I thought torque specs were a suggestion until a flange on a 500 gallon kettle bit me
I used to just snug up boiler flange bolts with a rattle gun and call it good, figuring a little over spec keeps things tight. Then last week on a 500 gallon kettle at a plant outside Gary, three bolts on the steam flange stretched and let go during a heat-up, and we had to shut the whole line down for a full day. The old hand I work with pointed at the uneven gap and just said the gasket never had a chance with bolts pulling at different loads. Now I go back over every flange with a torque wrench in the star pattern like the book says, even when it feels slow. Anyone here got a shortcut for keeping long studs from seizing before you can even get a reading?