Skip to content

The only rod here that runs on all three polarities

Hobart 770472, 6013, 5/32 in, 5 lb

A five-pound box of the forgiving rod in the largest diameter on this shelf, and the only listing here that offers all three polarity options.

Hobart 6013 stick electrodes, 5/32 inch, in a five-pound pack

Hobart 770472, 6013, 5/32 in, 5 lb

A five-pound box of the forgiving rod in the largest diameter on this shelf, and the only listing here that offers all three polarity options.

Amazon reference
B001QFNGU4
EAN
0715959363822
  • Runs on AC, DC electrode positive or DC electrode negative — the only rod on this shelf with all three
  • Publishes a tensile strength, 60,000 PSI
  • The description gives the rod count as "Rods (qty): Varies"

Best for: General fabrication in thicker section, on whatever polarity the machine offers

≈ $27
Check price on Amazon

Specifications

Amazon reference
B001QFNGU4
EAN
0715959363822

A 6013 is the rod this hub recommends to anyone welding occasionally, and this is the biggest one on the shelf: 5/32 in, five pounds, 60,000 PSI, all positions on carbon steel. Hobart adds the detail that gives a 6013 its reputation — it is good on joints with poor fit-up, because a rutile coating bridges a gap where a deep-penetrating rod drops through it.

The specification that sets this pack apart is polarity. It runs on AC, on DC electrode positive and on DC electrode negative, and no other rod on this shelf offers all three. That matters on two jobs: an old AC transformer welder, where DC-only rods behave badly, and a piece of magnetized steel where arc blow makes DC unusable and AC does not care.

Two things the page will not tell you. The rod count is given as “Rods (qty): Varies”, which on a five-pound box is a strange thing to leave open — the European packs on this shelf publish seventy and a hundred and eighty-five respectively. And there is no current range for 5/32 in, which on the largest diameter here is the figure most worth having: a rod this size wants more current than several of the machines on this site can hold.

Availability

Read on the day this page was built: $27 at the American Amazon shop.

Read from Keepa on the day this page was last revised; stock and price both move without notice.

Prices quoted in this text were read on 2026-10-07. The live price is at the top of the page.

The questions welders ask

Does polarity choice matter?

It changes where the heat goes. On DC electrode positive the rod runs hotter and penetrates more; on DC electrode negative the work takes less heat, which suits thin section; on AC the arc blows about less on magnetized steel. Most rods are specified for one or two of the three. This one is specified for all three, which means it works on an old AC transformer, on a modern inverter, and on the awkward job where arc blow has made the first two unusable.

How many rods is five pounds of 5/32 in?

The listing will not say: the description reads "Rods (qty): Varies". Five pounds of 5/32 in by 14 in rods is roughly thirty to thirty-five, depending on the coating weight, which is the figure to assume rather than one the page gives. For comparison, two European packs on this shelf publish their counts — seventy rods and about a hundred and eighty-five.

More stick electrodes

  • STARTECHWELD A-532 copper alloy electrode holder with an insulated handle

    STARTECHWELD A-532 electrode holder, 200 A

    The only electrode holder in this hub, and it publishes the three figures that decide whether it fits your machine, your cable and your rods.

    Amazon reference
    B09BHJGGW7
    EAN
    0818988015059
    • Publishes the current rating, 200 A, the maximum electrode diameter, 5/32 in, and the maximum cable size, 2/0
    • Copper alloy jaws rather than plated steel, which is what keeps the resistance and the heat down
    • Two hundred amps is the ceiling — a 250 A machine on 1/8 in rods at full output is outside it

    Best for: Replacing a holder that has gone soft, or fitting a heavier cable than the original

    ≈ $23
    Check price on Amazon
  • E6010 stick electrodes in a five-pound box

    STARTECHWELD E6010, 3/32 in, 5 lb

    The pipe welder’s rod — fast freezing, deeply penetrating, usable vertical-down — on a listing that carries two different brand names.

    Amazon reference
    B0CYQ3M1QH
    EAN
    0818988019019
    • A fast-freeze coating, which is what makes vertical-down and overhead work possible
    • Stated for all positions including vertical-up, vertical-down, overhead, flat and horizontal
    • The brand on the listing is STARTECHWELD while the product title reads "Victory Welding Alloys 6010 Welding Rod"

    Best for: Pipe, pressure work and root passes, where the slag has to freeze before the metal runs

    ≈ $29
    Check price on Amazon
  • WISUNO E6013 stick electrodes in their one-pound pack

    WISUNO E6013, 3/32 in, 1 lb

    The cheapest rods on this shelf, and the only listing anywhere in this hub that publishes the current range for each diameter.

    Amazon reference
    B0DDJQZQ8V
    EAN
    0780745664575
    • Publishes a current table by diameter: 1/16 in at 25-40 A, 5/64 in at 40-60 A, 3/32 in at 50-80 A, 1/8 in at 100-125 A
    • E6013 rutile, which is the forgiving coating this hub recommends for occasional welding
    • One pound is perhaps twenty rods — a format for trying, not for a project

    Best for: A first pound of rods, or a small machine whose dial you are still learning

    ≈ $10
    Check price on Amazon

Elsewhere in the workroom

  • RIVERWELD 63-piece TIG gas lens kit laid out with its cups and collets

    RIVERWELD 63-piece WP-9/20/25 gas lens kit

    The most completely specified kit in this hub — five tungsten sizes, thirteen gas lenses and thirty-one cups, each identified by its original part number.

    Amazon reference
    B0158NWVGY
    EAN
    0738470709474
    • Covers five tungsten sizes — 0.020, 0.040, 1/16, 3/32 and 1/8 in — in collets and collet bodies both
    • Thirteen gas lenses by part number, including the 45V42 to 45V45 range and the 45V204S, 45V116S, 45V64S and 995795S
    • The highest price on this shelf, by a clear margin

    Best for: A WP-9, 20 or 25 torch that has to cover everything from 0.020 in tungsten upwards

    ≈ $55
    Check price on Amazon
  • RX WELD 79-piece TIG torch accessory kit in its box

    RX WELD RXATIG 79-piece kit, WP-17/18/26

    The biggest piece count on this shelf, and the only listing that rules out CK torches in so many words rather than hedging.

    Amazon reference
    B07DN8Y7C1
    EAN
    0653905878917
    • Seventy-nine pieces, the highest count on this shelf
    • States plainly "Do Not Fit CK Torch" rather than leaving it to be discovered
    • No itemization anywhere: 79 pieces with no breakdown, no sizes and no part numbers

    Best for: Stocking a WP-17, 18 or 26 torch for a year in one purchase

    ≈ $30
    Check price on Amazon
  • TIANLYLIN TIG kit with transparent glass cups and gas lens collet bodies

    TIANLYLIN 40-piece WP-9/20/25 glass cup kit

    A glass cup kit for the smaller torch family, with the widest cup range on this shelf — and one of two listings here honest enough to name a torch it may not fit.

    Amazon reference
    B08G1G5DDF
    EAN
    0341140847651
    • Cups from #4 to #12, the widest range on this shelf — from a 1/4 in orifice to about 3/4 in
    • Transparent cups, so the tungsten and the puddle are visible through the ceramic
    • No itemization: 40 pieces with no breakdown by type, size or part number

    Best for: A WP-9, 20 or 25 torch where the cup size needs to change with the joint

    ≈ $28
    Check price on Amazon

All stick electrodes