That weld test at the refinery took me 11 hours

I was working on a steam drum patch job at a refinery in Baton Rouge and kept failing the radiograph because of slag inclusions I couldn't find. Turned out my flux was picking up moisture from the humid air, never even thought to check that before. Has anyone else had a simple environmental thing mess up their weld tests like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_fiona1mo ago

Oh man, moisture in flux is a classic sneaky one! I had a similar thing happen with stick electrodes on a pipeline job in Houston - they were stored in a little closet near the steam lines and the humidity just wrecked them. Took me three retests and a ton of frustration before the old-timer showed me the tiny rust spots on the rods. Now I always keep my flux and rods in a heated rod oven (even the small portable ones) and check them the night before a big test.

gavina731mo ago

11 hours for a weld test sounds like a punishment from the refinery gods.

matthewkim1mo ago

Those rust spots are a killer, man. How long did it take you to figure out the rod oven trick? I swear half the battle with these tests is just keeping your materials right, not even the actual welding. Three retests sounds brutal... I woulda been ready to toss the whole rig in the bayou.