c/boilermakers

15

wade767•50m ago

Just realized my old bevel gauge was way off after all these years

Been using the same bevel gauge for like 8 years on boiler tube layouts. Grabbed a new one from the truck last week and found out I was off by almost 3 degrees on every angle this whole time. Anybody else ever find out their old tool was throwing them off?

8

jessicaw54•10h ago

Old timer told me I was grinding too hot on a job site last week

Was prepping a boiler tube weld in Gary, Indiana and this guy named Frank walked over. Said my grinder speed was creating micro-cracks in the heat affected zone. Never even thought about that in 5 years of doing this. Anyone else have a senior guy drop some knowledge that completely changed how you work?

-1

ruby_lane•18h ago

Found out my old foreman's trick for cutting down tube sheets with a plasma torch actually saves me about 20 minutes per job

I was skeptical when he told me to run a soapstone line and hit it at a 45 degree angle instead of straight on, but after trying it on a 3/4 inch sheet in Detroit last week, I cut my grinding time in half, anyone else got a weird tip from an old timer that actually works?

19

uma_wilson79•22h ago

Stick welding vs flux core on a old water tank, I switched teams

I always thought flux core was the way to go for outdoor repairs, less hassle with gas. But last month we had to patch a 40 year old water tank at a feed mill in Sioux Falls, and the wind kept blowing my shielding away. Buddy of mine finally talked me into grabbing the Lincoln stick welder from the truck, and man, the penetration was night and day better. Now I'm keeping that 6010 rod handy for any heavy rust or drafty jobs. Any of you guys had a project where you totally flipped on your go-to process?

12

skyler_white•1d ago

Just learned the hard way about preheating boiler tubes

An old foreman at the Omaha plant told me to always preheat tubes to 300 degrees before welding, but I figured I could skip it to save time on a small job last Friday. Got a nasty crack running down the tube about 4 inches long and had to cut it out and redo everything, cost me 3 extra hours. Anyone else ever ignore advice like that and regret it?

21

charlie_roberts87•2d ago

Debate: Should I weld that cracked boiler plate myself or call a pro? Made my choice and it cost me.

Had a 1/4 inch crack show up on a 20-year-old fire tube boiler last Tuesday. I stood there for 20 minutes weighing if I could just grind it out and run a bead myself or if I should bring in the certified guy. I went with my own fix to save $400 and get the job done that afternoon. Well, the weld held for about 2 hours before it started weeping water again, and then I had to call the pro anyway who charged me $650 for the redo plus an emergency fee. Has anyone else gambled on a DIY repair on a pressure vessel and had it bite them?

9

maxm63•2d ago

Had a boiler tube leak on a job last week and the fix was a real pain

I was doing a retube on a 250 psi boiler up in Milwaukee and everything was going smooth until I pressure tested it. One of the new tubes had a pinhole leak right at the backsheet weld. Took me three tries to get the weld to hold because the gap was too tight for my 6010 rod to get good penetration. I ended up having to grind it out and use a smaller tungsten to reach in there. Anybody else run into this kind of problem on tight tube layouts?

18

karenm49•4d ago

That weld on the Kansas City bridge job made me rethink my rod storage

I was up on a bridge repair job outside Kansas City last month and my 7018 rods kept picking up moisture even though I thought they were dry. The inspector flagged a few of my welds for porosity and I had to grind out three passes right there on the catwalk. Now I keep my rods in a heated quiver on my belt instead of just in the box. Anyone else had humidity mess with their welds on outdoor structural jobs?

13

ruby_sanchez45•5d ago

Found a trick for getting tube sheets aligned without a third hand

I spent 2 hours fighting a misaligned tube sheet on a condenser job in Baton Rouge last Thursday, so I tried wedging a scrap piece of flat bar between the sheet and the shell to hold it steady while I tacked it, and it lined up perfect on the first try has anyone else used a shim trick like that for stubborn fit-ups?

27

the_sean•5d ago

The morning a 200 pound boiler tube kicked back on me in Gary

I was working on a rerating job at the old steel mill in Gary, Indiana, back in 2017. We were pulling out some worn out superheater tubes, and I was on the end of a 10 foot section. Didn't realize the guy on the other side had already cut his end loose. When I gave mine a final tap, the whole tube sprang out of the saddle and swung right at my gut. Knocked me clean off the staging, landed flat on my back on the deck about 6 feet down. Bruised three ribs and busted the screen on my face shield. Honestly, it was pure luck I didn't break anything worse. The whole crew just stopped and stared for a minute before the foreman yelled at me to get checked out. Has anyone else had one of those "it happened so fast" moments where you didn't even have time to yell a warning?

24

butler.brian•5d ago

Almost $400 down the drain on a 'lifetime' welding helmet

I was convinced I needed a top of the line auto-darkening hood with all the bells and whistles. Dropped like $380 on a Speedglas a couple months ago because I figured it would last forever. The thing works fine, but I swear the battery life is worse than my old $80 Jackson. I spend more time squinting at the delay than I do actually welding now. Should have just bought two decent mid-range hoods for the same money. Anyone else regret chasing the expensive gear?.

17

elizabeth_gonzalez•6d ago

Serious question, why do we all pretend 6010 root passes are fine first try?

I spent 4 years grinding out roots on pipe in Baton Rouge before a old timer watched me struggle and pointed out I was running my rod way too hot. He showed me a 5-10 amp drop and suddenly my starts stopped cratering and my cap looked clean. How many of you actually dial in your machine for each joint instead of just sticking with what feels comfortable?

17

river_bailey2•6d ago

Thought paper gaskets were best until a 12 hour seal job on a boiler in Pittsburgh failed twice

Switched to a ceramic rope gasket after an old foreman told me to try it and it's held for 6 months now with no leaks, has anyone else had better luck with ceramic over paper on high temp applications?

26

robin_foster1•7d ago

Just realized I’ve been grinding my own tungsten for 10 years the hard way

Used to freehand it on a bench grinder and ended up with bad angles and lots of waste. Switched to a dedicated diamond wheel grinder last month and my welds are way cleaner now. Has anyone else made the switch and noticed a big difference?

17

sage52•24d ago

Found Out the Hard Way My Torch Tip Was Clogged After 3 Hours of Fighting a Bead

Was running a 1/4 inch fillet on some pressure vessel work and my flame kept sputtering no matter how much I played with the gas mix. Took a wire brush to the tip and it ran perfect after that has anyone else had a tip issue that made them chase their tail like that

16

troy_owens•24d ago

An old foreman told me I was burning my rod too hot on overhead welds

He said to drop the heat by 15 amps and slow my travel speed, and now I'm not fighting gravity half as much on those deep flange repairs at the refinery - has anyone else had good results running cooler on overhead passes?

13

sethanderson•25d ago

Welding up a tube bundle - stick or TIG for the root pass?

I had to pick between running stick or TIG on the root pass for a tube bundle repair at the refinery last week. My foreman swears by TIG for better control, but the old timer next to me said stick is faster and just as strong if you set it right. I went with TIG on the first three tubes, then switched to stick for the next two to compare. The TIG looked cleaner but took twice as long per tube. Anyone else have a preference when the schedule is tight but quality matters?

4

nina180•25d ago

Rant: Tried a plasma cutter on a 1-inch boiler plate and got a mess

I figured I'd save time cutting a thick section of steel for a repair last week. Fired up my Hypertherm 45XP and went at it with what I thought was the right settings. Ended up with a rough cut full of dross and had to spend two hours grinding it clean. Learned that for heavy plate like that, old-school oxy-fuel is still the better call. Any of you guys had a similar experience switching tools on thick sections?

12

jamiesingh•26d ago

Watched a new guy torch a 6-inch tube flange the other day

He spent 20 minutes trying to get it cherry red with a rosebud instead of using a smaller tip. I showed him how to do it in two passes and the weld looked way cleaner after. He said he never knew the difference mattered that much. Anyone else see rookies mess up simple stuff like that on site?

6

the_skyler•27d ago

Everyone keeps saying to use 6010 rods for root passes. I think that's wrong for most guys.

I see it all the time on sites and in the hall. Guys swear by 6010 for the root on heavy wall pipe. But at the Cleveland shop I worked at last winter, our lead inspector showed me the rejection numbers. Over 40% of 6010 roots had wagon tracks or lack of fusion. We switched to 6013 for the root and our weld test pass rate went way up. Has anyone else tried a different rod and seen better results?

25

schmidt.amy•29d ago

Spent 8 years grinding my tungsten wrong until a pipe welder in Baton Rouge set me straight

I was out on a job in Baton Rouge last spring, setting up for some 2-inch tube. This older pipe welder walking by stopped and asked why I was grinding perpendicular to the length of the tungsten. I told him that's how I've always done it. He just shook his head and showed me how grinding lengthwise keeps the electrons focused way better. First weld I did after that, the arc was steadier and I didn't have to fight it as much. Anybody else find out they were doing some basic thing wrong for years?

11

richard_shah•29d ago

My brand new twistlock failed on a 4000lb load last Thursday

I was setting a tank section at a refinery in Baton Rouge. Got the lift stable, went to release the shackle, and the twistlock just spun free in my hand. Threads were stripped straight from the factory. Could've dropped the whole thing if I hadn't double-checked the lift point beforehand. Had to flag down the foreman and spend 45 minutes waiting for a replacement. Anyone else had a new piece of hardware fail right out of the box like that?

26

robinc66•1mo ago

Hit 8,000 hours logged in my field book last month and it stopped me cold

I was just flipping through my old field books to look up a job from two summers ago and noticed I hit 8,000 hours of actual boiler work since I started keeping records. That number surprised me because it feels like just yesterday I was the green helper tripping over hoses on the first shipyard job down in Norfolk. 8,000 hours means I have spent roughly 333 full days standing next to hot iron and steam drums. Most of that is on watertube boilers, but I have done my share of firetube work too. I started tracking hours because an old foreman told me to, and now I cannot stop. Does anybody else keep a running tally like this, or do you just let the pay stubs tell the story?

15

coleman.karen•1mo ago

PSA: I've been preheating furnace tubes all wrong for 15 years

I was at a job in Gary, Indiana last month and a veteran boilermaker named Pete watched me do my usual routine on a tube bundle. He just shook his head and showed me I was using way too much flame too fast, causing uneven expansion. Now I start with a low heat for 10 minutes at 200 degrees before cranking it up. Has anyone else had a moment where a simple tip from an old timer completely changed how you work?

22

jessicaw54•1mo ago

Caught myself using the wrong filler rod on stainless for 3 years

I was welding a stainless tank at a job site in Houston last week when the lead man walked over and asked why my beads looked so rough. He pointed out I was using 308L rod on 316L metal, which I didn't even know was a problem. I always just grabbed whatever rod was laying around without checking the numbers. Now I double check every time and my welds look way cleaner. Anyone else learn a basic rod rule way later than they should have?