The old hand on my first turnaround said torque in three passes or don't bother

Brian Jenkins · 2026-10-27T16:05:04.962766+00:00

Back when I was green, a guy named Sal who had 30 years in the trade pulled me aside during a turnaround at the Whiting refinery and told me to always torque in three passes, never one and done. I figured he was just old school and slow, so on a small flange job I did it in one pass to save time. Two days later we had a leak on that joint during startup and had to shut down a section to redo it. Cost the crew about six hours and me a lot of grief from the foreman. Sal never said a word, just handed me his wrench and watched me do it his way the next time. Turns out the three passes let the gasket seat even and keep the bolt load right, especially on the bigger flanges. Now I'm the guy telling the new hires the same thing and getting the same eye roll. Any of you have a Sal story where the slow way turned out to be the only way?

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The old hand on my first turnaround said torque in three passes or don't bother | Boilermakers - The Community Guide