My journeyman said to skip the stress relief on small header stubs, and one shift in Gary taught me he was dead wrong

Hugo Hayes · 2026-10-11T14:45:05.275827+00:00

He told me back in 2019 that anything under 2 inch NPS on a low pressure line could just get a quick pass and move on, and I ran with that for way too long. Then a stub on a 6 inch header at the Gary works cracked right at the toe three days after startup, and the inspector pulled my log book and asked why there was no PWHT note. So how do you all decide where the cutoff really is, do you go by wall thickness, code, or just what the old guys swear by?

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My journeyman said to skip the stress relief on small header stubs, and one shift in Gary taught me he was dead wrong | Boilermakers - Opinions Matter