What Is the Easiest Stick Welding Rod to Use?

ByAndrew Valsamis Updated on Stick

One of the things you may ask yourself when using stick welding (SMAW) is which is the easiest welding electrode (or rod) to use. Especially if you are a beginner and want an easy rod to start.

The easiest welding rod to use is a 1/8″ (3.2 mm) E6013 rod. The fact that most welding schools start teaching with E6013 rods is proof enough. An E6013 has an easy arc strike and is the most forgiving of various manipulation errors during welding.

A photo of E6013 stick electrodes
E6013 stick electrodes

Let’s see the topic in more detail, why a 6013 is easy, and how easier it is compared to the other rods.

Table of Contents

Why an E6013 is the easiest welding rod?

The main reason why the E6013 is the easiest rod is that it has a rutile (or titania) flux covering. Rutile is a mineral that creates a very smooth and stable welding arc with low penetration. With this arc, you can experience the easiest welding.

For the weldor

An E6013 arc is very easy to start and restart if necessary. This is one of the advantages against other hard-to-use rods, such as the basic E7018 rod.

When running the bead, an E6013 will keep burning even if you mishandle the arc length, rod angle, or travel speed up to a point.

Without precise handling, other rod types will stick and extinguish or create various welding defects such as porosity or blowing through the metal.

The soft arc of an E6013 offers low penetration, which reduces the risk of blowing through thin metal. This is one of the most common problems when stick welding thin metals, along with metal distortion.

After finishing each bead, an E6013 forms a slag covering that is very easy to remove, or it may even remove itself as it cools down.

The bead is good-looking with less spatter than other rods. In most cases, there is no need to spend any time improving it.

For the welding machine

E6013 rods are easy for the welding machine too:

  • E6013 rods don’t need a high open-circuit voltage (OCV) (Wikipedia) to strike the arc. OCV is the voltage at the electrode’s tip and on the base metal before you strike the arc. This makes the E6013 rods suitable even for small and affordable welding machines with a 50-volt OCV.
  • Their flux covering has low amounts of iron powder. As a result, they do not require machines with high amperage output and duty cycle.
  • Moreover, E6013 rods support both current types (AC and DC).

As a result, all stick welding machines will burn E6013 rods. Other rods such as the E7018 and the E6010 rods require suitable power supplies.

Other factors that make them easy to use

Apart from the arc characteristics and the easy handling of the E6013 rods, some additional reasons make them easy to weld with:

  • The welding fumes of E6013 rods are the least harmful ones. This makes fume protection such as ventilation and respirators simpler and more affordable.
  • The storage of E6013 rods is simple. You keep them in their original packaging to protect them from the atmosphere’s moisture and physical damage.
  • They are popular rods, so you can get a lot of advice about them.
  • Finally, they are easy to find and inexpensive.

Why is a 1/8″ rod diameter the easiest to use?

A 1/8″ welding rod diameter is the easiest to use because it offers excellent stability at the rod’s tip, so you can start the arc easier. At the same time, it creates a medium-sized puddle that is easy to handle.

On the contrary, thin diameters, for example, 5/64″ (2 mm), will shake a lot at the tip, making the arc harder to strike and the rod easier to stick.

With a 1/8″ E6013, you can weld workpieces that are 1/8″ and thicker, ideally around 3/16″ (4.8 mm) thick.

Furthermore, a 1/8″ E6013 has an amperage upper limit of 140A. This makes it suitable for many affordable power supplies.

The next easiest rod size would be the 3/32″ (2.4 mm), and it is the most common rod size.

What are the E6013’s welding difficulties?

The bad thing with E6013 rods is that you don’t have good puddle visibility. The molten metal and the molten flux (slag) in the puddle are mixed. This prevents you from seeing the melting of the base metal, the size of the crater, the metal filling it, etc.

Poor puddle visibility is the main reason why many welders do not like to weld with E6013 rods.

With other rods, such as an E7018, you can clearly see what is going on in the puddle, while the slag is staying separate behind it.

E6013 rods also tend to cause more slag inclusions. That is when slag gets trapped in the solidified weld metal. Low amperage, poor rod angle, slow speed, and long arc length are the causes.

E6013s compared to the other rutile rods

The E6012 rod is similar to the E6013 rod but has an arc that is slightly more aggressive with more spatter. That makes it a bit harder to weld with.

E7014 is stronger with 70K tensile strength, has better penetration, wetting, productivity, and is less prone to slag inclusions. It is the best overall rutile rod to weld with. But while it is an easy rod to use, it is not as easy as an E6013, especially when you try to weld thinner metals.

The E7024 is like an E7014 with more iron powder in the flux. It is considered a “drag” rod because you can hold it on the workpiece and let it burn without trying to keep a steady arc length. That makes it really easy to use.

But an E7024 rod is restricted to the flat position and horizontal fillet welds of much thicker metals. It also needs a much higher amperage to burn for the same rod diameter, thus a larger power supply to burn them.

While all rutile rods are easy to use, E6013 is overall the easiest one, especially for thinner metals.

Compared to basic rods

Rods with basic (or low-hydrogen) flux, such as the E7018 and the E7016, are not easy to use, especially for a beginner. The chemicals in the flux don’t allow an easy arc strike.

It is even worse if you stop and try to restart the rod. The wire burns back into the flux and gets covered with molten flux. This acts as insulation, making it very difficult to restart the arc. These rods are meant to start once and burn them whole with one try.

These rods tend to stick to the workpiece easier, and you need good skill to maintain a steady arc length from start to finish to avoid defects such as porosity.

Basic rods require a high OCV of at least 70V to start the arc and keep burning.

Compared to cellulosic rods

Cellulosic rods such as the E6011 are more difficult to weld because their arc is very aggressive. It digs and burns through the workpiece very fast with high heat and spatter. These rods require long practice to get used to them.

Like basic rods, they require a high OCV to work. Also, their slag is thin but hard to clean.

Another rod of this type is the E6010, which is even harder to weld with. Furthermore, most affordable welding machines cannot work with it.

Conclusion

The E6013 is the easiest overall welding rod to use and the best rod for beginners.

It is not perfect, but with it and an affordable welding machine, you can weld many home projects and maintain basic equipment.

As a result, you will build the skills and confidence to progress and use other rods that require a higher skill.

You can also read this Weldpundit article on how hard stick welding is to learn and how long it takes.