Spent 3 hours welding a pipe flange on a barge in the Gulf and forgot to open my vent valve...

Had to grind the whole thing down and start over cause the pressure blew the weld apart, anyone else ever have a brain fart that cost them a whole afternoon on a job site?

2 comments

2 Comments

martin.vera1mo ago

Man I felt that in my bones just reading it... happens to the best of us. What finally helped me was taping a bright orange flag right on the valve handle before I even pick up the welder. That way it's staring at me the whole time I'm working. Also started doing a quick five second checklist in my head before striking an arc on anything pressure related. Saves me from grinding down a whole afternoon's work more times than I can count.

lily971mo ago

Oh man, that's brutal. Honestly, I gotta say something about @martin.vera's advice though. Taping a flag on the valve handle is smart but it actually can cause problems if it gets caught in the weld or on something nearby. I've seen a flag get snagged on a winch cable and pull the valve open by accident. Better idea is to just set your phone timer for like 15 seconds before you start, then physically walk over and double check the valve. That way you're not relying on a flag that could move or get lost in all the chaos. Ngl, I've had to grind down a similar mistake myself and it's the worst feeling. The vent valve thing is one of those details that's so simple but so easy to forget when you're focused on the weld puddle.