E60XX electrodes for A653 Galvanized Steel?

[JCWilson]

Is it an appropriate practice to use an E6011 electrode for welding A653 SQ Grade 50 steel (light gage studs and sheet) to structural steel? The steel types are job specific and could vary from A36 to A572 Grade 50 and beyond.

I have reviewed several AWS manuals and Welding Innovation Journals, and they provide excellent background information on "low-hydrogen" electrodes, and selecting filler metals. However, A653 is almost always left off of the typical steel tables for electrode selection.

I have heard it said that the E60XX electrodes are more for burning galvanizing, temporary connections and those that are not critical to the performance of the system. While this may be true in some instances, that can't be the only use for the E60XX electrode.

The aforementioned references seem to suggest that the E60XX electrodes can be appropriate, if not beneficial in some situations. This is provided that the proper filler metal matching has been analyzed, and that the base metal steel is not subject to hydrogen assisted cracking.

Please help putting this information together for our situation.

 

[CWIC]

JC:
It is common to weld the structural sheet steels using cellulosic electrodes. The low-hydrogen electrodes do not perform the same particularly with the multiple restarts, burn off rate, zinc coating, etc. required for arc spot welds to supporting structural members. Undermathing weld metal vs. base metal yield is also very common practice. Steel studs have had E7018 specified by the RDP only to be changed during the project due to the difficulty with these electrodes. It is possible with low-hydrogen electrodes but difficult depending on the skill of the welder which as you know can vary.

However, E7010/E6010 electrodes are the most common and require DC current. AC welding (with E6011) is not always reliable in maintaining the welding parameters-essential variables required by the AWS D1.3-98 code. These are typically transformer machines (buzz boxes) which vary substantially in output from DC power sources including DC transformers.

By the way, the Gr. 50 material specification is not listed in the D1.3 code (Gr. 33, 37, 40, and 80 are).