Blew a gasket on a boiler in Gary last Tuesday, fixed it with help from a phone call

I was working on an old fire tube boiler at a mill in Gary, Indiana. About 2 hours into the job, a gasket on the manway gave out and steam started hissing out real bad. I had to shut everything down and drain it, which cost me half the day. Called an old buddy who's been at this 20 years, and he talked me through getting the right thickness gasket. Has anyone else had to deal with a surprise gasket failure on a older unit?

2 comments

2 Comments

river_wright2d ago

Had a similar mess on a steam drum at a plant in Hammond back in '14. Ended up keeping a few spare gaskets in the truck ever since, saved me more than once.

lucas9722d agoMost Upvoted

Wait @river_wright you seriously had that happen back in '14? That's wild. I've been in this industry long enough to know how much of a nightmare a steam drum failure can be. Keeping spare gaskets in the truck sounds like a smart move though. Crazy how something so small can save you from a total shutdown. I bet you've had some close calls since then that paid off big time.