My slag pot cracked mid-pour last Tuesday and I had to think fast

I was working a job at a steel plant outside Gary, Indiana, and we had a 20 ton slag pot that started leaking halfway through a pour. Hot slag was dripping down the side and I knew I had maybe 2 minutes before it let go completely. I grabbed a cold patch rod and a hammer and pounded a quick weld right over the crack while the pot was still hot. It held just long enough to get the rest of the slag poured and then we let it cool slowly. The boss later said I should have just let it fail and called for a backup pot, but that would have cost us 4 hours of downtime. Has anyone else had to do a hot repair on a slag pot or ladle like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

amy69227d ago

Man, that's some quick thinking. Glad you pulled it off.

uma30626d ago

Keep a roll of duct tape in your glove box, always. I had a coolant hose split on me two years back on a Sunday afternoon. Wrapped it tight with tape and some plastic from a shopping bag, drove twenty miles to the auto parts store without overheating. That tape got me home more than once in a pinch.