Had a flange gasket blow on a 300 psi steam line last Friday.

Was doing a final walk around before shift change. Heard that hiss and saw the steam cloud. Grabbed the 1-1/2 inch socket and a new spiral wound from the truck. Anyone know a better gasket for high cycle vibration?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jake2mo ago

Man that hiss is the worst sound in the world right? Reminds me of a time we had a similar blowout on a condensate return line. The vibration from the pumps just shredded a standard gasket in weeks. Ever try those braided graphite ones? They cost more but they held up way better for us with all the shaking.

blake_cooper1d agoTop Commenter

...actually that's exactly what I was gonna ask @the_jake, if you'd tried the graphite ones yet. We had a similar nightmare with a feedwater line that sounded like a dying cat every time the pumps cycled. Switched to a spiral-wound with a metal core like the other plant did and it shut up pretty quick. Still cost a small fortune though, but beats standing there with a stethoscope trying to find the leak at 3am...

jennyh552mo ago

Yeah, I saw a maintenance report from another plant that had the same issue. They switched to those spiral-wound gaskets with a metal core, said it cut their vibration failures by like 80%. The graphite ones are good, but the metal ones handle the constant flexing better.