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That time I swore up and down that TIG welding a 2-inch pipe was a waste of time on a boiler job
Look, I been doing this 12 years and always said stick welding was fine for tube repairs. Then last November on a job in Gary, Indiana, the foreman made me TIG a root pass on a superheater tube. I was pissed, figured it'd take forever. But we ran it at 90 amps with a 3/32 filler rod and the weld looked like a stack of dimes. No slag, no clean up, and it passed hydro test first go. I still think stick has its place for heavy stuff, but for thin wall tubing on a boiler, TIG is the real deal. Any of you guys run into a situation where you changed your mind on a process after years of doing it the other way?
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drew_hart41mo ago
Read somebody call TIG the "cheat code" for boiler work once, and now I get why.
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ross.lily1mo ago
@drew_hart4 That's like calling a sledgehammer a precision tool.
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aaronsullivan1mo ago
Stick welders hate to hear it but TIG on thin tube is a lifesaver. I fought it for three years on boiler headers and kept burning through with 6010. Once I dialed in 90 amps with a gas lens on a 2 inch tube, the puddle control was night and day. Had a job in Detroit where the inspector wouldn't pass our stick root on a drum repair, so we switched to TIG and it flew through X-ray. You ever try TIG on stainless tube for superheaters?
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