Question RE old welding electrodes...

[Zouave]

So, in poking around down in the shop, I came across a box of my dad's old welding electrodes. These are AT LEAST 10 years old, possibly 15...?? I'm really not sure, but I'm quite sure he hasn't used them in about that long. Anyway, I have them up in the house now, where they will be drying out for a few days. My question is basically this: Will I put myself in any kind of physical danger if I practice with these? And I guess, going off of that, would they be okay to use? To my eye (untrained) there is not any damage to the electrodes themselves, but I'm sure that they've picked up some residual moisture along the way as they were neither kept sealed in their bags, or in anywhere where there was a bulb keeping them dry. However, I am in California, so humidity is typically fairly low, and as far as I know, they haven't been exposed directly to the elements.

Should I scrap them, or use them? (Before you say scrap them, there are 200+ electrodes in said box)

I need practice in welding, so if I'm not going to be putting myself in harm's way, I'd like to go ahead and use them for that.

Thoughts, anyone?

[Zouave]

Oh, I guess I should also mention the types...
~100 E6013 - 3/32
~100 E6013 - 1/16
~15 7018 - 3/16 or so...

[JamesJ]

I'm no welding authority but most rod can be reconditioned. Here is a Link - http://www.lincolnelectric.com/knowledge/articles/content/storing.asp

[TheDave]

You will be in no physical danger if you use the old welding rods. Just to be clear - a welding rod that has absorbed lots of moisture will not explode or cause any other physical harm. It will still perform as a welding rod.

I would not worry about the 6013 rods, their performance won't be too affected by being exposed to air.

The 7018 rod is a low hydrogen rod and needs to be dried. Leaving it exposed to air will add hydrogen (from water moisture) and it will no longer be a low hydrogen rod and you will get pourous welds. Honestly, I would just throw them out. You only have about 15, so it's not worth the trouble to dry them out.

[Zouave]

That's a great link, JamesJ, thank you.

Also, TheDave, thank you for the comments. I'll probably give one of the 7018s a try, break the weld and see how it looks. More than likely, though, I think I will just toss 'em after that 1.

[KenC]

You can relish on the 7018, but you don't need 7018 on mild steel, those are for boiler plates or medium/high carbon steel... 6013 are cheaper & more suitable for this application. Most importantly, even a 2 left hand welder like me can weld with 6013.
For the money you will be spending on the build, spending US10 on a pack of fresh 6013 seems plausible.