Old foreman showed me the difference in boiler tube prep after 10 years

I used to just wire wheel the tubes before rolling. Then a guy with 30 years in the trade showed me how he uses a bevel tool and a vacuum. The tubes seated tighter, no leaks on the retest at the Johnson & Johnson plant in New Brunswick. Has anyone else tried switching up their prep routine?

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faith125mo ago

Wait, you mean you weren't already using a bevel tool?

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quinn_fox5mo ago

Wait, you mean you weren't already using a bevel tool?" Man, I had a buddy who worked at a paper mill in Ohio. For like five years he was just wire wheeling his tube ends before rolling them in. He thought he was doing fine until the plant had a big outage and brought in some old timer from the union hall. That guy watched him prep one tube and just shook his head. He showed my buddy the whole bevel tool and vacuum setup. My friend said after that, he never had a single tube leak on retest again. He still talks about it like it was some kind of life changing moment for him.

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