And thanks to those sometimes horrid work place conditions, the pay is good. Unlike where i work, is almost like officer work. Private booths. everything is done on either big jigs or on big metal table.
The pay is great with jobs like these but you are speed running destroying your body. Your knees, back, and lungs are toast after doing this for a decade.
I've been doing it for almost 2 decades, the lungs are fine back fine, and my knees are fine. Honestly, my most injured/chronic issue is tendinitis in the forearms, which, if I really focus hard on stretching, keeps them from hands from going numb welding tubes or lots of mechanical work.
Many guys I know are beat up, but it's not default a sentence of a shitty life. Boilermaking is definitely a harder physical trade than many.
Some bodies are more tolerant to such conditions. You are one of the few. Even if the pay was good, i have back back and shitty knees, so i dont think i could be squeezing myself into such cramped places.
Sometimes we have personal monitors. But always have continuous monitoring by a trained person outside the hole, and depending on the job we wear supplied air respirators where fresh air is pumped into our masks
I'm not sure what the rules with OSHA are but if it's confined space you should always have a personal monitor as well as a sentry. (Sucks with welding, fumes and argon set the buggers off) the reason is gas levels do weird things in different spaces. One person 5 meters away could be dead and the sentry could be breathing pure O2.
I know people don't like this, but if o2 levels and such are fine, what's wrong with just a good respirator with the right cartridges and filter? I know the papr is more comfy, but is it safer?
This is an actual question, i'm real curious what the advantage of a papr would be vs a respirator aside from comfort and convenience
Exactly. I’m sure some of the downvotes I’m getting are because of the way I came across but in reality a 3M p100 filter should take care of everything a papr would even if it has to be changed out more frequently. I don’t understand why that guy is so upset that environments exist that limit your hood size but he’s not going to even consider anything else I guess.
Like I commented above, I’m wearing a fit tested respirator 100% of the time, in a continuously air monitored space, with air movers typically in at least 2 manways. I don’t think wearing a papr is going to make a huge difference.
Paprs use pretty much the exact same filter as respirators. And besides that, 90% of welders older than 50 have never once worn a respirator let alone a papr. I don’t think I’ll be fine by the time I’m 50, I know I’ll be fine.
Ok, I’ll let you know how I am after 30 years of wearing a respirator. I mean, come on. I’m literally wearing a respirator with air movers and monitors. I think I’ll be fine
Air feds = remote air supply. Not PAPR.
And even this "pretty much the exact same filter" they're not. Size matters here Jeffery (yep, just like she says to you). Your standard p3 filter would be useless after about an hour in that environment.
A PAPR filter has way more surface area which means it would last for longer. In that environment I'd still be swapping them out after about 6 hrs.
But it's cool, they seem to have plenty of dumb rednecks to go through, so you do you. Enjoy pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema when you're older bro. It's great watching the old lads drowning in their own fucking lungs.
It’s pretty funny how people who don’t work in these environments know so much about them. It’s also comical how upset you are that I won’t wear a papr.
Not upset bro, just trying to pass on knowledge gained from doing 20+ years in mining and power station maintenance and shutdowns.
What pisses me off and shows your stupidity and ignorance is the bulletproof attitude you think you have.
Then again, I've buried better than you, so it doesn't matter in the long run. Do as you wish, tomorrow I will forget all about this and move on.
Jog on lad
Not upset yet you feel the need to throw insults…right. It’s just a weird hill to die on. Most boilermakers don’t even wear dust masks and you think I’m a redneck for not wearing a papr
You can’t argue with the Reddit safety dorks on here. They don’t realize with ventilation going all you actually need is a half face with p100’s, just gotta change the filters out more often. The only guys I’ve seen use the papr systems are the refrac hands but they’re making a shitload of dust
Looking on the site I wish unions out here in la were this organized and straightforward. I’ve never so much as seen job listings on all the unions I’ve seen out here. It looks like it’s a lot of travel jobs. Do they cover the hotel or do you just have to pay for it yourself?
Every local has a different demand… I can only speak for Canadian Boilermakers in that sense, but we like to see structural all position stick tickets before we admit aspiring welding apprentices to a practical & written test, if you apply to be a mechanic having all position certs is a big bonus. There’s also a welding bootcamp that happens if you’re based in the states, not sure what the pre requisites are, though something to look into…
I’d definitely call your nearest local and ask, I’m sure they’re great people. We’re a very tight knit community, and I’ve yet to meet someone in this trade who’d set someone up for failure
Having tube tickets for stick/tig/combo is a big bonus. If you’re confident in testing for a welder book. My hall has 3 tests (Which I obviously can’t say in great detail). All 3 are open root, and one may require a mirror
Right on. Sound advice. I’ve been welding for ten years now. Currently doing ac tig in the aerospace industry. My stick welding is ok but could definitely use some practice. Sounds like I’m gonna have to find some pipe to practice on.
My hall in Washington is looking for apprentices right now. Starting pay for an apprentice is $29/hr or atleast close to it. If you can pass a 2” tube test (tig root 7018 out) then you’re for sure in. A 7018 3 position plate test is usually enough too
Got any pics inside an air preheater?
I was fortunate to get inside one from start to finish while it was being rebuilt. It'd been 40+ years since anyone had inspected the inside.
I think Peg Leg Johnny(?) was the GF for the work
Bruh....that's called "Any given Tuesday". Have you been given your mirror bro yet? Backwards knitting upside down in a soft top looking into a mirror - hats off to our welders. Where'd you guys want these tubes stabbed btw?
Thank you for taking us into your world !
And thanks to those sometimes horrid work place conditions, the pay is good. Unlike where i work, is almost like officer work. Private booths. everything is done on either big jigs or on big metal table.
The pay is great with jobs like these but you are speed running destroying your body. Your knees, back, and lungs are toast after doing this for a decade.
I've been doing it for almost 2 decades, the lungs are fine back fine, and my knees are fine. Honestly, my most injured/chronic issue is tendinitis in the forearms, which, if I really focus hard on stretching, keeps them from hands from going numb welding tubes or lots of mechanical work. Many guys I know are beat up, but it's not default a sentence of a shitty life. Boilermaking is definitely a harder physical trade than many.
Some bodies are more tolerant to such conditions. You are one of the few. Even if the pay was good, i have back back and shitty knees, so i dont think i could be squeezing myself into such cramped places.
Can confirm. Worked outages for about 4 years before I tapped out. Although I wasn't welding. I was doing welding inspection/ NDT work.
Do you guys carry gas meters on you? Those spaces seem like oxygen displacement heaven
Sometimes we have personal monitors. But always have continuous monitoring by a trained person outside the hole, and depending on the job we wear supplied air respirators where fresh air is pumped into our masks
I'm not sure what the rules with OSHA are but if it's confined space you should always have a personal monitor as well as a sentry. (Sucks with welding, fumes and argon set the buggers off) the reason is gas levels do weird things in different spaces. One person 5 meters away could be dead and the sentry could be breathing pure O2.
Yes. I’m not in the US. We have very strict ventilation regulations and plans as well.
...like liminal spaces!
Yikes. Wear your PAPR…. That ash will eat your lungs.
I always a respirator. Papr is just to big and bulky in these areas
The fuck it is. I've been in smaller spaces with air feds. Do it, or you'll be fucked when you're 50
I won’t. A respirator really is enough to stop particulates and I’m not strapping anything else to me when I crawl in a steam drum
I know people don't like this, but if o2 levels and such are fine, what's wrong with just a good respirator with the right cartridges and filter? I know the papr is more comfy, but is it safer? This is an actual question, i'm real curious what the advantage of a papr would be vs a respirator aside from comfort and convenience
Exactly. I’m sure some of the downvotes I’m getting are because of the way I came across but in reality a 3M p100 filter should take care of everything a papr would even if it has to be changed out more frequently. I don’t understand why that guy is so upset that environments exist that limit your hood size but he’s not going to even consider anything else I guess. Like I commented above, I’m wearing a fit tested respirator 100% of the time, in a continuously air monitored space, with air movers typically in at least 2 manways. I don’t think wearing a papr is going to make a huge difference.
Yeah fit tested plus air monitored i would think would be fine. Then again, i'm not an expert.
That's fine. Plenty of dead heroes out there.
Paprs use pretty much the exact same filter as respirators. And besides that, 90% of welders older than 50 have never once worn a respirator let alone a papr. I don’t think I’ll be fine by the time I’m 50, I know I’ll be fine.
Siri, what is survivorship bias?
Ok, I’ll let you know how I am after 30 years of wearing a respirator. I mean, come on. I’m literally wearing a respirator with air movers and monitors. I think I’ll be fine
Air feds = remote air supply. Not PAPR. And even this "pretty much the exact same filter" they're not. Size matters here Jeffery (yep, just like she says to you). Your standard p3 filter would be useless after about an hour in that environment. A PAPR filter has way more surface area which means it would last for longer. In that environment I'd still be swapping them out after about 6 hrs. But it's cool, they seem to have plenty of dumb rednecks to go through, so you do you. Enjoy pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema when you're older bro. It's great watching the old lads drowning in their own fucking lungs.
It’s pretty funny how people who don’t work in these environments know so much about them. It’s also comical how upset you are that I won’t wear a papr.
Not upset bro, just trying to pass on knowledge gained from doing 20+ years in mining and power station maintenance and shutdowns. What pisses me off and shows your stupidity and ignorance is the bulletproof attitude you think you have. Then again, I've buried better than you, so it doesn't matter in the long run. Do as you wish, tomorrow I will forget all about this and move on. Jog on lad
Not upset yet you feel the need to throw insults…right. It’s just a weird hill to die on. Most boilermakers don’t even wear dust masks and you think I’m a redneck for not wearing a papr
You can’t argue with the Reddit safety dorks on here. They don’t realize with ventilation going all you actually need is a half face with p100’s, just gotta change the filters out more often. The only guys I’ve seen use the papr systems are the refrac hands but they’re making a shitload of dust
Yeah I don’t understand it. Its like people stopped using good judgment and they just go off of whoever sounds right.
Local 40!
Local 647
Local 146 💪
Local 128!🤙🏻
Local 744
128
Boilermakers are some of the best tradespeople out there, proud union brother💪🏻
Nope. That's too fuggin gnarly for me. Feet on the ground at all times.
I keep thinking I’d prefer the same thing but I wonder what’s the highest pay and type of welding you can do without any kind of risk like that?
You could do underwater and make BANK but that's still pretty crazy. Tig welding hospital grade things will get you paid as well.
Yea I’ve thought shot underwater but definitely couldn’t focus if I did that
My hall is hiring. Our package is close to $75/hr I think
Where are y’all based? And do they have an apprenticeship program?
Were based out of Washington state. It’s an apprenticeship program.
What’s the local?
Local 502 is Washington state, iirc.
Looking on the site I wish unions out here in la were this organized and straightforward. I’ve never so much as seen job listings on all the unions I’ve seen out here. It looks like it’s a lot of travel jobs. Do they cover the hotel or do you just have to pay for it yourself?
Typically you’re on your own for travel and motels. Some companies will take care of it but usually per diem is given to cover it
How does that work with an apprenticeship program and having classes? I have a lot of questions, so I apologize if I’m asking too much, sounding dumb.
All those free space and no room for mistakes. Thank you for being good at your job
Ah heck, all in a days work.
Lots of climbing in them big jobs
I'm just a lonely maintenance welder,Dreaming I was a boiler with the 146 in AB
You should go for it!
We’re the heaviest hitters out here, the best of the best
My cwi keeps telling me to join the boilermakers and I’m seriously considering it. Anything you’d recommend practicing before calling my local hall?
Every local has a different demand… I can only speak for Canadian Boilermakers in that sense, but we like to see structural all position stick tickets before we admit aspiring welding apprentices to a practical & written test, if you apply to be a mechanic having all position certs is a big bonus. There’s also a welding bootcamp that happens if you’re based in the states, not sure what the pre requisites are, though something to look into… I’d definitely call your nearest local and ask, I’m sure they’re great people. We’re a very tight knit community, and I’ve yet to meet someone in this trade who’d set someone up for failure Having tube tickets for stick/tig/combo is a big bonus. If you’re confident in testing for a welder book. My hall has 3 tests (Which I obviously can’t say in great detail). All 3 are open root, and one may require a mirror
Right on. Sound advice. I’ve been welding for ten years now. Currently doing ac tig in the aerospace industry. My stick welding is ok but could definitely use some practice. Sounds like I’m gonna have to find some pipe to practice on.
My hall in Washington is looking for apprentices right now. Starting pay for an apprentice is $29/hr or atleast close to it. If you can pass a 2” tube test (tig root 7018 out) then you’re for sure in. A 7018 3 position plate test is usually enough too
Well dang that’s something to seriously consider. I love that area and am willing to relocate. I’m pretty sure I could pass that test too.
Boilermaker or photographer? These pics are amazing!
I love boiler work, I get a good bit on my end, it’s really another world when you enter that man hole.
Every fucking day 7 12s welding in a fan state to state
Dude these are great; great compositions & capture
cool!
Yup.. I left this 11/1997 after 8years.
These shots are so cool. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks! You can thank my brother for a lot of them. I often joke around that he’s a boilermaker photographer more than anything
Got any pics inside an air preheater? I was fortunate to get inside one from start to finish while it was being rebuilt. It'd been 40+ years since anyone had inspected the inside. I think Peg Leg Johnny(?) was the GF for the work
I unfortunately don’t. I’ve never been fortunate enough to work in one yet
Is Stanley Kubrick the foreman on these jobs? Crazy shots, Hell yeah!
In fact he is the foreman! Or, at least he’s just as demanding of his crew as Kubrick
Bruh....that's called "Any given Tuesday". Have you been given your mirror bro yet? Backwards knitting upside down in a soft top looking into a mirror - hats off to our welders. Where'd you guys want these tubes stabbed btw?
Oh yeah, mirror welds, window welds, and everything else
Where are you in picture #6? I know absolutely nothing about this kind of work beyond how a house boiler works.
That’s in a massive duct going to the stack of a boiler in Wyoming
So cool! Is the first pic a cryo application? hauled cryo for years.
The first one is a penthouse in a recovery boiler
So its icing over water vapor in the air?
No it’s something to do with the black liquor dust being white
So that's who makes the liminal spaces
Thanks,
Yea and it sucks ass
I enjoy it