Welding Rod Number Chart: Decode Any Electrode Code

You walk into the welding supply store needing a rod for a rusty trailer repair, and the counter guy points to a wall of identical-looking gray sticks: E6010, E6011, E6012, E6013, E7014, E7018. Every box is stamped with a code that looks like a part number, but it is actually a complete instruction sheet for how that rod will behave in your hands. Learn to read the welding rod number chart and you never have to guess again which stick to buy, which polarity to set, or why one rod burns smooth while another blows holes in your workpiece.

The Moment Every Welder Needs a Welding Rod Number Chart

You need to fix a rusty trailer frame before Saturday. At the welding supply counter, the wall behind the register is covered in identical gray boxes, each stamped with a code that looks like an inventory number: E6010, E6011, E6012, E6013, E7014, E7024, E7018. Nothing about “E7018” tells you it will run smooth and quiet, dig deep, or work overhead. Yet every one of those codes is a compact instruction sheet describing exactly how the rod will behave the moment you strike an arc.

The numbers come from the American Welding Society (AWS) classification system, written into specifications such as AWS A5.1 for carbon steel stick electrodes. Read the code correctly and you know four things before you ever pull the trigger: how strong the weld metal will be, which positions you can weld in, what the flux coating does to the arc, and which current your machine must be set to.

Here is the whole idea in one line: E7018 = E for electrode, 70 for 70,000 psi minimum tensile strength, 1 for all-position capability, and 8 for a low-hydrogen potassium/iron powder coating designed for AC or DC electrode positive. That is the decode, and by the end of this article you will do it instinctively for any four- or five-digit number you meet.

Who Actually Uses a Welding Rod Number Chart

More people than you would think. Beginners and hobbyists use it to stop buying rods at random. Farm and repair welders use it to match a rod to whatever steel shows up, from a cracked implement hitch to a sheet-metal enclosure. Trade students use it because instructors quiz on it and certification tests depend on it. Fabricators and inspectors use it because the drawing or the procedure specification names a classification, and substituting a different one is not a shortcut, it is a defect.

Even welders who never touch a stick electrode need the same literacy in other forms. The coding logic carries into all-position welding rod selection and into every other consumable on the truck, which we will get to later in this guide.

First, What Stick Welding Actually Is

Stick welding is formally called SMAW, Shielded Metal Arc Welding. An electric arc melts both the workpiece and a consumable coated electrode. The coating burns into a shielding gas and slag that protect the molten pool from oxygen and nitrogen, while the bare metal tip of the rod becomes filler metal, dripping into the joint. Because the rod is literally consumed as you weld, it is a consumable electrode.

That is different from a filler rod in TIG welding, where the arc comes from a non-consumable tungsten and the filler metal is fed in separately by hand. Same word, “rod,” two completely different jobs. A stick electrode supplies current, shielding and filler at once; a TIG filler rod supplies only metal. Confusing the two at the store is one of the most common shopping mistakes new welders make, and it is exactly the kind of error a number chart prevents. If you want the broader case for keeping SMAW in your lineup, why stick welding still wins in the field makes a strong argument.

How This Article Works Through the Code

We go position by position, digit by digit, so the system becomes mechanical rather than memorized:

1. Digit by digit — what E, ER, the strength digits, the position digit and the coating/current digit each mean, including the five-digit codes like E10018.
2. The full chart — every common AWS A5.1 carbon steel electrode (E6010, E6011, E6012, E6013, E7014, E7024, E7018, E7028) in one reference table with penetration, bead shape and typical uses.
3. Head-to-head — E6010 vs E6011 vs E6013 vs E7018, the four rods that cover most real repair work, with technique, polarity and failure modes.
4. Beyond mild steel — stainless, low-alloy, cast iron and MIG/TIG filler wire codes.
5. Selection and practice — matching rod to job, setting amperage, storing low-hydrogen rods properly, avoiding the mistakes that make a correct chart reading fail anyway, and finishing with safety and code requirements.

By the last section you will be able to pick up any stick electrode box, read the code in about five seconds, and know its strength, position range, coating behavior and required polarity before you pay for it.

How to Read the AWS Electrode Code, Digit by Digit

That string stamped on the box is not a part number. It is a compressed instruction sheet written under the American Welding Society’s classification system, and it reads from left to right the same way you do. Once you know what each slot holds, E7018 stops looking like a SKU and starts telling you the truth: electrode, 70,000 psi minimum tensile strength, all-position capable, low hydrogen potassium coating with iron powder, usable on AC or DC.

The First Letter: E, ER, and What It Tells You

The opening letter identifies the consumable family. E means electrode: a stick that carries welding current directly into the arc and is consumed as you weld. ER means electrode/rod, the designation used for filler wires that feed into a weld puddle rather than completing the circuit as a coated stick, such as MIG wire and TIG filler rod. That is why a spool reads ER70S-2 and a TIG bar reads ER4043, while your stick box reads E7018. Same numbering language, different process. Shop for aluminum filler expecting an E-prefix and you will look forever; we decode filler wires later in this article.

The Tensile Strength Digits: Two or Three?

The digits immediately after the letter give the minimum tensile strength of the deposited weld metal in thousands of pounds per square inch (ksi). On a four-digit code you read the first two: E7018 means 70,000 psi, and E6010 means 60,000 psi. Once strength climbs past 99,000 psi, the AWS adds a digit, so a five-digit code uses the first three. E10018 means 100,000 psi.

The clever part is that everything after the strength digits keeps the identical meaning. In E10018, the 1 is still the position digit and the 8 is still the coating/current digit. Learn one code and you have learned them all. As Lincoln Electric’s AWS classification guide lays out, the layout never shifts; only the width of the strength field changes.

The Position Digit

The next digit describes the welding positions the rod is qualified for:

• 1 = All positions. Flat, horizontal, vertical (up or down) and overhead. E6010, E6011, E6013 and E7018 all carry this digit.
• 2 = Flat and horizontal fillet only. A rod like E7024 belongs on a workbench or a horizontal fillet, not on a vertical wall.
• 3 = Flat only. Production bench work with heavy deposited metal.
• 4 = Flat, horizontal, vertical down and overhead, which suits the fast drag technique rather than a weave or a vertical-up stack.

This single digit saves more bad purchases than any other. Buy a position-2 rod for overhead repair and the arc will sag and drip no matter how steady your hand is. For a deeper look at which rod covers which position, see our All Position Welding Rod Guide.

The Coating and Current Digits

The final digit (or last two digits on some designations) tells you what the flux coating is made of and which currents the rod tolerates. This is Lincoln Electric’s published breakdown:

Digit	Coating type	Compatible current
0	High cellulose sodium	DC+ only
1	High cellulose potassium	AC or DC
2	High titania sodium	AC or DC−
3	High titania potassium	AC or DC+
4	Iron powder titania	AC or DC
5	Low hydrogen sodium	DC+ only
6	Low hydrogen potassium	AC or DC+
7	High iron oxide / iron powder	AC or DC
8	Low hydrogen potassium with iron powder	AC or DC+

DCEP (direct current electrode positive, commonly called reverse polarity) puts the hotter end of the arc on the rod, giving deeper penetration and a stable arc, which is why E6010 and low-hydrogen DC+ rods prefer it. DCEN (direct current electrode negative, straight polarity) drives more heat into the workpiece and melts the rod back faster, useful for some surfacing and root-pass work. AC alternates polarity sixty times a second, which lets one machine run almost any rod, though cellulosic rods designed for DC+ usually arc more smoothly on DC.

Suffixes: H4, H8, the L, and Composition Numbering

Letters after the base code refine the classification. E7018-H4 means the electrode is tested to a maximum of 4 milliliters of diffusible hydrogen per 100 grams of deposited weld metal; H8 and H16 allow 8 and 16 mL respectively. On code work with preheat restrictions, the H-designator is often mandatory rather than optional.

Stainless electrodes switch the numbering logic entirely. Under AWS A5.4, E308L-16 is not telling you tensile strength: 308 identifies the alloy chemistry (roughly 19% chromium, 9% nickel stainless), the L marks low carbon, capped at 0.04%, to avoid sensitization and intergranular corrosion, and the trailing 16 still means exactly what it means on a mild steel rod, a titania-type coating usable on AC or DC+. Low-alloy rods such as E8018-B2 follow yet another pattern where the suffix names the alloy family, which we decode further in the alloy electrode section. Meanwhile ER70S-2 and ER70S-6 use the same 70 = 70,000 psi convention with a final digit describing deoxidizer content, so one numbering system covers the stick, the wire and the TIG rod in your cabinet.

The point of memorizing all this is speed: read left to right, take the strength, take the position, take the coating and current, check any suffix, and you have the rod’s entire personality in about five seconds.

The Complete Welding Rod Number Chart for Carbon Steel Electrodes

Here is the chart you came for. Every rod below is classified under AWS A5.1 for carbon steel electrodes, which is the specification that governs the mild-steel stick rods you will find in almost any shop. Read across a single row and you get the complete personality of that rod: how strong the weld metal is, where you can use it, what the coating is made of, which current it wants, how deep it bites, and what it is actually good for.

Electrode	Min. Tensile	Position	Coating Type	Current	Penetration	Deposition / Bead	Typical Applications
E6010	60,000 psi	All position	High cellulose sodium	DC+ (DCEP)	Deep, sharp	Moderate; forceful arc, narrow bead, heavy slag	Pipe root passes, positional open roots, dirty or rusty plate, demolition work
E6011	60,000 psi	All position	High cellulose potassium	AC or DC+	Deep, penetrating	Moderate; similar to 6010 but steadier on AC	Farm and repair work, rusty/greasy/painted metal, sheet-to-pipe, maintenance
E6012	60,000 psi	All position	High titania sodium	DC+ or DC-	Moderate	Fast; heavier bead, higher spatter than 6013	Root passes on open roots, tack welds, fillets on light steel
E6013	60,000 psi	All position	High titania potassium	AC, DC+ or DC-	Shallow to moderate	Low spatter; soft arc, smooth, flat bead, easy slag	Beginners, thin sheet, ductwork, general light fabrication, cosmetic work
E7014	70,000 psi	All position	High titania potassium + iron powder	AC, DC+ or DC-	Moderate	Faster than 6013; smooth bead, moderate spatter, easy slag	Speed pass on medium plate, cap passes, repair on clean steel
E7024	70,000 psi	Flat & horizontal fillet	High iron powder titania	AC, DC+ or DC-	Moderate	High deposition; straight drag, wide smooth bead	Heavy flat production welds, tank and ship fabrication, high-speed fillets
E7018	70,000 psi	All position	Low hydrogen potassium + iron powder	AC or DC+	Moderate, controlled	Low spatter; smooth, ripple-free bead, short tough slag	Structural steel, pressure vessels, anything built to a code, root-to-cap passes
E7028	70,000 psi	Flat & horizontal fillet	High iron powder low hydrogen	DC+	Moderate	Very high deposition; fast drag bead, quiet arc	Production fillet welds on plate and structural shapes, shipbuilding

If you only remember four rows, make them the first, second, third and seventh. The All Position Welding Rod Guide covers that same core group in more depth when you are ready to practice them.

Two quick checks before you buy. First, tensile strength: the “60” rods give you a minimum 60,000 psi and the “70” rods give you 70,000 psi. Second, position: a rod ending in “1” works flat, horizontal, vertical and overhead, while a rod ending in “2” or “4” restricts you to the positions listed in the chart. For a fuller explanation of those digits, see Earlbeck’s guide to choosing a stick electrode.

Notice also that one classification number covers a whole family of sizes. A box of E7018 and a box of E7018 are not the same product if one is 3/32 inch and the other is 1/8 inch, and a 5/32-inch rod forces more heat into the joint than a 1/8-inch rod on the same setting. Brand names blur this further: Lincoln’s Fleetweld, Hobart’s Shield-Arc and ESAB’s Atom Arc all carry trade names on the box, but the AWS number stamped on them is the real specification. Ignore the marketing label and read the code.

E6010 vs E6011 vs E6013 vs E7018: The Four Rods That Explain the Whole Chart

Four electrodes account for most of the stick welding done in real repair shops, farms and fabrication bays. Once you can explain why E6010, E6011, E6013 and E7018 behave so differently from one another, the rest of the welding rod number chart stops looking like a parts catalog and starts making sense: same 60,000 psi family, wildly different arcs, completely different coating chemistry. This section walks each rod through arc character, penetration, polarity, technique, slag and the specific ways people ruin a job with it.

E6010: The Deep-Burning Root Rod

The 6010 is a cellulosic electrode, meaning its coating is loaded with wood-pulp-derived cellulose that burns off aggressively and blasts the arc into the plate. The result is a fast-freeze, narrow, forceful arc with deep, spear-like penetration and very little wash. It runs on DC electrode positive (DCEP, also called reverse polarity) only, a requirement confirmed by Lincoln Electric’s AWS classification reference. Welders use it for open-root pipe, gap-filled joints and anywhere you need to burn through and establish a keyhole. The classic manipulation is whip-and-pause: strike, extend slightly forward, drag back, pause, advance. Slag comes off thin and crusty, usually needing nothing more than a wire brush.

The misuse that bites hardest: putting E6010 on an AC-only machine. It will technically strike an arc, but it surges, sputters and wanders because cellulosic coatings without a potassium AC stabilizer cannot hold a consistent arc across zero-crossings. Expect spatter, undercut and an unpredictable keyhole.

E6011: The Same Rod, Built for Rust and AC

E6011 is essentially the AC-capable sibling of E6010, with a stabilizer added so it can run on alternating current as well as DCEP. That single change makes it the universal farm-repair electrode: it welds through light rust, mill scale, paint residue and old galvanizing far better than a clean-running rod designed for prepared joints. It shares the 6010’s deep penetration and whip-and-pause technique, and it works in every position. It is the rod to reach for when grinding the paint off a tractor frame is not happening today. The All Position Welding Rod Guide covers how position capability shows up across different rod families.

E6013: The Smooth, Forgiving Sheet-Metal Rod

The 6013 uses a rutile (titanium dioxide) coating that produces a soft, stable, easy-to-restart arc with shallow, wide penetration. It runs on AC or DC, starts cleanly even on cold metal, and lays a smooth, convex bead with a glassy slag that lifts off in one piece. Technique is a straight drag, no whipping. That gentleness is the point: on thin sheet, deep penetration equals burn-through, and the 6013 simply does not have the bite to blow holes easily.

Its misuse is just as predictable. Because penetration is shallow, an E6013 laid over a heavy structural joint produces a bead that sits on the metal instead of fusing into it. On a base plate, a hitch mount or anything load-bearing, that is a cold-lap trap waiting for a crack. Use it for ductwork, cosmetic passes, root-free fill on clean steel and practice plates.

E7018: The Low-Hydrogen Structural Standard

The jump from 60 to 70 is a real strength increase: E7018 delivers a 70,000 psi minimum tensile strength along with noticeably better notch toughness than the 60-series rods, which is exactly why structural codes call for it on load-bearing steel. The “1” means all-position capable, and the “8” tells you it is a low-hydrogen, iron-powder coating that runs best on DC, with many variants also tolerating AC. It wants a short arc and a slight drag angle of roughly 10–15 degrees. Arc length is not a style preference here; it is the whole ballgame. A long arc on E7018 pulls air into the shielding zone of the coating, defeats the low-hydrogen chemistry, and hands you porosity and spatter. Treated correctly, it lays a flat, smooth, quiet bead under a thicker, denser slag that chips off cleanly.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Rod	Min. Tensile	Positions	Coating	Current	Penetration	Technique
E6010	60,000 psi	All	Cellulosic	DCEP only	Deep, narrow	Whip-and-pause
E6011	60,000 psi	All	Cellulosic + AC stabilizer	AC or DCEP	Deep, narrow	Whip-and-pause
E6013	60,000 psi	All (best flat/horizontal)	Rutile	AC or DC	Shallow, soft	Straight drag
E7018	70,000 psi	All	Low-hydrogen iron powder	DC (many AC-rated)	Moderate, clean	Short arc, slight drag

Four Real Jobs, Four Different Rods

• Farm gate hinge repair: rusty plate outdoors, maybe only an AC buzz box available. E6011 at 3/32 or 1/8, whip-and-pause, no grinding marathon required.
• Trailer frame patch: grind the seam clean first, then E6010 on DCEP for the root to burn through, followed by hot-pass and fill. If the frame is structural and the drawing specifies E7018, finish with 7018.
• Sheet metal ductwork: 20–24 gauge clean steel, 1/16 E6013 on AC or DC, low amperage, straight drag. Anything deeper-penetrating will burn holes.
• Structural base plate: code work, load path, inspected joint. E7018, short arc, correct drag angle, dry rod from a sealed pack. Not a 6013, not a wet 7018.

The pattern holds across all four: match the rod’s coating behavior to the condition of the metal and the consequences of the joint. Our Airgas Welding Supplies guide walks through stocking the right boxes before a project starts, while the Advantages of Stick Welding piece explains why welders still prefer this process for field work. For a second opinion on matching an electrode to a specific job, Earlbeck’s stick electrode guide is worth a read.

Reading the Numbers Beyond Mild Steel: Stainless, Low-Alloy, Cast Iron and Filler Wires

Here is the good news about everything you learned in the previous sections: the grammar of the AWS system does not change when the base metal does. The AWS classification format always works left to right, always ends with coating and current information, and always tells you what the electrode is made for. What changes is the vocabulary in the middle of the code. Once you spot which standard applies, you can decode a stainless rod, a chrome-moly rod, a cast iron rod, or a spool of MIG wire with the same five-second habit you use on an E7018 box.

Stainless Steel Electrodes: The Numbers Describe Chemistry, Not Strength

Stainless stick electrodes are covered by AWS A5.4, and this is where readers most often trip up. On a mild steel rod, the first digits after the E are a strength rating. On a stainless rod, they are an alloy family. E308L means the weld metal is a 308-type chromium-nickel austenitic stainless, the same family as common 304 stainless. The L stands for low carbon (0.04% maximum in A5.4), which reduces carbide precipitation in the heat-affected zone and helps the joint resist corrosion after welding.

Swap the number and you swap the job:

• E308L — joining 304-type stainless to itself; the everyday stainless rod.
• E309L — welding stainless to mild or alloy steel, and overlaying carbon steel with stainless. Higher alloy content buffers the dilution.
• E316L — molybdenum-bearing stainless for marine, food and chemical service where pitting resistance matters.

The final digit keeps its familiar meaning. E308L-16 uses a rutile-type coating and runs on AC or DCEP, while a -15 suffix is a lime-type coating restricted to DC, producing a flatter, cleaner bead on thin material. For heavily corroded or highly alloyed service beyond the standard 308/309/316 range, the same reading habit applies to specialty classifications, as covered in our Alloy 20 Welding: Procedures, Filler Metals, and Best Practices guide.

Low-Alloy Electrodes: A Suffix Carries the Chemistry

Low-alloy stick electrodes fall under AWS A5.5, and here the mild steel numbering returns with an alloy tail attached. Take E8018-B2:

• 80 — 80,000 psi minimum tensile strength
• 1 — all positions
• 8 — low-hydrogen iron-powder coating, DC reverse
• B2 — a chromium-molybdenum (roughly 2¼Cr-1Mo) alloy for high-temperature, creep-resistant service such as boiler tubing and pressure piping

Other suffixes follow the same logic: -B6 and -B9 are higher-chrome variants for hotter service, -C1 and -C2 add nickel for low-temperature toughness, and -D1 is a manganese-molybdenum type for structural work. A -H4 or -H8 hydrogen suffix can still be appended. Our Alloy Steel Welding Electrodes: Selection, Use & Safety guide walks deeper into choosing between these families.

Cast Iron Electrodes: A Different Alphabet

Cast iron rods are classified under AWS A5.15, and here the strength numbers disappear completely. ENi-CI is the nickel-type rod: it deposits a soft, machinable weld and is the go-to choice for rebuilding intricate castings such as pump housings and gearbox cases. ENiFe-CI is the nickel-iron type: stronger, more tolerant of heat, and the better pick for joining cast iron to steel or building up heavily loaded surfaces. The CI simply flags cast iron service, so read polarity, position and current off the A5.15 specification or the manufacturer’s box rather than hunting for digits that are not there.

Filler Wires: How ER70S-6 Reads

The MIG and TIG world runs a parallel code that mirrors the stick chart almost exactly. ER means the product is classified as both an electrode and a rod, so the same wire can be push-fed in GMAW or hand-fed in GTAW. ER70S-6 breaks down like this:

• ER — electrode/rod
• 70 — 70,000 psi minimum tensile strength
• S — solid (non-flux-cored) wire
• 6 — deoxidizer level, with 6 carrying higher deoxidizer content suited to dirtier, rustier or mill-scaled steel

An ER70S-2 is triple-deoxidized with aluminium, titanium and zirconium, making it the forgiving choice on contaminated or oddball steel, while ER70S-3 and ER70S-6 cover clean to moderately scaled plate, with S-6 producing the smoothest, most fluid bead profile. When the number changes to an aluminium alloy family, strength drops off the label and the alloy takes over: ER4043 is a silicon-bearing filler with a fluid puddle that hides porosity and suits architectural and machined parts, while ER5356 is magnesium-bearing, stronger, and preferred for marine and higher-load aluminium work. We cover both in depth in Aluminum MIG Welding: The Complete Practical Guide.

The pattern is always the same: find the standard, read left to right, and the code tells you strength or chemistry, then position, then coating and current. Do that consistently and no electrode label will ever look like a part number again.

Matching the Rod to the Job: Base Metal, Thickness, Position and Amperage

Knowing how to decode your welding rod is only half the battle. The real skill comes from turning that classification into a sound, safe weld for the metal sitting in front of you. Instead of guessing, taking a methodical approach will prevent cracked joints, excessive spatter, and a mountain of wasted electrodes.

The Step-By-Step Selection Method

Before you even strike an arc, run through this checklist to narrow your selection down every time:

1. Identify the base metal type and grade. For the vast majority of farm, trailer, and general repair work, you’ll be dealing with mild steel such as A36. If you’re branching outside of that into specialty materials like those covered in our alloy steel welding electrodes guide, your filler requirements will change drastically.
2. Check the drawing or WPS for the required classification. For code-governed or structural work, the exact rod will be dictated by a Welding Procedure Specification (WPS). When a drawing calls for a specific classification, such as E7018, substituting it is not a legal or safe option.
3. Match the tensile strength. For mild steel, matching filler is the norm. For example, welding A36 (36,000 psi) with a 70,000 psi rod like E7018 is incredibly common for structural applications. However, you must never under-match the tensile strength of a load-bearing or restrained structural joint.
4. Choose the correct position from the third digit. Take a glance at the third digit of your AWS code. This will tell you if the rod is capable of going out of position. A position 2 rod (like E6012) is only rated for flat and horizontal fillet welds, whilst a position 1 rod can be used in all positions. This one digit alone will prevent the classic mistake of buying a flat-only rod for overhead or vertical work.
5. Pick your polarity based off of the fourth digit and power source. The final digit of the classification dictates the compatible current, whether that be DCEP (Reverse), DCEN (Straight), or AC. Cross reference this with your machine’s capabilities, as running the wrong polarity will lead to an unstable arc no matter how dialed in your amperage is.
6. Set your amperage to your diameter and thickness. With your rod selected, the last piece to lock in is your heat. This is where your electrode diameter paired with your plate thickness takes priority.

Practical Amperage Reference For Mild Steel

There isn’t one “perfect” number for every bead, however, most manufacturers base their starting points off of a very common field rule of thumb: roughly 1 amp of current per 0.001 inch of electrode diameter for mild steel (about 125 A for a 1/8-inch rod). With the help of resources such as Lincoln Electric’s AWS Classifications guide, these starting ranges can be used reliably before fine tuning to your technique.

Rod Diameter (inches)	Typical Amperage Range (Mild Steel)	Common Notes
1/16″	20 – 40 A	Great for thin sheet metal and light repairs. Easy to burn through if cranked too high.
3/32″	40 – 90 A	Extremely versatile for general hobby and repair work.
1/8″	75 – 125 A	The shop workhorse. Handles a massive range of thicknesses with the right joint prep.
5/32″	110 – 180 A	Best for heavier plate. Requires a machine with enough output and solid control to prevent excessive heat.

Keep in mind that these are starting ranges. Out of position work will almost always require you to drop towards the lower end of the range, whilst a nice, clean fit-up may allow you to run slightly higher than a gappy joint would.

Open-Root vs Fill Passes, and Vertical Direction

Your amperage and travel will change drastically depending off of which pass you’re laying down. An open-root pass needs extreme puddle control to achieve full penetration without blowing the keyhole wide open. For fill and cap passes, you can bump amperage slightly (within reason) and travel a little faster to build width and reinforcement.

When going vertical, direction is everything. Vertical-up is the preferred method for structural and load-bearing joints, as it allows for much better fusion and deposition on thicker material. Vertical-down is quicker, however it produces shallower penetration, making it far less ideal for anything that will see heavy loads or stress.

At the end of the day, the welding rod number chart isn’t there to memorize every single rod, it’s there to make a calculated decision. Identify your metal, confirm your required classification, check your position rating, match your polarity, and dial your amperage to your diameter. Do this every time, and you’ll be selecting the correct rod with confidence, no matter what the counter guy points you towards.

The Number Is Only Half the Story: Electrode Storage and Low-Hydrogen Discipline

You can read the welding rod number chart perfectly, pick E7018 for the job, set the right polarity and amperage, and still end up with a porous, cracking weld. The code on the box tells you how the rod is supposed to behave when it leaves the factory. It says nothing about what happened to that rod after the box was opened. Storage is the invisible half of electrode selection, and for low-hydrogen rods it is the half that decides whether your weld holds for decades or fails quietly hours after you put the stinger down.

Why Some Rods Want Moisture and Others Must Never Have It

Not all coatings treat water the same way. Cellulosic electrodes like E6010 and E6011 are manufactured with a deliberate moisture content: ESAB reports that these rods hold roughly 4 to 6 percent moisture as built, and that moisture is part of the design. It creates the forceful, deep-penetrating arc these rods are known for. Low-hydrogen electrodes are the opposite. E7018 and its family ship at about 0.1 to 0.4 percent moisture, sealed in hermetically closed cans or vacuum packs specifically to keep it that way.

The problem starts the moment you crack the seal. A low-hydrogen coating is hygroscopic, meaning it quietly absorbs water out of shop air. Once that moisture reaches the arc, the heat dissociates it into hydrogen and oxygen, and hydrogen atoms dissolve into the molten weld pool. As the weld cools, the hydrogen tries to escape, builds pressure in the shrinking metal, and can produce delayed hydrogen cracking, also called underbead or cold cracking. The cruel part is the timing: the bead looks fine when you finish, and the crack appears hours or even days later, often in the heat-affected zone where you can least afford it. For a deeper look at how this plays out on alloyed steels, see our guide to Alloy Steel Welding Electrodes: Selection, Use & Safety.

The Handling Rules: What AWS D1.1-Style Practice Looks Like

Structural codes take this seriously. The general handling approach associated with AWS D1.1-style practice and manufacturer guidance looks like this:

• Direct transfer. Move low-hydrogen electrodes straight from the sealed package into a holding oven. Do not carry them around the shop in your glove first.
• Holding temperature. Most manufacturers recommend holding ovens at about 225 to 300°F (107 to 149°C), with D1.1 calling for storage ovens maintained at a minimum of roughly 250°F (120°C). ESAB’s storage and redrying guidance walks through the specifics.
• The four-hour clock. Field guidance commonly cited from D1.1 limits open atmospheric exposure of low-hydrogen electrodes to about four hours before they must be rebaked per the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Rebake, not rescue. Typical rebake schedules run around 700 to 800°F (370 to 430°C) for about one hour, and manufacturers limit how many rebake cycles a rod may receive before the coating degrades and the rods are scrapped.

One more rule surprises beginners: never store cellulosic rods in the same oven as low-hydrogen rods. A holding oven at 250°F will slowly bake the designed moisture right out of E6010 and E6011, wrecking their arc characteristics. Cellulosic rods live in their original boxes at room temperature; only the low-hydrogen rods get the oven. The same moisture logic applies to other consumables, which is why Aluminum Cleaner for Welding: How to Prep Aluminum Right matters for aluminum work, where surface contamination plays an equivalent role.

A Home-Shop Storage Checklist

You do not need an industrial setup to get this right. A practical home-shop routine:

1. Buy low-hydrogen rods in sealed cans or vacuum packs and keep them sealed until the day you use them.
2. If you weld E7018 with any regularity, invest in a small rod oven, or store unopened packs in a dry, climate-controlled space away from floor moisture.
3. Label the date and time you open each pack. That simple habit enforces the four-hour exposure window without any guesswork.
4. Keep a shallow, covered rod quiver at the machine for the rods you are actively running, and return leftovers to the oven at end of day.
5. Store E6010, E6011, E6013 and other cellulosic or rutile rods in their original cardboard boxes at room temperature.
6. Rebake only per the manufacturer’s written instructions, and count the cycles.

Doing this is cheaper than any alternative. A spool of properly stored rod costs far less than grinding out a cracked structural joint, and the discipline takes about five minutes a day. For context on how much easier some processes make hydrogen control, compare with Aluminum MIG Welding: The Complete Practical Guide, where shielding gas handling replaces coating management entirely.

The chart tells you which rod to buy. Storage decides whether that rod performs the way the chart promised. Read the code, respect the seal, and keep the oven running.

Common Mistakes Reading and Using a Welding Rod Number Chart (and How to Fix Them)

Reading the code correctly is only half the battle. The other half is resisting the habits that quietly undo what the chart told you. Almost every bad stick weld I get asked about traces back to one of a handful of chart-reading errors, and every one of them shows up in the bead before it shows up in the joint. Here is the symptom, the real cause, and the fix.

What you see	Mistake behind it	The fix
Stalling, wandering arc; shallow penetration on E6010	Machine set to AC or DCEN instead of DCEP	Set electrode negative? No: set electrode positive, and verify your leads
Porosity, hissing/erratic arc after a day or two of use	E7018 left out of sealed packaging and moisture-starved or hydrogen-loaded	Rebake per the manufacturer’s schedule, or scrap aged rods
Sagging, flat beads overhead and vertical	Bought a position-2 electrode (flat and horizontal fillet only)	Swap to a third digit of 1 for all-position work
Blow-through, wide flat beads, warped thin plate	Amperage too high, often used to mask dirty metal or poor technique	Clean the joint, drop 10–15 A, shorten the arc
Tall, narrow beads with cold lap and trapped slag	Amperage too low or travel speed too fast	Raise amperage, slow down, let the puddle wet out
Brittle, under-strength repair on a load-bearing part	Treated 60,000 psi and 70,000 psi rods as interchangeable	Match or exceed the required tensile strength
Wrong box bought at the supply counter	Confused an E-coded stick electrode with ER-coded MIG/TIG filler	Check the prefix: E is stick, ER is filler wire
Failed inspection on a code job	Ignored the WPS or AWS D1.1 classification callout	Weld exactly to the specified classification and process

Polarity Mistakes: The Rod Works, the Setting Doesn’t

An E6010 is specified for DC electrode positive (DCEP) only, so running it on a machine set to AC or to DCEN produces an unstable arc and poor penetration, no matter how good your hand is. The final digit in the chart made that promise in advance: a 1 means DCEP, a 4 means AC or DCEP, and so on, as Lincoln Electric’s AWS classification reference lays out. The fix is cheap: put the electrode lead on positive, confirm with your machine’s labels, and re-strike. E6011 will tolerate AC on a transformer machine, but it still performs better on DC, which is why experienced electrode guides tell you to match the rod to the power source you actually own before you match it to the metal.

Wet E7018: The Rod That Betrays You

Low-hydrogen rods ship sealed for a reason. Once E7018 is stored outside its sealed packaging it absorbs atmospheric moisture, and the resulting weld can show porosity, an erratic arc and elevated hydrogen cracking risk, sometimes showing up as a delayed crack hours after you finished. ESAB’s storage and redrying guidance recommends keeping rods in their original container or a holding oven and rebaking only to the manufacturer’s stated temperature and time. A rod that has sat open on the bench for a week is not a bargain; it is a liability you cannot see until the joint is under load.

Amperage Used as a Crutch

Turning the dial up feels like progress. On contaminated or rusty metal it mostly burns away your chances. Excess amperage causes excessive penetration and burn-through, visible as a wide flat bead or an outright hole, while low amperage produces cold lap, slag inclusions and a tall, narrow bead. Clean the joint first, set amperage from the rod diameter and plate thickness, then adjust technique. If you are fighting the puddle on a structural repair, the deeper problem may be the rod choice itself, which is where the Alloy Steel Welding Electrodes: Selection, Use & Safety guide becomes useful reading.

The last trap is procedural rather than technical: ignoring the WPS or AWS D1.1 on code jobs. A drawing that specifies E7018 means E7018, not a close substitute, and OSHA’s welding, cutting and brazing standard sits alongside those code requirements as a reminder that the professional framework is bigger than your rod box. Learn the chart on scrap, work through All Position Welding Rod Guide: Types, Uses & Tips when you move into vertical and overhead, and keep the chart on the wall where the mistakes happen: in front of the machine, not in your head.

Safety, Codes and Next Steps: Using the Chart Like a Professional

You can now decode any stick electrode in about five seconds. That skill is genuinely valuable, but it is worth remembering what the chart does and does not tell you. The numbers describe the rod’s metallurgy and behavior; they do not authorize you to weld a beam, a pressure vessel or a trailer frame someone else will depend on. Using the welding rod number chart like a professional means reading it alongside the two things that govern real work: safety practice and welding codes.

The Safety Half: Fumes, Fire and Protective Equipment

Stick welding is one of the dirtier processes you can run. The flux coating burns, boils off binders and minerals, and puts metal fumes, gases and fine particulate into the air right next to your face. OSHA’s welding, cutting and brazing standard, 29 CFR 1910.252, sets the baseline expectations for any shop doing hot work: adequate ventilation or respiratory protection, removal or protection of combustible materials, fire watches where needed, and appropriate protective equipment. In plain terms, that means:

• Ventilate the space or wear respiratory protection. Welding in a closed garage with the door shut is not a shortcut; it is how welders end up in the emergency room.
• Clear paper, solvents and rags from the area, protect what cannot move, and keep an extinguisher within reach.
• Wear an auto-darkening helmet or a fixed-lens hood at the correct shade for your amperage (shade 10 to 13 covers most stick work), heavy gloves, and closed protective clothing rather than a hoodie with the sleeves pushed up.

If you are new to fume management or machine setup, OSHA’s welding and cutting topic page collects the relevant guidance in one place, and our Advantages of Stick Welding guide covers why SMAW stays dominant despite the fume trade-off.

The Code Half: D1.1, WPS and the Substitution Trap

On anything structural, the welding world runs on published codes, and the dominant one for structural steel is AWS D1.1, Structural Welding Code – Steel. D1.1 reaches far beyond electrode choice: it governs preheat, storage and handling of low-hydrogen electrodes, joint design, inspection and acceptance criteria. Inside that framework sits the Welding Procedure Specification (WPS), a document naming the exact electrode classification the job requires, along with polarity, position, current range and other variables.

This is where chart readers get into trouble. A drawing that calls for E7018 means E7018, or another classification the engineer has formally qualified. Swapping in E6011 because you had a box on the shelf is a compliance failure even if the weld looks perfect, because the inspection report and the procedure no longer agree. Welder credentials matter too: performance qualifications are issued under the AWS QC systems (AWS QC4 for welder qualification in the D1.1 world), and they certify a welder to specific processes and positions under a qualified procedure. For context, our Alloy Steel Welding Electrodes article shows how quickly electrode rules tighten once the base metal leaves plain carbon steel.

Your Five-Second Decode, Recapped

When you face that wall of boxes again, run the same sequence every time:

1. Letter: E means stick electrode; ER means filler wire for MIG or TIG.
2. First two or three digits: tensile strength in thousands of psi. E60 = 60,000 psi, E70 = 70,000 psi.
3. Next digit: position capability. 1 is all position, 2 is flat and horizontal only.
4. Final digit: coating type and compatible current, from the digit table in Section 2. 8, for example, is a basic low-hydrogen coating for DCEP or AC.
5. Suffixes: H4, H8 and H16 flag diffusible hydrogen limits for crack-sensitive work.

That is the whole system. Once it is internal, you never need to ask the counter guy again.

Where to Practice Next

The fastest way to make the chart automatic is deliberate practice on scrap, in a fixed order. Start with E6013: forgiving arc starts and light penetration let you learn puddle control without fighting the rod. Move to E6011 and E6010, where deeper penetration and fast-freezing puddles teach you arc length, the whip-and-pause rhythm, and root-pass discipline on dirty or gap-heavy joints. Finish with E7018, which rewards a tight arc, steady drag and proper rod handling. If you want to push further into wire processes, Aluminum MIG Welding and Aluminum Flux Core Welding: What Actually Works in 2026 translate the same reading habits into the ER-series filler codes.

The number stamped on a stick electrode box is, in the end, a compact contract between the rod manufacturer and the welder. It promises tensile strength, position capability and a coating built for a specific current. Your job is to read that promise correctly, verify it against the WPS, store the rods so they still perform as printed, and protect yourself while the arc does its work. Do those four things and the chart stops being an intimidating wall of codes and becomes what it was always meant to be: the shortest path to the right rod, every single time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do the numbers on a welding rod mean?

They are the AWS classification code. In E7018, the E stands for electrode, 70 means the deposited weld metal has a minimum tensile strength of 70,000 psi, the 1 means the rod can be used in all welding positions, and the 8 identifies a low-hydrogen potassium with iron-powder coating designed for AC or DC electrode positive current.

What is the difference between E6010, E6011, E6013 and E7018?

E6010 and E6011 are deep-penetration cellulosic rods for root passes and dirty metal, with E6010 running DC+ only and E6011 also usable on AC. E6013 is a soft, low-penetration rutile rod great for thin metal and beginners, while E7018 is a stronger (70,000 psi), low-hydrogen structural rod that runs smooth but must be kept dry.

What does the second digit in the welding rod number tell me?

In a four-digit code, the middle digit (the third character overall, such as the 1 in E7018) is the position digit: 1 means all positions (flat, horizontal, vertical and overhead), 2 means flat and horizontal fillet welds only, and 4 means flat, horizontal, vertical down and overhead.

Can I use E6013 or E6011 instead of E7018 on structural steel?

Only if the job is not governed by a code or procedure that specifies the classification. Structural drawings and specifications commonly call for low-hydrogen electrodes like E7018, and substituting a 60,000 psi rod reduces joint strength and violates the qualified procedure even if the bead looks acceptable.

Why does my E7018 rod run worse after being left out of the box?

Low-hydrogen coatings absorb moisture from the air. That moisture dissociates in the arc and puts hydrogen into the weld, causing an erratic arc, rough bead, porosity and an increased risk of delayed hydrogen cracking. Rebake per the manufacturer’s instructions and return rods to a holding oven around 250°F (about 120°C), or start a fresh sealed pack.

How do I know what amperage to set for my welding rod?

Set current based on rod diameter, material thickness, position and your machine, following the rod manufacturer’s published range. As a rough field starting point for mild steel, many welders use about 1 amp per 0.001 inch of diameter, so a 1/8-inch rod starts around 110–125 amps, then you fine-tune by bead appearance.

What does ER70S-6 mean on a spool of MIG wire or a TIG filler rod?

E means electrode, R means rod (filler), 70 indicates 70,000 psi minimum tensile strength, S means solid wire, and the 6 is a deoxidizer designation telling you the wire has extra deoxidizers suited to welding steel with mill scale or rust. It is the same numbering logic as stick electrodes, extended for filler metals.

Why are the numbers different on stainless and cast iron rods?

Stainless electrodes such as E308L-16 are classified mainly by weld metal chemistry (a 308-type stainless, with L for low carbon), and the trailing 16 still tells you coating and current. Cast iron rods such as ENi-CI and ENiFe-CI are nickel-based classifications under AWS A5.15, so the code describes the alloy rather than a tensile strength number.

Where can I find an official welding rod number chart?

The classification system is defined in AWS filler metal specifications such as A5.1 for carbon steel SMAW electrodes, and major manufacturers publish free versions of the chart. Lincoln Electric’s AWS classifications page and ESAB’s electrode storage resources are good starting references before you invest in the full AWS specification.