Underwater Welding

For many people the word underwater welder will ignite a spark of adventure and challenge. Underwater welding today is considered lucrative, and can generate a high income. This type of underwater job is not for everyone. There are high risks involved well welding below the water surface. There is no age limit to be a diver-welder but it’s an exhausting job and the psychical strengths to perform the everyday welding are high. You will rarely see an underwater welder with and age over 50. To be able to take an underwater welder job there is more than just welding certificates and a scuba diver certificate. Sport diving doesn’t include the safe use of diving equipment and will not be enough. A commercial diver certificate is needed. Qualifications will vary from project to project and it can be important to possess other skills such as fitting, rigging, underwater cutting, NDT and underwater photography. There are two types of underwater welding, wet welding and dry welding. In wet welding the task is executed underwater, immediately exposed to the water with just the wetsuit to protect you. Whilst in dry welding a chamber is crafted around the location where the welding job is performed.

Wet Welding

In wet welding, not only are you exposed to the water, you also have to fight with the difficulties of seeing under water. With wet welding the method of choice is MMA (metal arc welding) with special waterproof electrode. The Welding power supply is located on the surface with cables connecting the diver with the machine. The benefits of wet welding over dry welding is but not limited to

• The speed you can set up a welder to do reparations.
• Mobility, you are not locked to a certain area and if needed can move as you like.
• Low cost, nothing is needed except the regular welding/diving equipment.

There are also disadvantages with wet welding. Poor visibility makes it hard for the welder to make a good joint. There can also be situation with cracks in the weld because of the metal piece being in direct contact with water. There is at the moment no good solution to do proper inspections of the welds, with no possibilities to do any kind of x-ray. And with the poor quality to wet welds and problems with hydrogen cracking there is always a risk with this method.

Dry welding

With dry welding or hyperbaric welding a chamber is surrounding the area to be welded. Water is pumped out from the chamber and gas consisting helium and oxygen is pumped in. The weld procedure is therefore done in a dry environment, and the welder can because of this produce a high quality weld. This is also one of the main advantages with wet welding. You also have the possibilities to NDT the welds to make sure the quality is good enough. Another advantage is safety. This is an expensive road, the chambers is an expensive tool and in most cases the chambers is only usable on a certain weld/place. And therefore won’t have a purpose after the job is done.

Underwater Welding Jobs and Salaries

As mentioned earlier underwater welding is and lucrative and high paying calling. Underwater welding salary can vary since most often its project based and there are many factors that impact the wage. Depth, danger and where the welding is done are factors. Also how experience of the welder plays a big role. This is just some of factors that come into play when a salary is decided. Since most underwater jobs are project based it also depends on how many jobs you attend to during a year. Working with underwater welding can generate between $20000 and $200000. But before you can start making this kind of money, you would most likely need to attend an underwater welding school or class. You need both welding certifications and a commercial diving certificate. In those cases when you maybe have one of these certifications, it can that only one of the two classes is needed to attend to.