Proper Storage of 7018 Rods to Prevent Defects - Part 2

Another job I was working on was a big coal-fired power plant in the middle of nowhere. The middle of nowhere in this case was a hundred miles from Amarillo, between Earth and Muleshoe, Texas. At the time there was hardly any work up north and east, so a lot of Iron Workers boomed out to Texas. (An Iron Worker who leaves his local area to travel to another local to work is referred to as a "boomer".)

There were a lot of funny looks given in our union hall when the business agent would tell the guys from Wisconsin or New York to take a bunch of farm roads a hundred miles or so until you are right in the middle of Earth and Muleshoe!

Anyway, one day I'm welding on the outside of a huge girder about 20 floors up. I'm hanging there in my basket when just a few feet away from me a refrigerator goes by heading up to the 22nd floor. I'm thinking either they are going to provide us free beer, or there goes a "rod oven."

So I've seen these refrigerators used by major companies who had bought into the myth.

The third myth on 7018 welding rod storage is that you can "bake" them in your oven at home to get the moisture out. (re-condition) That sounds logical, but again you are going to have your wife mad as heck when she sees a bunch of welding rods in her oven. (Or your husband for you lady welders out there!) :)

To recondition wet 7018 weld rods you need to heat them to around five our six hundred degrees. Do that with your oven and you better have a fire extinguisher handy!

Thank goodness today more and more people are realizing these myths are not cool, and they are finding out that it really is affordable to purchase a good welding electrode oven. First thing most people think is that a rod oven is going to cost them WAY too much money. That ain't so if choose the Keen brand of welding rod ovens!

A portable welding electrode oven is only going to set you back $154 bucks!

You can get a killer bench electrode oven for $500 to $700 bills!

If you're a really big shop or jobsite, you can get a super floor rod oven for a couple of thousand greenbacks, or a fantastic re-conditioning electrode oven from four to six thousand greenbacks!

Welding flux ovens run from 1500 to $4 grand.

When you purchase a product from Keen, you are buying from a company that provides rod ovens to "industries such as aerospace, shipbuilding, oil and construction, and are sold worldwide" by a company that has been around since 1972.

I've been in welding about 25 years and I've known of their reputation from the beginning. They are a top notch company.

The best claim they make and keep is the following…

"As a customer-focused company, we strive to deliver the highest-quality products at the most affordable prices."

In this day and age of "no customer service" it is refreshing to know there are companies like Keen who put the customer FIRST!