Just read that 60% of boiler explosions in the 80s were from bad weld repairs

Found it in an old OSHA archive pdf I was digging through for a job. I knew poor welds were bad but i didnt think it was that high. Most were on older firetube units where guys tried to skip post weld heat treatment. Makes me double check every repair ticket now. Anybody else run into sketchy repair work on older boilers?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordan_young1mo ago

Started stamping every PWHT exemption request with the supervising engineer's sign-off after nearly losing a job to a cracked tube sheet. Had a foreman try to skip the post-weld heat on a 1975 Cleaver-Brooks, so now I keep a copy of the original OSHA bulletin taped inside the office trailer.

mila_perry131mo agoTop Commenter

That cracked tube sheet on the Cleaver-Brooks, did the foreman ever try to fight you on it after you pulled out that OSHA bulletin?

the_lucas1mo ago

Think you might be overcomplicating it a bit... I've seen plenty of welds that held fine without all that paperwork. Most of those old boilers were built tougher than what we give them credit for.