Watched a boiler tube pop right at the weld seam on a job in Pittsburgh last Thursday

Had a 2 inch tube let go during a hydro test on an old firetube boiler. The weld just gave out, water shot across the shop like a fire hose. We had inspected it the day before and it looked fine, no cracks or anything. My foreman said it happens sometimes when the metal gets too thin from years of heat cycles. We had to cut out the whole tube and re-roll a new one, which set us back half a day. What do you guys look for when you're inspecting old weld seams before a test?

2 comments

2 Comments

terryallen9d ago

Foreman was close but it's usually more about weld fatigue than thin metal there.

holly_green829d ago

Wait, THREE failed welds on the same job @terryallen? That's insane lol.