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That inspector at the Marathon refinery made me eat crow on my own welds
I was laying down some 6G pipe welds at the Marathon refinery in Garyville last November. This old inspector walked up, looked at my cap, and said 'that ripple is too coarse for this service.' I brushed him off, told him I'd been welding 15 years. He made me grind one out and sure enough, there was a slag inclusion right at the 4 o'clock position. Now I slow down my travel speed on the last third of every root pass, especially on sour service lines. Has anyone else had an inspector save them from a repair call that would've cost a full day?
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wesley18129d ago
Used to think old inspectors were just bustin' balls to feel important. That one saved me a nasty callout on a sour gas line though. Changed how I watch my heat input on the back half of every pipe now.
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Man, that's exactly how it goes sometimes. The old timers have seen enough bad welds to spot trouble from a mile away. I always tell guys to watch their puddle on the last third of a root pass, especially if it's sour service. That's where your heat drops off and slag gets trapped if you're rushing. Slow your travel speed by about 20 percent on that final third and you'll save yourself a lot of grinding.
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ninas6728d ago
Huh, that's a good point about the heat dropping off. Do you find it helps to bump up your amperage a little on that last third too, or is that asking for trouble with the root opening?
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