Best method of cooling steel after welding? 2

[ietech]

I am not a professional welder as a trade but do maintenance on conveyor equipment. Occasionally I must weld broken parts or fabricate patches or replacement parts.

The folks where I work who weld (ARC) more frequently than I, immediatedly run cold water over the weld until it is cooled. Is this the proper method? My preference is to reheat the entire part with the oxy-acet torch after ARC welding to equalize the temp throughout then slowly room temp cool.

Is either way preferable and/or even correct?

Thank You

 

[metengr]

ietech;
Running cold water over a weld region is never good practice. The rapid cooling could result in harmful thermal gradients. Your best bet is to simply wrap the weld region with an thermal blanket to let it cool slowly.

 

[rmw]

And if you can't wrap it in any kind of blanket, then simply let it air cool without agitation if possible.

rmw

 

[ietech]

Thank you both for the replies. I didn't think a sudden change in temp was a good thing.

 

[PAN]

Should we keep slow cooling for austenitic stainless steel welding?

 

[metengr]

No. Different base material and preheat or post weld heat treatment are not required. Instead, heat input is more critical than rapid cooling in the field.