Career in Underwater Welding?

[79scubasteve]

I was hoping I could get some feedback on some information on underwater welding.
I am Certified O/W Diver and not as a commercial diver. I am a welder but have no idea about underwater welding. I was wanting to know if underwater welding is in demand or worth looking into. How much training is required to become a Underwater Welder? I love scuba diving and welding both, would be cool if I could put them together & make decent money. I live near Austin so I don't know what the demand for underwater welding is here.

Thanks Stephen

 

[Darol]

Try offshorediver.com Good luck to you.

 

[fstbttms]

Try offshorediver.com Good luck to you.

And take your thick skin with you. Noobs and wannabes are handled a little roughly over there.

 

[Doubler]

How bad do you want it? Don't even think that you just go to commercial diver school, get a job and you are welding. If you graduate and if you land a job you will be a tender for several years while you learn the trade. If you listen to the master diver, work hard and don't piss anybody off you may get a short dive or two in a year. You will have to purchase your own hat as regular open water scuba equipment is not used. I believe you need 50 hours to earn your card. One of my best friends sons works for Helldivers. I told him don't be the typical American diver and show up with your boom box, Ipod and TV. Just bring a change of clothes, a set of ears, leave the mouth ashore, and do whatever Master Diver says and you'll be alright. They like him, he is always out to sea, making decent money and he has 25 hours underwater after 2 years. Are you married because a job like this does put a strain on a relationship. Just my 2 cents.

 

[79scubasteve]

How bad do you want it? Don't even think that you just go to commercial diver school, get a job and you are welding. If you graduate and if you land a job you will be a tender for several years while you learn the trade. If you listen to the master diver, work hard and don't piss anybody off you may get a short dive or two in a year. You will have to purchase your own hat as regular open water scuba equipment is not used. I believe you need 50 hours to earn your card. One of my best friends sons works for Helldivers. I told him don't be the typical American diver and show up with your boom box, Ipod and TV. Just bring a change of clothes, a set of ears, leave the mouth ashore, and do whatever Master Diver says and you'll be alright. They like him, he is always out to sea, making decent money and he has 25 hours underwater after 2 years. Are you married because a job like this does put a strain on a relationship. Just my 2 cents.

As a self employed welder I was thinking more along the lines of continuing welding in my shop & on site projects as well as having the ability to weld underwater on private boat docks, piers, barges, ect. on the lakes in the Austin area. I am sure that would pay double the money as regular welding right? Would I even need to become a commercial diver if I am doing it like this? Surely the skill of welding underwater is similar to regular welding, just need the right equipment.

 

[Darol]

There is a world of difference. Pardon the pun, but it's a "Deep" subject.
First off your not going to grab the old portable rig, drive it out to the job
site, and do it yourself. Comms, or communications is a must. A topside man
who knows what he's doing, and what you are doing, or trying to do, is also
necessary for your survival. A knife swith or circut breaker in the leads, reverse
the hook up, and on and on and on. I couldn't begin to scratch the surface here.

I think some very good advice would be to get some books on the subject, or
just research the net. I was once told "if you don't know exactly what your doing,
surround yourself with people who do".

I was involved in the welding game for years, hired in with a major oil co in Operations
and never looked back. One of the biggest problems, and this was years ago, was
insurance bonding. I can't imagine what it must be like now. Hope you don't mind the pics, just enjoy remininscing.

Good luck to you. Hope you find the answers your looking for.

 

[48mpg]

from what I recall at dive school, underwater welding is a small % of the work out their for a commercial diver.

and a heads up to you, just because you go to a dive school that offers an underwater dive class, doesnt mean you will leave with an underwater dive cert. you still need to be able to lay a clean bead while you are trying to control the buoyancy of you and your arms, getting the feed/lead angles right in poor/zero visibility and trying not to shiver when (not if) it gets cold.

needless to say, I got my dive card but no weld cert. :/ my beads were nice but too thin. I'll give it another crack one day.

 

[muddiver]

As a self employed welder I was thinking more along the lines of continuing welding in my shop & on site projects as well as having the ability to weld underwater on private boat docks, piers, barges, ect. on the lakes in the Austin area. I am sure that would pay double the money as regular welding right? Would I even need to become a commercial diver if I am doing it like this? Surely the skill of welding underwater is similar to regular welding, just need the right equipment.

It's not as difficult as everyone makes it out, but...if you don't do it right you will get seriously hurt and possably end up dead.

The best way to prepare yourself would be to drive down to Houston and sign up for the program at The Ocean Corporation Commercial diving school offering underwater diver certifications in ndt, and nde training. I am not plugging this school, it's just close to you. Now understand that commercial diver training will run you around $14,000.00 or more. During you time there you will probably get into the basics of underwater welding.

To weld underwater it requires a DC rig, you want a knife switch on the stinger lead and you either need to dip a bunch of 7018 rod in bee's wax or buy underwater welding rods form Broco or some other supplier. I don't remember the set up right off hand, but I think Darol was correct that the polarity is typically run in reverse. The polarity and DC current are all for safety. You can not just run any-ol-way underwater.

The safe way to work is to have a surface supplied diving setup that includes a breathing air compressor like a Quincy 5120, a diving umbilicle to the diver (i.e. breathing air hose, comm wire, pnumofathometer and safety line), a communications box (diver radio), an air control rack, a diving mask/helmet, diver harness, bailout cylinder with regulator and whip, and two other employees to fill the diver tender, comm box operator and dive supervisor jobs.

Do not think that you can do this using scuba gear. You get shocked once underwater diving scuba and you will be in serious trouble.

 

[Couv]

….and NEVER get between your stinger and ground!

 

[muddiver]

….and NEVER get between your stinger and ground!

I actually thought about that as well