Had a stubborn flange on a 4-inch steam line that just wouldn't seat right

We were working on a retrofit at the old paper mill in Kalamazoo, and the gasket kept pinching. Instead of fighting with it for another hour, I tried warming the flange faces with a rosebud torch for about 90 seconds before tightening. It expanded the metal just enough to let everything settle into place perfectly on the first try. Anyone else have a trick for dealing with finicky high-pressure flanges?

3 comments

3 Comments

grace_knight701mo ago

Ugh, that sounds like a good way to warp the flange... heat makes metal move in weird ways. I'd never risk it on a high-pressure line.

price.tara1mo ago

Actually that's a pretty smart trick. I mean, controlled heat is a legit way to get things to move a little. It's not like you're cooking the whole thing.

valw361mo ago

Grace's right that heat can be risky, but I've found that a low-temp heat gun at 300°F works safer than a torch for that trick. Just gotta keep it moving and never let it get cherry red.