Debate: Should I weld that cracked boiler plate myself or call a pro? Made my choice and it cost me.

Had a 1/4 inch crack show up on a 20-year-old fire tube boiler last Tuesday. I stood there for 20 minutes weighing if I could just grind it out and run a bead myself or if I should bring in the certified guy. I went with my own fix to save $400 and get the job done that afternoon. Well, the weld held for about 2 hours before it started weeping water again, and then I had to call the pro anyway who charged me $650 for the redo plus an emergency fee. Has anyone else gambled on a DIY repair on a pressure vessel and had it bite them?

2 comments

2 Comments

cora4001d agoOG Member

Oh man, reading your post gave me flashbacks to the time I tried to patch a tiny pinhole leak in my own water heater with JB Weld (my grandpa's time-honored fix, apparently). It held for exactly one shower, then let go with a vengeance and flooded half my basement floor before I could get the valve shut. I guess my grandpa forgot to mention the part about the water pressure being a relentless bully that doesn't care about your clever epoxy job. Funny how saving $400 can turn into a $650 mistake plus a wet carpet, huh? At least now we both know the pro's price is really just the cost of learning not to be an overconfident doofus with a welder or a tube of glue.

wesley_grant331d ago

Man, reading this made me wince because I've been exactly where you are. Why do we always think we can save a few bucks and a day of downtime, only to end up paying double and waiting twice as long? I've seen this kind of thing happen a dozen times in my own shop with customers who try to patch a leaky radiator or a cracked manifold themselves. It's not about skill half the time, it's about the hidden stresses and the fact that pressure vessels don't forgive shortcuts. Take this from someone who's been burned before, your story is a real tough lesson but at least you're walking away with the right answer for next time.