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I thought the old timer's soap bubble trick on a leaking tube sheet was a joke until I tried it myself in Tulsa
Three months ago I was helping retube a small fire tube boiler in Tulsa and we kept chasing pinhole leaks on the rolled joints. This older guy named Dale, been doing it 31 years, told me to wipe the tube sheet down with soapy water and watch for bubbles while we slowly pressurized to just 5 psi. I honestly thought he was messing with me because I always just relied on hydro testing at full pressure and hunting for drips the hard way. But we did it his way and within maybe 20 seconds a little bubble ring showed up on joint number 7, one I had already rolled twice and sworn was tight. Turns out the soap finds the leak at almost no pressure, so you are not stressing the whole boiler just to locate one bad roll. We re-rolled that joint, soaped it again, no bubbles, done. Saved us from firing it up and finding it later the ugly way. If you have not tried the bubble test on a tube sheet, what pressure do you usually run it at?
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adamthompson14d ago
Heard a buddy in Ohio swears by 5 psi for that bubble trick.
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thear5314d ago
Honestly the 5 psi thing from your buddy in Ohio is kinda wild to me but I get why he'd swear by it. I've messed with that bubble trick before and every setup seems to want something a little different, so I'm not gonna sit here and say he's wrong. It's just one of those things where you gotta feel it out on your own rig instead of trusting one number. Sorry you're getting pulled in ten directions on this, that part sucks.
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