A foreman in Tulsa told me to always tap the gauge glass before reading it

He caught me checking a boiler sight glass wrong on my first week and said 'you gotta wake it up first, kid.' Anyone else have a weird little trick like that?

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3 Comments

briancampbell6mo ago

My old man was a boiler inspector. He said tapping the glass is actually a bad habit... it can weaken it over time and cause a blowout. You're just supposed to look at it.

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bettyk535mo ago

Guess I've been weakening glass like a dummy for years then lol. I always gave mine a little tap-tap just to make sure it wasn't stuck. Now I'm just gonna stare at it real hard instead.

5

emeryfox3mo ago

Tap the glass gently with a fingernail instead of a hard knock like I used to do before my buddy @briancampbell set me straight on why it matters. I switched to just looking for that shimmer or ripple on the surface to see if the gauge is working without risking a crack. Saved me from having to replace a sight glass on my old water heater last year when I caught a hairline fracture early just by paying attention.

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