Question about a stubborn flange weld on a 2-inch steam line

I was working on a steam line replacement at the old paper mill in Kalamazoo last month. The flange weld on a 2-inch line kept failing my dye penetrant test, showing a hairline crack every time. I must have ground it out and re-welded it six times, checking my heat and rod angle each pass. What should have been a 45-minute job turned into a full 8-hour shift. Has anyone else run into this with older, pitted flanges and found a good prep method?

3 comments

3 Comments

miles545d ago

Oh man, I read a forum post about that exact thing! The guy said he had to be super aggressive grinding the pitting back past the visible damage. He basically treated the whole flange face like it was contaminated.

dylan4135d ago

Yeah, that "super aggressive grinding" is key because hidden pitting can still cause leaks later.

johnh824d ago

Sounds like that guy was basically trying to turn his flange into a modern art sculpture. Grind it all down, call it "Pitted Dreams" and sell it for more than the pipe is worth.