As some may know I am a sheet metal mechanic who specializes in welding. I have been but not currently certified in Mig and stick d1.1, and mig d9.1. There is going to be some nuke plants going up in the future and was wondering if you guys could point me in the right direction so I can learn what I need to land a job. I can go through a business agent from my local but need to be able to preform. What is the typical type welding needed? I am assuming pipe welding with a tig root and stick cap but realy have no idea.
Actually there is no work here in MI and I keep seeing all these jobs for pipe welding in the oil industry etc... Just trying to see what/where I can learn the skill to land one of these seemingly abundant jobs. They never call for sheet metal workers, just pipe welders and combo welders. Whats a combo welder anyway. I am a excellent welder in general so learning the process shouldnt be too difficult, just need to be pointed in the right direction. Any help in the right direction appreciated. Thanks.
Most of the nuke work I have done was TIG on stainless, zirconium, and Inconel. I suppose you might find some stick or flux core on structural pipe hangers. There is probably a lot of orbital tube welding too.
most nuke work to my knowledge is TIG as already noted, I believe they stick out some piping as well. almost no MIG but there is some flux core. Also remember only the hot side that is exposed to nuclear material is built to extremely high standards. There still a rather large plant that falls under conventional structural code and low pressure piping etc.
what part of michigan are you at, although the focus of my schooling was as a pipe welder I worked as a sheet metal welder in Detroit and pennsylvania and lived in south east michigan for quite awhile. You're right about the relative lack of jobs, i knew of many low pay production fab jobs but I didn't want to get paid 10/hr to squeeze a trigger all day.
If you have the info on any of the plants I would try to find out what they are testing people on, if you want to learn how to tig weld I suggest taking a class at a local community college most of the ones in michigan are highly subsidized. Since you're already skilled it shoudln't be a hard transition but it's definately a whole different mechanic than MIG
Whats a combo welder anyway?
Its specific to a tig and stick welder as far as what I know.
Actually that's somewhat of a false statement. You probably just don't know where to look. Our contractor's are so busy in state with pipeline work we've had to qualify apprentice's to journey level to keep up - yes in Michigan. Check within the U.A. for different locals. The industry has been so busy that many of the area locals are losing welders to 798. So, given the massive amounts of work available here along with welders transferring locals many jobs have been on hold. The area buisness agent elect told me he could keep an additional 30 guys busy. I haven't asked for permission to give out contacts, but the info is easy enough to find on the internet if your interested.
What Local are you out of?
I had heard Detroit 636 had work and Saginaw 85
Not sure how 190 or Monroe outlook is.
If that question is for me, I'm not in a local. I oversee the welder qualifications and inspection of the contractor's who bring in the welders from the locals. We have both 190 and 85 on our system.
where is all the work at? im from traverse city..
abrahamx, if you are looking to work on new construction nuclear power plants you have a lot of options. Combo welder is tig/stick on pipe. Some may disagree but that is what I believe it refers to.
There are MANY different pipe systems in a nuclear plant with different alloys, pressure, temperature and sizes. Some are floor drain pipes and some carry steam from the steam generator to the turbines. Some will carry highly radioactive water and some carry water for showers. Some are super critical and some are not.
Pipe will be welded with GTAW all the way and others will be GTAW root/hot and SMAW out. That depends on the WPS. There will be mechanized welding also. Primarily GTAW. Lots of critical pipe systems are welded with machines using joint configurations that are quicker than stick welding and you can control the heat input (joules) much better than using manual welding. There will probably be a lot of SS sheet metal mechanized GTAW in the fuel pool and fuel transfer canals. Flat and vert. welding.
Some systems will call for FCAW and GMAW but the bulk of pipe welding will be GTAW and SMAW. Carbon steel and SS are most common.
Lots of hanger/support crews using SMAW. Structural welders use mostly SMAW but some will have all of the processes mentioned above.
Some welds will be RT, UT, PT, Mt but all code welds will be visually inspected whether it is pipe ,hangers,structure, misc.(stairs) sheet metal.
Pipe is the best work in the nuclear world. IMO
Gents (and Ladies too),
The term "combination welder" has had many connotations over the years, but in general means a welder that does a "combination" of processes and welds on multiple applications. Back in the "good old days" at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, the term initially meant a tradesman that did welding (including a number of processes) along with oxy-acetylene cutting and carbon arc gouging. There were guys, and gals, only qualified for welding using mainly one process (SMAW). A combination welder would, at least, be qualified for SMAW and GTAW, along with OAC and CAC.
In today's industry, outside of the Government, welding is generally not considered a "trade", but is a "tool of a trade". You have pipefitter welders, ironworker welders, boilermaker welders, etc. Normally a pipefitter welder does not cross trade lines to weld structural applications. Within the Government, welding is considered as a separate trade and during my years at PSNS the weld shop was the largest in the shipyard with ~1000 welders out of the total ~10,000 workers. During training in my apprenticeship we were exposed to all phases of welding in the shipyard, from riding a 3-wheeled scooter, gas welding cast iron sewer pipe, to GTA welding of nuclear piping systems. After completing the apprenticeship program one might settle in to a specific segment of the trade, e.g., working in the shipfitter's shop welding on structural steel. The extent of welding you could do was related to the number and type of qualifications you had, not what specific trade you were associated with.
Combination welders normally could more quickly progress to the top pay grades, as a welder, due to their multiple qualifications.
Combo welder is used nowdays when they call for a welder that can do tig/stick. In the nukes, you will run mostly tig with 70s-6 and 7018 or 8018 stick. I have only seen 5p+ used one time and it was on some handrails we welded up. The critical piping, which is the RCS and main steam, will almost always be done with an automatic gtaw machine. The safety related piping such as feedwater and aux feedwater, will be done with tig/stick. Those two groups have a vt, rt and ut done to them usually. Most your normal stuff like plant water, air and lube oil will be done with tig/stick and usually have a vt and a percentage shot done on the system. Anything 2" and under is usually socket welds unless it'a a heavy wall joint. The hire on test is gonna usually be a 2" .625 wall tig/stick and sometimes the same type of coupon but tigged all the way out. They do mig usually on the cavity and the duct work. Your best bet would be to take some pipewelding classes at your local cc like mentioned before, and then call the fitters or boileremakers hall up and see if you can test for them. Alot of the pipefitters are starting to go weld on the pipeline cause there's alot of money to be made for a good while and I don't blame them. Hell, I'm out on one right now and out of a building trades local. The UA is hurting for welders bad and the locals are letting people do hybrid programs and such so they can get the manpower they need.
About every form of welding you can mention will be found in a nuke at one time or another. Just stepping through some of the very ultabasic areas of a PWR (pressure water reactor)
The entire containment in many designs is a pressure vessel. Section VIII unfired as modified by CFR's and section III/XI. Everything in containment is one form of code weld or another.
Structural welding, containment walls, concrete work, etc will come first. Then filled out by hangers, snubber supports, ect, then comes the piping and tubing, Instruments and controls, pressure piping, drain piping, piping for the sake of piping it sometimes seems. Large components, reactor vessel, rcp pump mounts and the pumps, associated piping, then there is the hydrogen collection system, fire water systems, Steam generators, and associated systems, all with their own structural/piping and assorted welding.
Vent systems, all sheet metal D1.3 typically, and others.
In summary, about any and every kind of welding standard welding you can think of. The only real caveate to all of this is, they are far more particular. Where some sites let you get away with storing filler in a lock box for lunch, many nukes will write you up for it, indications on inspections are tighter, and there are going to be hold points for passing gas if your welding a code weld. (being sarcastic there, but it's the truth, There are more hold points for QC verification than you can shake a stick at)
The nuke work is coming, or the country is going to shut down. Hopefully the idiots in DC realize that.
I like this thread. Brackets and hangers all 7018, lots of carbon and stainless pipe tig/stick. Lots of tig socket welds. Get this, for the sheet metal guys, even 3/32 6011 DCRP. I like the comment about having pipes for pipes sake, a lot of redundancy. I spent about a year on a new one out of 85. You could make a pretty good career out of waiting for something thats for sure. I even kept a little pail of dirt for a month in my tool box so I had something to spread out in the morning and sweep up at the end of the shift.
Ya those are the stories I heard the old timers talk about, waiting for days to get tacks inspected etc, I was just a kid when the Nukes we're being built, late 70's early 80's
Which one did you work on?
Midland Mi, must have been in about 82 maybe 83. It was a long story, what a fiasco.
well I finally got my 6g pipe cert. 6" pipe sch 80,with two tig passes and 7018 to fill out. My local and another did a two week class because they expect a shortage of welders when the few power plants get started. Hopefully it will make me some money. I'm sheet metal so thats not reallly our area but before the boilermakers were short on welders and put out a call to our and other locals. Hopefully this will happen again.
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