Found a hairline crack in a 3-year-old weld on a steam drum in Houston

Three years back, I was part of the crew that put in a new steam drum at a plant down in Houston. We did the final welds, everything passed hydro, and we signed off. Last week, they had me back for a routine inspection on the same unit. I was checking the longitudinal seam on the drum, just a visual with a good light, and I spotted it. A hairline crack, maybe an inch long, right at the toe of one of our old welds. It wasn't weeping, but it was there. The foreman from the original job swore we used the right preheat and filler, but something didn't hold. It makes me wonder if we got a bad batch of rod or if the post-weld stress relief wasn't quite right. Has anyone else had a weld look perfect for years and then just show a crack like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

juliadavis12d ago

Seen that kind of delayed failure in all sorts of things, not just welds. A roof shingle looks fine for a decade then just splits one winter. Makes you question all the stuff we think is solid and done, you know? The initial test says it's good, but time always finds the weak spot.

the_ray12d ago

I used to trust factory sealed bearings completely. Then a pallet jack wheel bearing failed after maybe three years of light use, no warning. The grease looked fine when it was packed, but something just gave way. Now I check even the "lifetime" parts way more often.

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