If your a welding hobbyist or professional and weld stick, you likely are required to use a welding rod oven, depending on the type of rod you use. Any low hydrogen or stainless rods require an oven to be up to AWS standards.
If you don't use an oven your rods will collect moisture, which leads to cracking and porosity. An easy fix is simply to keep your spare rods in an oven as your primary method of storage.
