Unpopular opinion: I think the new weld test rules are making things worse

I saw a big change in our shop's pass rate over the last year. We went from about 90% of guys passing their 6G pipe test on the first try down to maybe 60%. The main cause is the new rule from the hall that says you have to use a specific brand of low-hydrogen rod for the test, even on carbon steel. It's a lot less forgiving if your arc gets a little long. I've watched three good hands fail in the last month because of it. Has your local seen a drop in test passes since they changed the rod spec?

3 comments

3 Comments

dylan7082mo ago

Maybe the old rod was just too forgiving, hiding some bad habits.

riley86044m agoMost Upvoted

@dylan708 I couldn't agree more man. Right before Christmas we had a guy with 15 years in the pipe shop fail three times on the 6G because of that rod switch. He runs perfect beads on the old 7018 all day long, but the new low-hydrogen stuff just cooks his puddle if he backs off even a hair. It's like we are testing how good someone is at babysitting a specific rod instead of testing if they can lay a solid root and cap pass. I saw the same thing happen to two other veterans at our hall's last test session, both guys who have been welding for ages. The drop from 90% to 60% sounds about right for what I have been seeing too. Does your shop have any exceptions for guys who have a long record of passing?

baker.riley2mo ago

I get what dylan708 is saying about bad habits, but I mean, a rod that's less forgiving doesn't mean the skill isn't there. It just changes the game on a basic test. Watching guys who have run miles of good bead suddenly fail because the new rod specs are so touchy feels like we're testing the rod, not the welder. Maybe the old one was more forgiving, but it also let a good hand show what they could do without fighting the equipment.