5
Had a tube leak I tried to fix with weld instead of a swell plug
I was working on a heat exchanger bundle down in Baton Rouge last Thursday. This one tube was weeping right at the tubesheet and I just figured I could lay a quick bead over it and move on. Spent almost 2 hours trying to get a clean cover weld on that thing. Kept blowing through because the tube wall was way thinner than I guessed. Finally the foreman walked over and asked why I didn't just use a swell plug. I felt like an idiot. That plug took maybe 3 minutes to set and held pressure fine. Has anyone else had a simple fix take way longer because you were too stubborn to grab the right tool?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
nancyn6921d ago
That weld blow-through is exactly why most experienced guys keep a box of swell plugs in their truck. I've seen guys spend half a shift fighting a pinhole leak when a plug would have stopped it in five minutes. The real trick is knowing when to stop fighting and just use the right tool for the job. Those plugs work great on thin wall tubes where weld just makes a mess. Sometimes being stubborn costs way more time than it saves. Next time your foreman might just hand you the plug box before you even get the torch lit.
5
margareto2621d ago
I remember a job in Port Arthur back in 03 where a young welder spent the better part of a whole shift trying to fix a hairline crack in a condenser tube. He was dead set on making a perfect weld. The supervisor finally walked over and said the same thing your foreman did about a swell plug. It was a good lesson for all of us watching. Sometimes your pride gets in the way of using a simple mechanical fix, and that $3 plug ends up saving six hours of labor. @nancyn69 is right that the trick is knowing when to switch gears. A swell plug isn't admitting defeat, it's just being smart about the repair.
3