This Oxyacetylene weld troubleshooting guide is easy to use.
Simply find the problem in the table of contents or match one of our many illustrations to the problem.
Often acetylene welding issues occur when one of the basics wasn’t performed properly. This includes:
- Only weld bare metal with all paints, oils and rust removed
- Fit metal parts before welding
- A welding jig table might be needed to secure the project
- Firm clamping in position
- Selection of correct gas pressure based on tip selection
- Right speed of travel (fast or slow can result in issues such as burning or a poor bead – see illustration below)
- Row 1: Satisfactory weld bead that could be more uniform
- Row 2: Poor bead caused by a torch tip that is too large for material being welded or slow speed of travel.
- Row 3: Caused by moving too rapidly, not allowing a proper weld bead to form
- Row 4: Satisfactory weld except for burned section at far right. Defect caused by not moving the weld bead fast enough as the weld is being completed.
Distortion Weld
Weld Distortion Troubleshooting
| Why Distortion Occurs | How to Fix It |
|---|---|
| Overheating at joint | Allow each bead to cool |
| Welding too slow | Weld at constant speed – use a speed tip |
| Pool to Small | Use larger size or triangular shaped rod |
| Improper Sequence | Offset pieces before welding |
Step 1. Check to see whether shrinkage of deposited metal has pulled welded parts together.
- Properly clamp or tack weld parts to resist shrinkage.
- Separate or preform parts sufficiently to allow for shrinkage of welds.
- Peen the deposited metal while still hot.
Step 2. Check for uniform heating of parts during welding.
- Support parts of structure to be welded to prevent buckling in heated sections due to weight of parts themselves.
- Preheating is desirable in some heavy structures.
- Removal of rolling or forming strains before welding is sometimes helpful.
Step 3. Check for proper welding sequence.
- Study the structure and develop a definite sequence of welding.
- Distribute welding to prevent excessive local heating.
Welding Stresses
Step 1. Check the joint design for excessive rigidity.
- Slight movement of parts during welding will reduce welding stresses.
- Develop a welding procedure that permits all parts to be free to move as long as possible.
Step 2. Check for proper welding procedure.
- Make weld in as few passes as practical.
- Use special intermittent or alternating welding sequence and back-step or skip welding procedure.
- Properly clamp parts adjacent to the joint. Use backup fixtures to cool parts rapidly.
Step 3. If no improper conditions exist, stresses could merely be those inherent in any weld, especially in heavy parts.
- Peen each deposit of weld metal. Stress relieve finished product at 1100 to 1250ºF (593 to 677ºC) 1 hour per 1.0 in. (25.4 cm) of thickness.
Warping of Thin Plates
Acetylene Weld Warping Troubleshooting
| Why Warping Occurs | How to Fix It |
|---|---|
| Shrinkage of Material | Preheat Material to Relieve Stress |
| Overheating | Weld rapidly – use back-up weld |
| Faulty Preparation | Too much root gap |
| Faulty Clamping of Parts | Clamp parts properly – back-up to cool |
| For multi-layer welds – allow each layer to cool |
Step 1. Check for shrinkage of deposited weld metal.
- Distribute heat input more evenly over the full length of the seam.
Step 2. Check for excessive local heating at the joint.
- Weld rapidly with minimum heat input to prevent excessive local heating of the plates adjacent to the weld.
Step 3. Check for proper preparation of the joint.
- Do not have excessive space between the parts to be welded. Prepare thin plate edges with flanged joints, making offset approximately equal to the thickness of the plates. No filler rod is necessary for this type of joint.
- Fabricate a U-shaped corrugation in the plates parallel to and approximately 1/2 in. (12.7 mm) away from the seam. This will serve as an expansion joint to take up movement during and after the welding operation.
Step 4. Check for proper welding procedure.
- Use special welding sequence and backstep or skip the procedure.
- Preheat material to relieve stress.
Step 5. Check for proper clamping of parts.
- Properly clamp parts adjacent to the joint. Use backup fixtures to cool parts rapidly.
Poor Weld Appearance
Acetylene Troubleshooting Poor Weld Appearance
| Reasons for Poor Weld Appearance | Solutions |
|---|---|
| Uneven Pressure | Practice starting, stopping & finger manipulation on the rod |
| Excessive Stretching | Hold the rod at the proper angle |
| Uneven Heating | Use slow uniform fanning motion, heat both rod & material |
Step 1. Check the welding technique, flame adjustment, and welding rod manipulation.
- Ensure the use of the proper welding technique for the welding rod used.
- Do not use excessive heat.
- Use a uniform weave and welding speed at all times.
Step 2. Check the welding rod used, as the poor appearance may be due to the inherent characteristics of the particular rod.
- Use a welding rod designed for the type of weld being made.
Step 3. Check for proper joint preparation.
- Prepare all joints properly.
Cracked Welds
How to Troubleshoot Weld Stress Cracking
| Why Cracked Welds Occur | Solutions |
|---|---|
| Improper welding temperature | Use the recommended welding temperature |
| Undue stress on the weld | Allow for expansion and contraction |
| Chemical attack | Stay within known chemical resistance and working temperatures of material |
| Rod and base material not the same composition | Use similar materials and inert gas for welding |
| Oxidation or degradation of weld | Refer to the recommended application |
Step 1. Check the joint design for excessive rigidity.
- Redesign the structure or modify the welding procedure in order to eliminate rigid joints.
Step 2. Check to see if the welds are too small for the size of the parts joined.
- Do not use too small a weld between heavy plates. Increase the size of welds by adding more filler metal.
Step 3. Check for proper welding procedure.
- Do not make welds in string beads. Deposit weld metal full size in short sections 8.0 to 10.0 in. (203.2 to 254.0 mm) long. (This is called block sequence.)
- Welding sequence should be such as to leave ends free to move as long as possible.
- Preheating parts to be welded sometimes helps to reduce high contraction stresses caused by localized high temperatures.
Step 4. Check for poor welds.
- Make sure welds are sound and the fusion is good.
Step 5. Check for proper preparation of joints.
- Prepare joints with a uniform and proper free space. In some cases a free space is essential. In other cases a shrink or press fit may be required.
Undercut
Step 1. Check for excessive weaving of the bead, improper tip size, and insufficient welding rod added to molten puddle.
- Modify welding procedure to balance weave of bead and rate of welding rod deposition, using proper tip size.
- Do not use too small a welding rod.
Step 2. Check for proper manipulation of the welding.
- Avoid excessive and nonuniform weaving.
- A uniform weave with unvarying heat input will aid greatly in preventing undercut in butt welds.
Step 3. Check for proper welding technique — improper welding rod deposition with nonuniform heating.
- Do not hold welding rod too near the lower edge of the vertical plate when making a horizontal fillet weld, as undercut on the vertical plate will result.
Incomplete Penetration
Oxyacetylene Weld Penetration Troubleshooting
| Why Incomplete Penetration Occurs | Solutions |
|---|---|
| Faulty preparation | Under 60 degree bevel |
| Rod too large | Use small rod at root |
| Welding too fast | Check for flow lines while welding |
| Not enough root gap | Use tacking tip or leave 1/32″ root gap and clamp pieces |
Video on Incomplete Penetration
Step 1. Check for proper preparation of joint.
- Be sure to allow the proper free space at the bottom of the weld.
- Deposit a layer of weld metal on the back side of the joint, where accessible, to ensure complete fusion at the root of the joint.
Step 2. Check the size of the welding rod used.
- Select proper sized welding rod to obtain a balance in the heat requirements for melting welding rod, breaking down side walls, and maintaining the puddle of molten metal at the desired size.
- Use small diameter welding rods in a narrow welding groove.
Step 3. Check to see if the welding tip is too small, resulting in insufficient heat input.
- Use sufficient heat input to obtain proper penetration for the plate thickness being welded.
Step 4. Check for an excessive welding speed.
- Welding speed should be slow enough to allow welding heat to penetrate to the bottom of the joint.
Porous Welds
Troubleshooting Porous Welds
| Why Porous Welds Occur | Solutions |
|---|---|
| Porous weld rods | Inspect rod |
| Balance of heat on the rod | Use proper fanning motion |
| Welding too fast | Check welding temperature |
| Rod too large | Weld beads in proper sequence |
| Improper starts or stops | Cut rod at an angle, but cool before releasing |
| Improper crossing of beads | Stagger starts and overlap splices 1/2″ |
Step 1. Check the inherent properties of the particular type of welding rod.
- Use a welding rod of proper chemical analysis.
Step 2. Check the welding procedure and flame adjustment.
- Avoid overheating the molten puddle of weld metal.
- Use the proper flame adjustment and flux, if necessary, to ensure sound welds.
Step 3. Check to see if puddling time is sufficient to allow entrapped gas, oxides, and slag inclusions to escape to the surface.
- Use the multilayer welding technique to avoid carrying too large a molten puddle of weld metal.
- Puddling keeps the weld metal longer and often ensures sounder welds.
Step 4. Check for poor base metal.
- Modify the normal welding procedure to weld poor base metals of a given type.
Brittle Welds
Step 1. Check for unsatisfactory welding rod, producing air-hardening weld metal.
- Avoid welding rods producing air-hardening weld metal where ductility is desired. High tensile strength, low alloy steel rods are air-hardened and require proper base metal preheating, post-heating, or both to avoid cracking due to brittleness.
Step 2. Check for excessive heat input from over sized welding tip, causing coarse-grained and burnt metal.
- Do not use excessive heat input, as this may cause coarse grain structure and oxide inclusions in weld metal deposits.
Step 3. Check for high carbon or alloy base metal which has not been taken into consideration.
- Welds may absorb alloy elements from the patent metal and become hard. Do not weld a steel unless the composition and characteristics are known.
Step 4. Check for proper flame adjustment and welding procedure.
- Adjust the flare so that the molten metal does not boil, foam, or spark.
- A single pass weld maybe more brittle than multilayer weld, because it has not been refined by successive layers of weld metal.
Poor Fusion Weld
Poor Fusion Weld
| Poor Fusion Weld Causes | Solutions |
|---|---|
| Faulty preparation | Clean materials before welding |
| Improper welding techniques | Keep pressure and fanning motion constant |
| Wrong speed | Take more time by welding at lower temperatures |
| Improper choice of rod size | Use small rod at root and large rod at top – practice proper sequence |
| Wrong temperatures | Preheat materials when necessary |
| Clamp parts securely |
Step 1. Check the welding rod size.
- When welding in narrow grooves, use a welding rod small enough to reach the bottom.
Step 2. Check the tip size and heat input.
- Use sufficient heat to melt welding rod and to break down sidewalls of plate edges.
Step 3. Check the welding technique.
- Be sure the weave is wide enough to melt the sides of the joint thoroughly.
Step 4. Check for proper preparation of the joint.
- The deposited metal should completely fuse with the side walls of the plate metal to form a consolidated joint of base and weld metal.
Corrosion
Step 1. Check the type of welding rod used.
- Select welding rods with the proper corrosion resistance properties which are not changed by the welding process.
Step 2. Check whether the weld deposit is proper for the corrosive fluid or atmosphere.
- Use the proper flux on both parent metal and welding rod to produce welds with the desired corrosion resistance.
- Do not expect more from the weld than from the parent metal. On stainless steels, use welding rods that are equal to or better than the base metal in corrosion resistance.
- For best corrosion resistance, use a filler rod whose composition is the same as the base metal.
Step 3. Check the metallurgical effect of welding.
- When welding 18-8 austenitic stainless steel, be sure the analysis of the steel and the welding procedure are correct, so that the welding process does not cause carbide precipitation. This condition can be corrected by annealing at 1900 to 2100ºF (1038 to 1149ºC).
Step 4. Check for proper cleaning of weld.
- Certain materials such as aluminum require special procedures for thorough cleaning of all slag to prevent corrosion.
Brittle Joints
Step 1. Check base metal for air hardening characteristics.
- In welding on medium carbon steel or certain alloy steels, the fusion zone may be hard as the result of rapid cooling. Preheating at 300 to 500ºF (149 to 260ºC) should be resorted to before welding.
Step 2. Check welding procedure.
- Multilayer welds will tend to anneal hard zones. Stress relieving at 1000 to 1250ºF (538 to 677ºC) after welding generally reduce hard areas formed during welding.
Step 3. Check type of welding rod used.
- The use of austenitic welding rods will often work on special steels, but the fusion zone will generally contain an alloy which is hard.
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