abby308•3mo agoMost Upvoted

Had a 3/8 inch weld crack on a boiler tube at the Phelps plant in Kentucky

We were doing a shutdown job and found a hairline crack on a superheater tube after hydro. The root cause was a bad prep job from the night shift, leaving a thin spot. We had to cut out a 6 inch section and put in a new piece, which set us back a full day. Anyone else run into a bad weld prep that caused a major rework?

3 comments

3 Comments

linda_wood3mo ago

Bad prep is the worst, man. We had a similar thing on a header weld where the bevel was too shallow. The root pass didn't fuse right and it failed a bend test. Now we always check the fit-up and gap with a gauge before the first arc is even struck. Saves a ton of headache later.

xenawhite3mo ago

So they just eyeballed it and hoped for the best? Classic move.

wade_perez1mo ago

Hell yeah. That bend test fail is a nightmare. No shortcut replaces proper prep. I started using a simple go/no-go gauge for bevel angles. Takes maybe 30 seconds. Saves scrapping a whole joint later. Some guys think they can feel it out. They can't. Not with any consistency. Gap is critical too. Too tight and you get lack of fusion. Too wide and you're burning through. A cheap set of feeler gauges pays for itself fast.