Interesting Norm that on a Chinese ebay site selling cheap welding rods they advise that you put their rods in the oven and bake them on 90-110 degrees C for 30 minutes or so before welding with them. Might be worth a try as there might be something about how or where they are made or stored that causes them to absorb moisture. Danny, good to hear. Some of those Ozito products are okay.
