Underwater welding

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Can a person who is hard of hearing but still hear do underwater welding?
Reply:If you're going to do hard hat diving, would you be able hear the intercom?Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:I am about 99% sure i would, i mean if its loud enough i can like if its extremely soft then no. I mean i dont know which underwater welding im going to get into yet, im still in welding school and going to attend underwater welding school after and go from there. I know i will be getting internships from welders but i dont know where i would even start to get experience for underwater welding i dont think they want to take a young guy fresh out of school.
Reply:The dive companies I've been around, all divers work as a helper for years before ever getting wet. Communication is very important in the diving profession! Almost all of the communication is done top side between the dive captain and the divers, but the diver has to stay in contact with top side while in the water. I always hated listening to the diver when they're on helium mix gas. They all sound like Donald Duck to me. Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:You don't learn to be an underwater welder. You go to school to become a commercial diver. Underwater welding is just a tiny part of what you will learn. Keep in mind on average they do very little underwater welding. It's just too costly to do so and welds on average aren't the greatest. The vast majority of work is welded topside, then assembled underwater with nuts and bolts. In some cases you might do a fair amount of underwater cutting, separating old bolts etc so you can replace things with more nuts and bolts.If you have hearing issues, my 1st thought is why? If you can't clear your ears, you won't be able to dive. Ear problems related to hearing can often indicate other issues that may cause clearing issues. If your ears will not clear and you force it, you'll rupture your ear drum and be in worse shape.Commercial diving is not for everyone, even those who scuba dive. The hat make a lot of people claustrophobic, and visibility is often zero at best. If you have seen the scene in Men of Honor where Cuba Gooding Jr has to do his graduation dive, the conditions represented in the movie are positively gorgeous. Of course if they showed real conditions, looking at a black screen wouldn't make for good viewing.  I've been in water so dark HID car headlights completely disappear in less than 12" of water. Everything is done by feel.I can name the number of times we welded under water on one hand when I was working with a commercial dive company. Also keep in mind, the big money jobs they always talk about are few and far between. You have to know someone or have a lot of experience to get a shot at one of those jobs. Also commercial diving is very hard on the body. You won't find many old divers doing the big money dives. The job has chewed them up and spit them out. Most when their bodies can't take it any more, either move on to management, or move to doing shallow water work that's less demanding at a lower pay scale..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:The company I worked for would do just about anything to keep divers out of the water. In all the years I worked around divers never once was welding involved. I got stuck working with about 10-divers on this bridge job for months. The state had us place these 300-ton concrete anchors in the wrong place! We were stacking them 5-high. These wing anchors only weighed 90-tons, but they were placed over 200-feet deep. The divers had to go down and rig the anchors for us. Then stand by until we placed them the correct place. Attached ImagesDon’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:CEP thanks for the insight appreciate it lol. I wanted to do jobs overseas either underwater or just top side welding either way overseas. I wouldnt mind doing civilian work for military if that is an option? And DSW thanks for your input, I did do scuba diving before but not that deep where you cant hear anything, I can pop my ears not a problem. But thanks for the insight on your experience on it i appreciate it, I am not claustrophobic though so there's one plus haha, and i am in really good shape besides the hearing I just thought underwater welding was a pretty fun job.
Reply:Like DSW says. I live in the Puget Sound area. I'll bet there isn't a hand full of divers who make a living at diving. Majority of them have to work as Pile Drivers until a dive job comes along.Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:So diving probably wouldn't be the best job to take up then? I am looking to actually make this a career any better routes to go? Also do you guys have any sites i could learn more about welding and fabricating from?
Reply:I understand there is a lot of dive work in the Gulf of Mexico. Again like DSW was saying, you really have to know someone! Or you'll work as a helper for years, if you even get that far.Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Well, I was told by a friend of mine to just open up my own business when i get out of school for it. Apparently his uncle has his own underwater welding business and makes a good chunk of change.
Reply:Not that I know anything, but I would think the insurance would be outrageous! I worked for the biggest marine construction company on the west coast. Like I said they would do anything to keep divers out of the water!Don’t pay any attention to meI’m just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Hm maybe over seas welding on land would be better while im young and have nothing holding me back? whats the downfall with that?
Reply:Originally Posted by tripped4509whats the downfall with that?
Reply:Thats true, but i mean japan? australia? I understand Iran yes lol
Reply:I worked in India for two months this summer and felt safe but wouldn't go to plenty of other places to work.
Reply:Thanks showdog for your input did you like it?
Reply:There are plenty of commercial dive jobs out there. They just don't always pay top dollar.The company I worked for did a lot of bridge and pier inspections. Read diver goes down wearing a camera and looks where he's told to by the inspector on the surface while trying not to kick up the silt and ruin visibility. They also did a bunch of small vessel recovery jobs during the summer after idiots sank their small boats. then there's the occasional dives either in the sewage plant, or the fresh water plant doing inspections and repair. Then there's the occasional repair job, changing zinks on boats, patching hulls on barges until they can get pulled for repair and so on. that said, about 1/2 their work was oil abatement on the river, putting out booms and vacing up oil spills, or doing tow work on small disabled water craft.We also had work baby sitting the bridge workers working on the bridges over the Delaware. In theory we are there to "rescue" someone who falls and misses the net. In reality, we are there to do the body recovery as chances are they won't survive the impact at that height.  Chances are also high we won't even be able to get to them in time before they sink either, dead or alive. The diver sits geared up 90% ready to go in the hot sun, just waiting to hit the water. Sounds fun, but you get bored to death after about an hour.A friend of mine who wanted to become a commercial diver got his first chance on January. He got to wade around in a half submerged barge with a bucket of  epoxy, looking for holes to plug as they pumped out the flooded barge. Then for a "break" he got to go topside and stand around on the pier handling hoses and lines for the divers jetting the mud out from under the hull so they could attach lifting cables to raise the barge. Not quite the glamorous job he was thinking of... .No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:There are plenty of off shore oil diving job in Africa right off the EBOLA coast, more will open up soon.