Hot take: Manual welding vs. stick welding for large pressure vessels

I worked a job last year on a 50-foot tank in Baton Rouge. All automatic welding on the seams. Fast, clean work. But I saw a repair crew this month do the same thing with stick on a 10-foot section. Took them 3 extra days. The auto weld had less porosity for sure. But the stick guys said their repairs last longer under stress. What's your vote for critical duty vessels - speed or longevity?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thea15d ago

Saw a similar thing on a boiler job in Houston years back. The automatic welds were textbook, but the old-timer foreman made us stop and redo one with stick because he said the auto welder missed a cold spot. Took all afternoon, but that tank's still running today. I think the real difference isn't speed or longevity, it's the guy running the rod knowing what the machine can't see. Sometimes a good stick weld is just a conversation between the operator and the metal.

jamesf4115d ago

Tell that to my welds... the conversation was mostly me cussing at the puddle.

dianaanderson15d ago

Wait, are you serious? That old-timer just stopped the whole job and made them redo a weld because he "felt" something was off? I mean, that's wild to me. Honestly, I get that stick welding has that gut-feel factor, but three extra days on a repair that's supposed to be routine sounds like a nightmare for the project budget. Tbh, I'd be nervous about a machine missing a cold spot too, but that's what NDT is for, right? Unless the guy running the stick was also reading the x-rays. Ngl, that story makes me wonder if we're trading real skill for convenience, but I also can't shake the thought that a machine doesn't get tired or distracted after eight hours.