Knocked out my first tube sheet repair last week and actually held pressure

Been a helper for about 18 months and finally got to lead a small tube repair on a heat exchanger at the plant outside Gary. Walked in Tuesday morning nervous, walked out Friday with zero leaks after the hydro test. Anybody else remember that first time they felt like they actually knew what they were doing?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_miles1d agoTop Commenter

You hold pressure the first time and that feeling sticks with you.

theas281d ago

My first time holding pressure was on a guy named Rick at a punk show in '09. He took a beer bottle to the head during a Circle Jerks set and the blood was just pouring down his face, you know? I remember thinking how weirdly warm it felt, like someone handed me a hot and really wet towel. The paramedics showed up and took over, but for those five minutes it was just me and my hands trying to keep his scalp together. It's funny how the brain hangs onto these random moments, I still get a little jolt whenever I see a bloody elbow or something.

emma_wells8317h ago

and @theas28 really nailed it with that scalp story though. that first time you hold pressure on something serious your brain just locks it in forever. congrats on the tube sheet repair, that feeling never really fades.