[jwmacawful]

todays project was to repair a 300 lb 7 inch cast iron pipe elbow. it's not under lots of pressure, only about 160 lbs. steam was blowing between the mating surfaces and the constant hot pressure of the steam cut a groove in the solid steel flange. i had to re-build the surface with 99% nickel. you can see the cut at about 3' o clock. i had to take a wire and cutting wheel to clean out the rust and gasket material.

[jwmacawful]

this is a better view of the damaged section meanwhile 4 steamfitters and 2 oilers are waiting for me to finish. no pressure on me though. lol

[jwmacawful]

this is the finished job. i had to hit it once more with the flap wheel to bring the weld flush. the fitters installed it and the stationary engineer gradually opened the steam valve to full pressure (160lbs). no leak.

[delraydella]

Nice!

[Tombstone]

Nice repair job jw.... Just a few questions for you please.

1). Would the Ni-55 rod have been better for you, vs the Ni-99 rod? I'm thinking about after the weld, being easier to grind it down flat against the rest of the surface of that cast part. I'm just curious if your employer provides you with both 55 and 99 rod, or just the 99?

2). Did you use pre/post heat?

3). What size and brand electrode did you use, along with machine brand and amp setting.

Thank you! I love your pics you always post up here and WW. Keep it up!

[jwmacawful]

Nice repair job jw.... Just a few questions for you please.

1). Would the Ni-55 rod have been better for you, vs the Ni-99 rod? I'm thinking about after the weld, being easier to grind it down flat against the rest of the surface of that cast part. I'm just curious if your employer provides you with both 55 and 99 rod, or just the 99?

2). Did you use pre/post heat?

3). What size and brand electrode did you use, along with machine brand and amp setting.

Thank you! I love your pics you always post up here and WW. Keep it up!

tomb- maybe the ni-55 rod would have been better but you just gotta use what you got on hand which was the 99. it's actually mg250 and i used 1/8th dia. i used the heating torch and preheated some. grinding was no problem. it was kinda a rush job cause there were 4 steam-fitters and a couple oilers hanging out waiting on me. btw, thanks for blowing my cover regarding w.w. lol

[Tombstone]

Hey jw, thanks for taking the time to answering my questions, yeah, I was just curious about the cast welding. I've only used Ni-55 rod because I was always taught that it's easier to machine and or grind down, versus Ni-99. I rarely do any weld jobs on cast iron. I do know however that next time I have a cast iron or aluminum repair job, I'm going to muggyweld rods. Those are the BOMB!!! Go to YouTube and check out muggywelds channel. They have some proprietary electrodes for cast iron that require no pre/post heat. It's truly amazing stuff. I've personally witnessed it being used on an old international diesel cast iron exhaust manifold repair. It was very slick and smooth.

Yeah on welding web, I have a different user name. I guarantee you know who I am on welding web.

[jwmacawful]

being a maint welder/fabricator you never know what's coming through the shop door next. i have a mud-leg in the m.e.r. coming up soon but i'll be looking at that site you mentioned as well as looking for you on ww

[TamJeff]

Nice repair. I like those types of jobs.

[jwmacawful]

Nice repair. I like those types of jobs.

i would never make claims to being a great pipe welder but do like the odd steam job. pressure here about a mile from our power house is only around 150-60 pounds on the high pressure side of the system. yeah, it's nice when something different comes along to break up the monotony.