Would you do this?

[DetroitRob]

So I work for a local university as an HVAC tech and I also handle all the pipefitting and other work along those lines. As such I hold certs for both 6G pipe and D1.1 for structural work. Unfortunately as construction projects seem to go, management has a tendency to let the tile, carpet, paint get ahead of the mechanical systems. For example, the mechanical contractor was trying to solder 4" copper pipe with a hand held mapp torch, and insists that he is absorbing the extra 10k of cost to do the piping with copper instead of black pipe/vic fittings because it will do a better job....

Now to the point of my post.... They had to saw cut out holes in the floor of the penthouse mechanical room for new ductwork, no big deal.. They brought in a "Commercial" steel company to install reinforcements for the openings. From the looks of their trucks they looked good, newer equipment, long leads for the welder and torches. But when I went into the job they were using a brand new HD Special Lincoln AC buzzbox and what appeared to be 7014.... Now I own a Maxstar 150 for work in buildings on my own, and a Maxstar 200 in the shop for all my field work(thank the inventor for autolink) And I always use 7018 for anything structural.

I've never used 7014, and I have not had a chance to get a close look at their welds, but I know they were not even chipping them as they moved on. Pics to come tomorrow... Whats the opinion of the group here as to the quality of the job, and is 7014 even acceptable for structural work??

[wmgeorge]

As a former HVAC commercial service and some installing I can safely say most of the stupid stuff I've seen done is by the type of people your employed by. Not a lot of thinking ahead. We had one job where the ceiling people were allowed to put the grid work in for the ceiling, before the sheet metal was installed!

Seems like they always had money for the carpet and paint, furniture and the like but gee we forgot about the AC system?

Don't have a clue for your structural welding question, just wanted to let you know dumb things are not exclusive to SE Michigan!!

[DetroitRob]

This is one of those jobs where the grid went up too soon too... They are trying to finish the job through the grid... Even better our construction supervisor decided it was ok to let them not insulate the ductwork to save money, and never told us about it, so I am jumping up and down at the GC and waving the spec book like a fool

[JMK WELDING]

7014 rod is 50% iron powder 7018 low hydrogen rod is 25% iron powder. 7014 is a great tacking rod and 7018 is standard construction rod. Both are 70000 ksi (psi) all position.

[Portable Welder]

Detroit Rob, I probably do some work at your university, I cant believe how they let individuals run there own departments and have their own maintenance budget and know nothing about construction.

We don't do the big iron, we do the stairways, catwalks, railings, mechanical platforms, cut holes through concrete, block and steel walls and floors, We also do the high end anodized aluminum railings or the stainless and glass rails.

I am surprised they couldn't spend a couple bucks extra to buy the guys a DC buzz box.
The rod has a tensile strength of 70,000 psi so no worries there, however just because they have new trucks doesn't mean anything, I would chip the weld and inspect.

I have a local portable welding contractor by me that uses aluminum stick welding rods and would brag to me how good he was at it, well his old customer called me and showed me his work and I about fell over it was so ugly, After seeing my work they said they will never call him again.

I also love auto link, we use our XMT 304 and the Maxstar 150,
However the Maxstar doesn't like 7018 when trying to run it off 110v at least, they recommend using 6011.

[BD1]

$$$$. Sounds like they got the lowest bidder .

As for the plumber, 4" copper soft soldered is a thing of the past in my area. He will have issues. PROPRESS is the tool I would used. Ran 1,000' above the grid in finished area and no issues or damaged carpet, flooring, etc.
No insulation on duct work ? Could it be lined duct ? AC is gonna love that. Oh, the plumbers has to test and get his piping insulated too. What fun !!

[DetroitRob]

BD, the uninsulated ductwork isn't a big operations issue as it *technically* meets code, but being that this project is for the President's Ballroom, and will only run when there is an event, in the summer its setback temp is 85, and operating is 72... I can't wait for the day they have a big event and the sweating ductwork stains the ceiling tiles and drops a big drip on his head!
Big thumbs up here for the propress, that's what I use for most of my copper work, we have an old corded, and last year I got the boss to buy us a cordless, and we have the jaws for up to 4", and the swivels to 2"...I still want to try it out for regular black pipe!..

Portable, shortly after I hired in, I spliced a 4" steam line in a classroom with my 150, the old timers I worked with about fell over when I showed it to them, they were used to the contractors always stringing lines from a genny outside. My boss was sold and bought the 200 for the shop the next day! It also helped that I did a repair in 6hrs with 45min of OT that they would have paid 1500$ to a contractor to do! I don't have any issues with running 3/32 excalibur 7018 on the 150, but it does not like 6010 unless I keep a very tight short arc, and that can be fun at times.

[wmgeorge]

Wei if they are running a "wild" return as using the ceiling space as the return they can get away without insulation. The problem with type of return, all the dirt and warm air above now has to be considered.
Are they also welding above the finished ceiling?

[Sberry]

The 150 runs 7018 well but on 120V its limited to 3/32