I keep my 7018 in an ammo can with a good seal. Got a little fancier
and it now has a removable power connector and a 100W reptile aquarium
heater bulb keeping things a nice 132 degrees when I plug the cord in, and
very dry after I take it out. All in all I think it cost me less than
twenty bucks.

"Pete Keillor" wrote in message
...
| On Tue, 31 May 2005 19:26:52 -0700, footy wrote:
|
| If you are welding to a code like AWS D1.1, unless the 7018 came out of
| a hermetically sealed container, you have to dry it before using it.
| The boxes at Home Depot are not hermetically sealed. The flux will
| absorb moisture from the atmosphere even though there is plastic wrap
| around the box. The moisture will result in increased probability of
| porosity, hydrogen embrittlement, etc. in the weld. If you aren't
| welding to code, it is up to you. It may or may not make a significant
| difference in the weld. I would consider it unwise to ignore the
| manufacturer's instructions welding anything to which liability might
| attach, like a trailer hitch. FWIW I have seen successful bend tests
| done on welds made with 7018 that came of non-hermetically sealed
| containers of dubious history.
|
| Thanks for all the input. I think I'll leave 7018 alone, at least
| until I build a heat treating oven. If I have time, I'm going to give
| Watlow a call today. They have new pre-insulated heater panels with
| the heating elements close to the surface. It'll be interesting to
| see what they cost.
|
| Pete Keillor