Vent: A simple bolt change on a Boston Harbor barge pump turned into a 4-hour fight

Last month, I was on a job to swap out a worn impeller bolt on a big discharge pump. It looked easy, maybe 30 minutes tops. The bolt was seized, but that's normal, right? I hit it with heat, used the impact, nothing. Tried a bolt extractor and it snapped off inside. Now I'm dealing with a flush break, underwater, with the tide starting to turn. What should have been a quick fix turned into a full drill-out operation with a guide jig I had to make from scrap on the barge. It took me over four hours to get it clear and tapped for a new insert. One side says always bring a full drill kit for any bolt job, the other says that's overkill and slows you down for 95% of calls. What's your take? Do you pack for the worst on every simple task, or do you get burned first and then add to your kit?

2 comments

2 Comments

riverf347d ago

Man, I used to call that overkill but a job like that changes your mind fast.

abby8367d ago

Yeah riverf34, that's so true... some jobs just beat the "overkill" idea right out of you. You start out thinking a simple way is fine, then reality hits hard. Really makes you see why people go for the heavy-duty stuff, even if it looks like too much at first.