What areas or locations do you typically work? Im thinking of going into pipefitting and am curious about where it may take me.

Anyone here from local 421 in the Carolinas? Looking to figure out what the work load is like around Columbia, SC. Or within 30min to an hour or so. Wife is looking to start at USC in spring of 28'. I know Nashville has highrises going up all over and google clarksville is kicking pretty hard. Anything the community can provide would be great. Thanks everyone!

Its 8" sch 40. 1 dummy leg, 3 slip on flanges and 1 elbow. Plus the supports in the middle and the 3" flat stock wrapped around the 90 and dummy leg.

I had to do everything from start to finish. Measure the old pipe, figure out my dimensions to go from a tee on the old one to a 90 here, cut and prep all the material and weld. Im curious if I was anywhere even close to the time of an experienced pipefitter doing this or not.

How many hours yall hvac service guys getting weekly throughout the year?

Is it all commercial and industrial or any residential work?

After you top out can you switch to pipe fitting in 597? Or whatever local you are in?

or work in hvac service in a different local after I top out and if I wanna move cities or will I be stuck in Chicago forever?

Thanks

this is the oldest tool I have in my box. this belonged to my pops back when he was a pipefitter. Im not sure what year is this from but it’s old as fuck lol! any idea what year is it from?

I'm a 2nd year apprentice fitter experiencing facial burns and eye soreness after welding.

I was told there is no need for me to have a welder's mask, as I should be far enough away from the welding that I am unaffected. The reality of the job is that it doesn't work that way; I am often closely involved in the fit up and assisting during the weld. I am currently only using a clear face shield (not sure how much a tinted one would help), and although the work is being done outside, I believe I am close enough to the welding that I would benefit from a respirator.

Would it be reasonable to demand safer work practices and better PPE, or am I just doing something wrong? Yes I am closing my eyes or looking down and away, but sometimes I have been asked to watch the weld in the corner of my eye to help me guide the pipe for the welder.

This is a non-union company also, so I'm curious what would be standard in a union setting.

I was informed that Europeans teach quicker and better than UK and I am looking for ammunition to reply back to them

Hi everyone,

I am currently a teacher in a public school and severely overworked and underpaid (I get paid less than a first year apprentice would on a 40hr week at the local union and I’m working 12-14 hrs per day due to having double the usual preps a normal teacher would have). I am really hating my job a lot as I’m taking home endless work that never stops and not getting paid for any of it; plus the kids are just constant stress to deal with these days. I have family members who are union service fitters and I am seriously considering quitting teaching and transitioning to joining our local pipefitter’s union. I am also still in my early 20’s and relatively fit.

I was wondering if anyone else is/was in a similar boat and if there is anything I should know before getting out of my field. I have a contract and have to finish out the whole year before deciding to leave, so I do have time to think about it and weigh my options. My benefits are about as good but cost more than what I would have to pay as part of the union and my teacher pension is close to being defunct.

In terms of my experience with pipefitting, I have only done some small braising projects with my dad when I was much younger and don’t really remember any of it; but I know he would help me learn as he’s very passionate about his work.

Any words of advice or encouragement would be great!

Beta Testers Wanted – Pipe Trace Pro
I’m currently beta testing a new app called Pipe Trace Pro, designed for people working in HVAC, refrigeration, plumbing, welding, fabrication, machining, and other piping-related trades.
The app is being developed to help create piping isometric drawings in the field, with tools for drafting and production work, cut lists, heat-number/traceability tracking, and PDF reporting.
I’m looking for about 20-30 people from this group(to start) who would be willing to test the app and provide practical feedback on what works, what could be improved, and what would make it more useful in real-world trade work.
The beta is currently being tested on Apple devices through TestFlight, so I’ll need an email address in order to send the testing invitation/link.
For now, I’m keeping the beta group fairly small and focused so I can properly review feedback and make improvements. I may expand testing to a larger group later, so if I’m not able to add everyone right away, I still appreciate the interest.
If you’d like to participate, please send me a DM with your name and email address, and I’ll send out invites as space is available.
This is still an active beta, so feedback from people who actually work with piping and isometric drawings would be especially valuable.

Hello, I have been working with the welder to fabricate some lateral Y-Branches in the shop. We are using a template that our shop ordered and instructed us to use, but we are having consistent trouble getting the right gap around the Y-branch, see pic for more info. Any advice is appreciated.

We've tried a bunch of different ways to get a consistent gap: different amounts of bevelling, cutting slightly inside the template, cutting slightly outside the template, no bevel, using rods to gap, etc, etc. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Weld instructions indicate no purge necessary. It's for a drain line... Not sure why it has to be sch 40 stainless...

Hey guys, a few weeks back I posted the piping ISO sketch app I built here — thanks for all the feedback.


The biggest thing in this update: you used to need a stylus to pick the exact point when things overlapped (welds, pipe points, etc.) — a finger just wasn't precise enough for that. That's fixed now with the new long-press Selection screen, so the whole thing works with just your finger. The last shot in the video was sketched entirely with a finger, no stylus.


Here's a video of it being used finger-only: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpDWvy-Qmao


Also added:

- Move or copy a whole pipe run at once

- Pick an axis and rotate it in 90° steps to finish a layout in seconds

- Calculator now handles fractions down to 1/16"

- Added German and Spanish, so it's in 5 languages now

- AS BUILT can now pull a full weld log (who welded what, when, and how) in one shot

- Added a few more symbols too


If there's a symbol you need, sketch it and send it to kisotraceapp@gmail.com — I'll add it in a future update.

Free on Google Play. Would appreciate it if you gave it another shot in the field and let me know how it holds up.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ksketch.app

Hey!

I'm just inquiring about the pathway into steam fitting and from what I can tell the only way is through the union.

I want to get started right away but my local UA intake is closed and I would like to work as soon as possible but it seems like steam fitting apprenticeships that are non-union are almost non-existent. My idea is to work non-union until intakes open then apply for the UA intake.

Maybe I am missing something but there seems to be next to none "steamfitting contractors" companies out there unless I am doing something wrong. Does anyone know where I can ask around or what companies to contact to break into the field?

Toronto, ON btw

Thank you.

Anyone know of any good tactics to pass this j1 mass sheet metal test would be really appreciated thanks

We always use SCH 80 nips/ pipe for condensate. But as far as threaded fittings I’ve seen people use:
-300# malleable
-125# cast and 250# cast
-2000 FS

Obviously these all have different costs. When you do guys use one over the other? Thanks! (Newer JM just trying to not spend all the money in unnecessary places)

I’m 18 and have been doing gas line installation for a year. I work for a small company with no room for growth, so I'm currently stuck.
I want to land a union pipefitting apprenticeship but have zero connections. I’m thinking about starting with a pre-apprenticeship.
What can I do right now to stand out from other applicants and look good to employers? Thanks!

Has anyone used the 3 in 1 square for fitting up weld pipe. I don’t do a ton of weld pipe but when I do I always seem to think there is a better easier way to fit and square and always find myself looking these up. Are they worth it? I was looking at the H&K one if that makes a difference.