Burned up a $400 torch tip because I was in a hurry on a job in Gary last month

I was working on a 6-inch steam drum patch up near the old US Steel yard. Rushed the preheat and didn't let the tip cool between passes. That thing started sputtering and then just died. Cost me half a day driving to the supply house and $400 out of pocket. Ever make a dumb mistake that cost you real money on a job?

3 comments

3 Comments

paulnguyen3d ago

I read somewhere that rushing preheat is the number one killer of torch tips. That $400 lesson hit you hard man, but at least you know exactly what went wrong.

the_sage3d ago

But why is nobody talking about how much the gas quality itself matters for this? I run a small shop and swapped suppliers a while back, the new gas had way more moisture in it. Started getting tip failures way faster even when I was doing everything right with preheat. Took me burning through three tips to figure out the gas was the problem, not my technique. So sure, rushing preheat is bad, but if you're buying from a sketchy source you could be doing everything textbook and still killing tips. Might be worth checking what's actually in your tank before dropping another $400.

tessap973d ago

Yeah I basically paid $400 to learn that fire needs to breathe before it can scream.