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I finally got the tube sheet rolled too tight on a boiler retube and blew a tube on the hydro
So we were doing a retube on a 500 horse firetube at a plant over in Gary, and I was rolling tubes into the rear tube sheet, feeling pretty good about myself, moving along at a nice clip. Got to about the 60th tube and heard that little pop you never want to hear, and sure enough coolant started weeping out around the rolled end. Turns out I had the roller set too tight and I stretched the tube wall past where it would hold, basically thinned it out until it split. The foreman came over, took one look, and said real flat, "Well, that one's done, cut it out." So we spent the next two hours torching out a brand new tube and cleaning the hole back up so we could re-roll a fresh one, all because I was rushing to beat the shift change. Funny part is the fix was easy, it was my pride that took the beating. Anybody got a feel for how you know when the roll is just right before you overdo it, or is it all by ear for you too?
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