First time welding a patch on a 30 year old boiler tank, and it actually held pressure on the first try

I had to fix a pinhole leak on an old Cleaver-Brooks boiler at a grain elevator outside Omaha. Prepped the area with a grinder, beveled the edges, and ran a few stringers with 7018 rod. Honestly thought I'd have to grind it down and try again, but the hydro test came back clean with no drips. Has anyone else had a patch job go smoother than you expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowan26220d ago

The grain elevator boilers always seem to hold a grudge. Prepping with a grinder is the only way to go on that old rusted steel. You probably got lucky with a clean piece of base metal underneath that pinhole. Ive had patches fail because I found more thin spots after I started welding.

julia_hayes19d ago

It's funny how that pattern shows up everywhere, not just in boilers. You fix one thing and it's like the whole system decides to test you with three more problems right next to it. Maybe it's just me but I've noticed this with old house plumbing too. You fix one leak and then the pipe next to it gives out from the vibration or the extra pressure. It's like everything old and worn has this hidden network of weak spots just waiting to show themselves. Makes you wonder if anything is ever actually simple when you're dealing with something that's been sitting there for decades.