The bead at the center bottom isnt bad.

Well, I could do much better than that bead with 6013 rods. I'll give up
on these old rods and buy some fresh ones.

Chris


Go to your local welding place and get a pound of 6011 and try it.
Im concerned about your statement that the arc extinguishes though.
Does the sound of the welder change drasticly when this happens? Im
wondering if you may not have a wire or contact that opens under load.

Gunner

Looks like 6011 is what I need. I don't think I'll go for 7018 as I
don't have a rod oven and don't want to have to get one right now. I
need a rod that works on AC, too.

I'll probably buy more than a pound as it's a fair trip to the welding
supply store. A 5 kg box of 6013 was about £10 when I bought one last year.

Thanks to everyone for their advice.

Chris