Hello to all, I have not been in for quite some time, hope all are well.
I have a question, and I should know this but never really took the time to notice, but, what is the average weld time per joint on 3" sch. 80 pipe? this will help me to settle something between me and a fellow manager. thanks in advance for your comments.
Oh, One other question, at what pressure does it change the classification from low pressure to high pressure? I have heard different #'s on this, I would like to get an accurate number. Thanks, Steve
Steve,
Need some more information, what is the welding process tig (GMAW) or stick (SMAW) carbon or stainless.
Also need to take into consideration handling, cutting, prepping, labor climate, some welders are faster/slower then others etc.
Are you estimating a big job and plan on inputing the time that you and your managment come up with, anyway be careful I was recently burnt by a very optimistic welder and what he thought it would take to make a certain weld. Its best to do time study of spools and don't tell the crew what your up to.
Pressure from high to low are you reffering to steam, gas etc?
I apologize for the lack of details, the process is SMAW, carbon, the project is gas lines, and we are piping in to new wells, flow lines, water lines, etc... it is a pretty fair sized job, we are going from the well head to the separator, approx. 100 ft. to the furthest well head and approx. 60 ft. to the nearest, two lines for each well head three wells. the other manager was thinking about 2-1/2 welds (joints) per hour with one welder no helper, I feel that he is off by about 1 or 1-1/2 per hr. I myself have welded for years and understand that every welders time may differ but I don't think that would be an extreme difference I haven't known of to many welders by themselves can do 16 joints,(following standard code procedures) in an 8 to10 hour day but I may be wrong, thats why I ask for input from all of you, thanks again in advance for your input. Steve
By Sourdough 
Date 03-22-2008 19:23
Edited 03-22-2008 19:34
On a standard 3" stationary weld using 5p root, and hot, then fill, cap with hippy or 70+, you should average less than 15 min. per joint if you're a welder..........
To add to this thread. I have been doing 2 and 3 inch well hook ups almost exclusively for the last 2 years. The most pipe I have accomplished alone with no helper in a 10 hour day was (19) 2" sch80 field welds. 3 passes, 5p+ & 70+. The only prefab was risers and meter runs. The moon and stars were aligned, and that morning I made love to my wife..............that evening, I didn't have the energy!
With a good helper, a good welder could far exceed that, but after a full day of heaving pipe on jackstands, production is limited..................
When was TIG changed to GMAW?
Tig was never changed to GMAW. 2 1/2 joints is really pushing it especially with one guy doing all the fitting and welding. If they are tacked up in the pipe stands ready to be welded it could be done, but that is hardly realistic in most situations.
Steve, every thing is relative in regards to weld time and alot of things need to be considered. You would be using SMAW, but what is the procedure? 6010 open root all the way or 6010 root and the balance with 7018? What code are you welding to? API 1104 is less strict compared to ASME B.31.1 or B.31.3. Will any welds be subject to radiographic inspection per either code? Will you be building spool pieces which would be fully completed in the field (consisting of 2-5 or so joints per weld spool)? Can you roll these parts on the bench? Like a 4 foot length of pipe with a flange on either end is faster to weld than 2 or 3 runs with 3 or 4 90 degree elbow on it even though once it's tacked up all a welder has to do is weld it.
I have been welding for over 20 years (mostly pipe) and I could easily weld three_ 3" sched. 80 joints in an hour all day long with out killing myself so in 8 hours, 24 welds (to me) is reasonable, but like what was mentioned by others, you have to consider cutting and prepping and tacking all this stuff up. I am not sure exactly how my employer bids this stuff but we had tracked jobs before and I think a 3 inch, sched 80 weld joint using SMAW with a 6010 root and the balance of 7018 would be given a value of like 3 hours per joint. Ofcourse it doesn't take even a rookie welder to do a joint in 3 hours but when all the things I mentioned earlier which comes from start to finish of a series of welds.......it's not really that far fetched. Don't quote me with the 3 hour time it maybe more or less, I don't bid the stuff I just weld it, but there is alot to consider and that type of time includes ALL that it takes to do a pipe job. Remember, there is alot of handaling of pipe, fittings from off the drawing board, off the stock truck, to on the bench,to be prepped, to be welded, to be inspected, to be shipped, and then installed, to placing hangers that time adds up quick and what IF something is built wrong???? Rework??? AAARRRGGGHHH! Yeah, there is alot to consider.
How many welds can you do in an hour is not really as relevant as all the other things that go into a piping project.
Good luck with that.
Hawk
01 your figures including just blue light time is 72 diameter inches a day, that's kicken butt on schedule 80 even if its all roll weld.
smaw?
If one of your arms was a grinder & file at the same time (robo arm), you'd be able to do 30 in a day.
Sounds like an idea for a great movie (Edward Scissorhands / Robocop - type movie).
I could see some welder losing his arm, waking up in an operating room (like Robocop), having all the tools he needs in his arm!
He'd be working on a pipeline, and everyone would be like "Who the hell is that?"
and someone utters "Stay away.. he can't even hold his coffee during safety meetings"
I doubt moviegoers would be interested in such a comedy-drama about a Welder.
The movie might turn out to be short, but you could add more drama to it like Ed Scissorhands.
I also think it might help to inspire people to pursue welding!
Anyhow, I'm awake now...
Weldo, I know for xray quality, 3" sch 80 pipe, smaw, I would avg 1 hour 10 minutes per joint.
But that includes grinding & filing away slag.
this is considering grinding and filing and all prep. and post cleaning, it is at an elevation of about 10,000 feet in march with about three feet of snow around the area, the temps. have been getting into the mid to upper 30's at about noon, so long about that time you're working in a pond of water and mud about 4" deep, working and fitting everything on pipe stands, the conditions are less than desirable to say the least, I have made it at approx. a joint from start of prep. to finish in about an hour, doing it by myself, ( except for operating the excavator which is lifting the pipe onto the stands) and that is moving along pretty good, I've been using 5P root and hot pass, and 7018 filler and cover. I could use 5P all the way but I'm old fashioned when I learned it was with 5P uphill root and 7018 on the rest, that was several years ago and after that I moved away from pipe into structural and repair welding, ( which is my preference) there is a lot more versatility and challenge in it to me, but recently my pipe welder took another job due to vision problems, and I have had no luck or time finding another to replace him, so I am supervising the others and taking over the pipe as well since none of my other welders are qualified to do so. Any way that may give a little more information for the time frame, since it has been several years since I did it regularly I my speed is not what it used to be, and my memory isn't either, LOL. thank you all for the help. Steve
