c/boilermakers

Changed my mind about pre-heating on the big retrofit in Toledo

I was working on the old coal boiler retrofit at the power plant there last fall. The foreman insisted we pre-heat the new economizer sections to 250 degrees before welding, which I thought was overkill for the schedule we had. After three days, we had zero cracks on the pressure welds, while the crew on the other unit that skipped it had to redo four major seams. The extra six hours up front saved us two full days of repair work. Anyone have a different method that works just as well without the big heat rig?

Had to choose between a full weld repair or a patch on a 3/4 inch feedwater line

The line had a pinhole leak at a 90 degree elbow. I could cut out the whole section and weld in a new piece, which would take most of a day, or try a half-circle patch. Went with the patch, prepped it for over an hour to get a perfect fit, and burned it in. Pressure test held at 150 psi with zero weep. Anyone ever have a patch hold up long term on a high-pressure feed line?

I was fighting a stubborn flange leak on a 16-inch steam line for two hours, convinced my gasket seating was off, before the old foreman walked by and pointed out I'd missed the hairline crack in the mating surface of the companion flange itself.

He tapped it with a ball-peen hammer and the sound was totally dead, which was the giveaway I should have caught way earlier, so what's your go-to method for checking flange faces before assembly?

Bought a cheap magnetic level for a boiler install and it cost me a full day of rework.

Remembering a lesson from an old hand at the Detroit plant

Back in 2007, I was working a shutdown at the old River Rouge plant. An older welder named Frank saw me struggling to line up a big section of 12-inch pipe. He just said, 'Kid, your eyes are better than your level. Trust the bubble, not the gap.' He was right, and I've thought about that every time I've set up a run since. Anyone have a simple trick like that that stuck with them?

Shoutout to the old guy who showed me the right way to set a boiler on a sloped floor

Three years ago I was on a job in a Portland cannery, trying to level a new package boiler on a floor that was off by a full inch and a half corner to corner. I was fresh out of my apprenticeship and just kept shimming and checking, shimming and checking, getting more frustrated by the hour. This retired boilermaker, Frank, who was just visiting his nephew on the crew, walked over, looked at my setup for maybe thirty seconds, and said 'Kid, you're fighting the floor, not working with it.' He had me pull all my shims, scribe the baseplate from the high point, and cut a full wedge from a piece of 3/4 inch plate to match the slope. We dropped it in, bolted it down, and it was dead level on the first try. I still use that trick on every uneven pad I see. What's the best piece of 'old timer' advice you've ever gotten that actually worked?

Spent $450 on a magnetic drill press for a field repair and it was worth every penny

We had a 3-inch thick plate to drill on a job last month, and the regular drill just wasn't cutting it. My partner said to rent a mag drill, but I bought a used one for about $450 instead. It locked right onto the steel and made perfect holes in half the time. Has anyone found a specific brand that holds up better for this kind of work?

Had to pick between a 4-inch and 6-inch backing ring for a 12-inch pipe spool on Friday's job.

Went with the 6-inch for the extra support, and it made the fit-up so much smoother, but what's your go-to rule for sizing those rings?

Warning: My new apprentice tried to use a pipe wrench on a boiler gauge last week

We were on a job in Toledo and he thought the pressure reading was stuck, so he gave it a good crank and the whole glass face popped out like a cork. I spent the next hour calming down the site manager and explaining we needed a whole new assembly. Has anyone else had a helper do something that made you just shake your head?

Back in '05 we welded a 500-ton boiler drum with stick, last month we did the same job with a dual-wire rig

I was thinking about this job we just finished at the old Miller plant. Twenty years ago, welding the longitudinal seam on a drum that size was a three-day grind with 7018 rods. You'd have a guy preheating, another welding, and the heat and fumes were brutal. Last month, we used a new dual-wire flux-cored setup with an oscillator. The difference was night and day. We cut the weld time down to a day and a half, the bead profile was perfect right off the gun, and there was way less grinding after. The old way worked, but the new gear just lets you put down more metal, faster and cleaner. It makes you wonder what we'll be using in another twenty years. Anyone else made a big switch in their weld process lately that just blew the old method out of the water?

Heard a guy at the supply house say he never uses a level on big flanges

I was picking up some 4 inch schedule 80 at the yard in Tacoma last Tuesday, and this older guy was telling the counter guy he just 'eyeballs' the flange faces before he bolts up. I used to think that was pure madness and would always break out my 24 inch level. But he said on big, heavy flanges, the level can sit on high spots and give a false reading, and you're better off using a straightedge and feeler gauges across the face in four spots. I tried it yesterday on a steam header job, and he was right. The level showed level, but the straightedge showed a 1/16 inch gap on one side. Saved me from a leak down the line. How many of you check flanges this way instead of just trusting a level?

Switched from a 4-inch grinder to a 7-inch for beveling 1-inch plate

My foreman in Toledo said the bigger wheel would save time, and he was right, it cut my prep work by nearly an hour. Anyone have tips on keeping the bigger tool steady for long passes?

Rant: I dropped about $450 on a new plasma cutter and it's been nothing but trouble.

PSA: An old-timer told me to always pre-heat my bevel grinder's backing plate

He said it would stop the weld from sticking and tearing, and after ruining a 3-foot seam on a 3/8" plate last month, I tried it. It worked perfectly on the next one. Anyone have other little tricks for keeping a clean bevel?

The boiler room at the old mill went from a mess to spotless in about a week

I was called in to check a pressure vessel at the old paper mill in town, a place known for being a bit rough. Last month, the boiler room was a classic mess, with tools everywhere and a layer of dust on everything. When I went back this Monday, it looked like a different world, all cleaned up and organized. The new plant manager, a guy named Frank, made the whole crew spend their Friday afternoons on nothing but cleaning until it was done. Has anyone else had a site do a complete 180 like that so fast?

Always thought those new composite gaskets were just hype

Last month on a job at the Miller plant in Green Bay, we had a 300 psi steam line that kept weeping with the old style. My foreman, Carl, made us switch to a graphite composite type. Held perfect through three full pressure cycles. Anyone else run into a spot where the new stuff actually saved your bacon?

Choosing between a 3/8 and 1/2 inch drive for a stubborn flange bolt on a 40-year-old boiler

I was working on a retrofit in an old plant in Akron, and the last bolt on a steam chest flange just wouldn't budge. I had to pick between grabbing my 3/8 impact or going back to the truck for the heavier 1/2 inch drive and breaker bar. I went with the 1/2 inch, and it cracked loose without stripping the head, but it cost me about 15 extra minutes. What's your go-to move when you're in a tight spot and the clock is ticking?

Talked to an old timer about boiler tube rolling and he said something that got me thinking

I was on a job in Toledo last month, helping replace a section of tubes in a big water tube boiler. I was working with this guy, Frank, who's been doing this for over 40 years. I was using my new electric tube roller, getting what I thought was a good, tight roll. Frank watched me for a minute, then said, 'You know, that machine tells you the torque, but it doesn't tell you the feel. You gotta listen for the metal singing, not just watch the numbers.' He had me stop and use his old manual roller on the next tube. He was right. You could feel the tube seat change in your hands, a kind of smooth tightness you just don't get from a digital readout. It made me realize I've been relying too much on the tool's brain and not enough on my own. How many of you still use manual rollers for the feel, or have you gone fully electric?

Pro tip: Choosing between a full weld repair or a patch plate on a 3/8 inch boiler shell

Had a job last month on a 30 year old boiler in a plant outside Toledo. The shell had a 4 inch long crack near a nozzle. The choice was grinding it out and doing a full weld repair, which meant a lot of prep and heat control, or cutting out a section and putting in a patch plate. I went with the patch plate. It took a full day to cut, bevel, and fit the new piece, but the weld passes were cleaner and the X-ray came back perfect on the first shot. The inspector said it was a solid call because the metal around the crack was pretty thin. Has anyone else had to make that call on an older vessel? What made you pick one way over the other?

Finally got a stubborn flange to seal on a 24-inch steam line

Had a flange on a steam line at the plant that just would not seal right... tried the usual gasket and torque pattern. On a hunch, I cleaned the mating surfaces with a wire wheel on a grinder, then used a thin coat of high-temp copper spray on the new gasket. Bolted it down to 120 foot-pounds in the right order and it held pressure on the first hydro test. Anyone else have a go-to trick for finicky flanges?

Thought those new digital pressure gauges were just expensive toys

Got stuck on a stubborn boiler in a Pittsburgh plant about 8 months back. My old analog gauge kept bouncing around, couldn't get a solid read. Boss handed me one of those digital ones, cost over $200. Took a clean reading in two seconds, showed a tiny pressure drop the old gauge missed. Found a hairline crack in a feed line we would have totally overlooked. Anyone else made the switch and been surprised?

Had a flange bolt shear on a feedwater heater in Kansas City last Tuesday.

We were doing a hydro test at 1500 psi when we heard a loud pop and saw a small spray from the lower bank. We isolated the section, replaced the bolt with a grade 8 from the truck, and re-torqued the whole ring. Anyone have a go-to method for checking bolt stretch on older flanges before pressure testing?

Had a stubborn flange that wouldn't seal on a water tube boiler in Akron...

We kept getting a slight weep after a hydro test, and the gasket surface looked clean. Instead of chasing it with more torque, an old hand told me to try a thin coat of high-temp anti-seize on the stud threads only. Did that, torqued it in three steps to 450 ft-lbs like normal, and the weep stopped. It let the studs stretch more evenly, I guess. Anyone else use that trick for high-pressure flanges?

TIL how many old boilers are still running in Chicago schools

I was reading a report from the city's building department and saw that over 200 public school buildings there still have boilers installed before 1970. That's more than half the schools in the district. It made me think about the maintenance crews keeping those old systems safe. Has anyone here worked on retrofitting those specific models?

Rant: Had to pick between a 3/8-inch and a 1/2-inch backing ring for a 300 PSI job

Last week on a retrofit in Cleveland, the spec sheet was a mess. The old flange was worn, and the new valve had a different face. I had to choose on the spot: use the thicker 1/2-inch ring for extra meat, or the 3/8-inch that matched the original print. My boss said 'just get it sealed,' but the pressure rating had me worried. I went with the 1/2-inch, thinking better safe. Big mistake. It threw the bolt alignment off just enough that we had to re-drill three holes on site. Lost half a day. When have you guys gone against the print because it felt wrong, and how did it turn out?