I finally had a tube sheet crack on me during a hydro test

It happened last Thursday on a 500 psi boiler we were finishing up for a plant in Toledo. The crack was about four inches long, right along the weld seam on the lower left quadrant. We had to drain the whole thing, grind it out, and re-weld with a 7018 rod, which set us back a full day. The weird part was the pressure held fine until we hit 450 psi, then it just let go with a sharp ping. Has anyone else had a tube sheet fail like that during a test, and what do you think caused it?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_elliot11d ago

Man, that's rough. I once spent a whole weekend re-doing a weld only to have it weep at like 10 psi under test. My boss still calls me 'Leaky' sometimes. That sharp ping at 450 is wild though, sounds like a stress riser in the weld zone just gave up the ghost.

rileyb6111d ago

Yeah, it's like that one tiny flaw you miss always finds a way to show itself at the worst time.

scott.miles1d ago

Honestly, sometimes that tiny flaw showing up is a good thing. It forces you to fix it right instead of letting a bigger problem build up later. A small leak at low pressure beats a total blowout when it counts.