Electrode drying (rebaking) temperatures and times

Low-hydrogen (basic) electrodes are rebaked at 300–400 °C for 1–2 hours: ESAB OK 48.00 takes 350 °C for 2 h, Lincoln E7018 rods 340–400 °C (650–750 °F) for 1 h, Böhler FOX EV 50 300–350 °C. Rebake the same rods no more than three times. Rutile rods rarely need it, cellulosic rods must never be dried. The table below gives each brand’s figures from the maker’s own data.

Short answer

The rebaking condition is printed on the label, and the label beats any chart. For basic (low-hydrogen) rods it almost always falls within 300–400 °C (570–750 °F) for 1–2 h, timed from the moment the whole batch has reached temperature; after that the rods are kept in a holding oven at 100–150 °C (212–300 °F) and taken to the job in a heated quiver. ESAB and Lincoln advise rebaking the same rods no more than three times; some Eastern European boiler codes (Ukraine’s VBN A.3.1-36-5-97) allow only two. Rutile rods for mild steel need no rebaking and are dried by the label only if they got damp. Cellulosic rods are not dried at all. Rods from an intact vacuum pack (ESAB VacPac, Böhler Dry System) go straight to work.

Electrode rebaking chart by brand

Temperature means the temperature through the batch, time is the hold after it gets there. Every row is confirmed by at least two matching documents — a data sheet, a manufacturer’s handbook, a distributor’s sheet or a code; brands where the figures disagreed were left out.

Print this table

Basic coating (low hydrogen)

Rutile coating

Cellulosic coating

Stainless steel

Cast iron and aluminium

When to rebake: a decision chart

Go down the list — the first line that fits gives the answer.

1. Cellulosic coating (E6010, E6011, OK 22.45 P, Fleetweld 5P+). Never dry them: the moisture in the coating is what drives the arc, and ESAB and Lincoln both say no rebaking.
2. Vacuum pack intact (ESAB VacPac, Böhler Dry System). No rebaking needed. Once opened, the clock runs: above 60 % humidity and 22 °C ESAB says rebake after 4 h (8 h for “R” rods); Böhler allows 9 h for FOX EV 50 from a Dry System pack.
3. Basic coating and a hydrogen requirement on the weld: an H4, H5 or H10 symbol in the classification, radiography, thick section, hardenable steel, welding in the cold. Rebake by the label before use and keep opened stock in the oven. H5 means no more than 5 ml of diffusible hydrogen per 100 g of weld metal, H10 no more than 10; a damp coating no longer keeps that promise.
4. Rutile coating on ordinary steel. Normally not needed (ESAB says so). If the packet has got damp, dry it by the label at the low temperature given there.
5. Signs of moisture with any coating: a darker coating, clearly more spatter, a noisy, harsh arc, an uneven slag cover, porosity. Rods that are badly soaked cannot be saved by rebaking — ESAB says scrap them.

How to rebake properly

• Time counts from when the batch is hot, not from switching the oven on: the condition refers to the temperature inside the rods (ESAB).
• No more than four layers in the oven; take the rods out of the box and spread them so each one heats through (ESAB, Lincoln).
• Loading and ramp. Ukraine’s VBN A.3.1-36-5-97 loads the oven at no more than 150 °C and ramps at 100–200 °C per hour: a sudden heat cracks the coating.
• Never above the data sheet. Lincoln: several hours at a lower temperature do not equal the specified condition, and overheating spoils the coating; Kobelco adds that drying too long at high temperature harms radiographic soundness.
• Keep a log. Date, condition, rebake number — otherwise nobody can check the three-times limit.

How many times can electrodes be rebaked?

The makers agree: ESAB recommends no more than three rebakes, and Lincoln allows E8018 and stronger rods no more than three one-hour rebakes, because the alloys in the coating oxidise and tensile and impact properties drop. The OK 48.00 N data sheet allows several rebakes but no more than 24 h of extra drying in total. Some codes are stricter: Ukraine’s VBN A.3.1-36-5-97 for boiler repair allows only two rebakes of the same rods. On a job, the stricter rule applies.

Storage after rebaking

• Holding oven at 100–150 °C: Kobelco gives 100–150 °C, ESAB and Lincoln 120–150 °C (250–300 °F). It holds rebaked rods and anything taken out of a hermetic pack.
• Quiver at the workplace: ESAB gives 70–130 °C for no more than 8 h, and leftovers go back to the oven after the shift. Lincoln issues standard E7018 to welders twice per shift; moisture-resistant “R” rods may be exposed for up to 9 h.
• Shelf time after rebaking under VBN A.3.1-36-5-97: basic rods within 3 days, others within 15 days if stored properly.
• Store room (ESAB): at 5–15 °C no more than 60 % humidity, at 15–25 °C 50 %, above 25 °C 40 %. Let a cold packet warm to room temperature before opening it.

Why the label beats the chart

Soviet-type rods are made by dozens of plants, each with its own figures. UONI 13/55: VBN gives 370–400 °C for 60 min, ESAB-SVEL 350–400 °C for 2 h, Monolith 400 ± 20 °C for 60 min. The stainless OZL-8: 200 °C for 1 h under VBN A.3.1-36-2-96, but 350–370 °C for 1 h at Monolith. So use the chart as a guide and a check, and take the condition from the label of your own batch. Coating type and current for each brand are in the electrode catalogue; how the coatings differ is explained in electrode coating types.

What happens if you skip it: hydrogen from a damp coating causes cold (hydrogen) cracking — sometimes a day after welding — and, with very wet rods, porosity as well.

Sources

• ESAB: “Storage & handling recommendations for consumables” and “Storage & handling recommendations for filler metals” (XA00232420); OK 48.00 and OK AlSi12 data sheets; ESAB Welding Filler Metal Handbook 2016.
• voestalpine Böhler Welding: BÖHLER FOX EV 50 data sheet and brochure.
• Lincoln Electric: “Storing and Redrying Electrodes” (MC22-140) and the Storage & Handling section of the catalogue.
• KOBELCO Welding Handbook.
• Ukrainian codes VBN A.3.1-36-5-97 and VBN A.3.1-36-2-96; ESAB-SVEL, Monolith and SOLARIS product sheets.
• Rows also checked against distributors’ sheets (ESAB-SVEL OK 53.70, OK Ni-CI, Kobelco LB-52).

Author: Dmitry Frolov, welder and metal fabricator Updated: 24 October 2026