Decision Flow, Summarized

Every settings decision here runs one direction: electrode type and diameter first, then material thickness, joint geometry, and position, then polarity and fine adjustment by bead appearance. The electrode drives the setting, not the reverse. For the broader case on why stick remains worth learning, see Advantages of Stick Welding: Why SMAW Still Wins.

Back to the weekend fabricator from the opening: the rod wasn’t bad, the $200 machine wasn’t bad, and their hands weren’t the problem. The dial was in a random position. Match the rod to the plate, set amperage from the chart, verify polarity, keep arc length tight, and let bead appearance tell you when to nudge up or down. The bird-poop beads turn into stack-of-dimes beads sooner than you’d expect.

Frequently Asked Questions

What amperage should I set my stick welder at?

Start with the published range for your exact electrode diameter — for example 1/8-inch E7018 runs about 90–160 A, 1/8-inch E6013 about 80–130 A. Set the dial to the middle of the range, run a test bead, and adjust: increase amps if the bead is tall and ropey or the rod sticks, decrease if you see heavy spatter or burn-through.

How many amps per 1/8 inch rod is normal?

A common starting rule is about 1 amp per 0.001 inch of electrode diameter, so roughly 100–125 A for a 1/8-inch rod. Actual needs vary by electrode type — E7018 typically runs hotter than E6013 at the same diameter — and by position, machine, and material thickness.

What polarity should a 7018 rod be set to?

E7018 is normally run on DCEP (electrode positive) or AC, per the fourth digit of its AWS classification. DCEP gives the smoothest, most consistent arc; AC versions exist specifically for AC-only machines. Store opened 7018 rods dry, because moisture pickup deposits hydrogen and can cause cracking.

What is the difference between 6013 and 7018 settings?

At the same diameter they have overlapping amp ranges, but E7018 generally needs slightly more current and demands a tight arc and dry storage, while E6013 runs softer with a longer arc tolerance and is friendlier to beginners and thin sheet. E6013 offers shallower penetration; E7018 gives 70,000 psi weld metal for structural work.

Why does my welding rod keep sticking to the metal?

Almost always the amperage is too low, the rod is cold, or the arc was never properly established. Increase amperage in 5–10 A increments, use a confident scratch or tap start, and check your ground clamp and cable connections for resistance that lowers actual output.

Can I stick weld sheet metal without burning through?

Yes — step down to the smallest electrode (1/16-inch or 3/32-inch E6013), set amps at the low end of the range (around 20–70 A depending on thickness), keep a short arc, and move faster. Tack frequently to manage heat buildup across the joint.

Do I need a rod oven to weld with 7018 at home?

For hobby and non-code repairs, keeping rods in their sealed packaging or a dry storage quiver is usually sufficient. For structural code work, low-hydrogen electrodes require controlled storage and re-drying per the applicable welding procedure and AWS specifications.

Why is my stick welder running hotter than the dial says?

Dial markings are indicative; actual output changes with input voltage (120 V vs 240 V), cable length and connections, machine calibration, and load characteristics. Some welders clamp a meter on the leads to confirm real amperage when dial settings don’t match the bead’s behavior.