OK, really stupid movie question here.

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Sorry for this, did a search and obviously no one else thought this was worth asking.  On the movie K-19, The Widomaker, with Harrison Ford and Liam Nielson, the part were they have to weld the pipe on to get water flowing to cool the reactor. The "welders" that went into the highly radioactive room to do the welding were standing in a foot of water while arc welding the pipes together.My question is, how would/could they do this without getting electrocuted.I would think they would have fried themselves.  Not to mention the whole sub is metal and submerged in water.Anyone have any thoughts on this?Would that really work in real life or would they fry?How would they really do what they tried to do?Any Navy folds on here that did any ship welding?  How does a steel ship in water effect anything (if it does at all?)Thanks for entertaining my questions.Tim
Reply:Originally Posted by Tim MSorry for this, did a search and obviously no one else thought this was worth asking.  On the movie K-19, The Widomaker, with Harrison Ford and Liam Nielson, the part were they have to weld the pipe on to get water flowing to cool the reactor. The "welders" that went into the highly radioactive room to do the welding were standing in a foot of water while arc welding the pipes together.My question is, how would/could they do this without getting electrocuted.I would think they would have fried themselves.  Not to mention the whole sub is metal and submerged in water.Anyone have any thoughts on this?Would that really work in real life or would they fry?How would they really do what they tried to do?Any Navy folds on here that did any ship welding?  How does a steel ship in water effect anything (if it does at all?)Thanks for entertaining my questions.Tim
Reply:I've been standing in water on the inside of tanker trucks welding the baffles back in without getting fried.  Someone will come in with a scientific explanation DewayneDixieland WeldingMM350PLincoln 100Some torchesOther misc. tools
Reply:I too have stood in water to weld baffles back. Electricity takes the easiest path, or the one with the least resistance. If you ground close to where the weld is, the current has no reason to go thru you, if you're careful not to make yourself part of the circuit.
Reply:I've always wondered about the way underwater welding worked.  Would love to learn more about it.I personally would think that that would be one of the ultimate jobs.As an avid SCUBA diver, that would be cool.I always wanted to be a commercial diver.
Reply:Tim M I do a lot of recreational /technical diving and work for a commercial dive company. We do some underwater welding. Here's a couple of threads that you might find interesting.http://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthread.php...mercial+divinghttp://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtal...ad.php?t=28744http://www.hobartwelders.com/weldtal...ad.php?t=30158When we weld it is always DC never AC and always make sure that the diver is never between the work and the ground. It sounds like a neat thing to do but in reallity you seldom do much welding underwater unless no other options are avalable. It is not terribly uncommon to cut with a "torch" undrewater how ever. We user an exothermic torch thats looks sort of like a stick welder called a Broco torch. It burns thru almost every thing, wood steel, bronze, concrete. Be aware, underwater cutting / welding this is not something to try without proper equipment and surface support. Welding and cutting underwater creates hydrogen gas that can build up and ignite if it becomes trapped. I've seen a commercial helmet's face shield smashed and the helmet flood due to a hydrogen explosion. You really need to have the proper gear like a full face helmet so if you are knocked unconcious you don't drown.Hope this helps.
Reply:The electricity would much rather stay in the steel.  Now if they held onto the work lead in one hand, welded in the other, then the electricity would have no choice but to go through the water and up their body to get back to the work lead.This doesn't mean you should try it on purpose.  Electricity can do things YOU didn't expect.Now, I'll have to go rewatch the movie and see how they set it up!
Reply:If they don't have their hands on part of the welding circuit they don't have a lot to worry about.  If you grab the welding circuit even under dry conditions, you may get a poke.  It used to happen to me when I clipped the wire on my submerged arc gun.  Sometimes I would accidentally squeeze the trigger when clipping, and the circuit would energize, and zap - right through the wire cutters.  You don't have to worry much about safety because it is usually under 30 volts.  It would just be like an electric fence.  With good gloves on, nothing might even happen.  They routinely weld underwater too.  You know - with the scuba divers etc...They get the highest pay - around $85 an hour.  It is dangerous because of the diving issues - nitrogen poisoning etc...
Reply:I've welded in the rain and if you wear plastic or rubber gloves you are fine. If you wear leather gloves and they get wet when you break your arc it knocks the crap out of you. No ill effects, it just hurts. I  have welded standing in water on the ground, on concrete, and in metal tanks and flat of my back in mudholes and never felt a thing. This was all with a DC welder. I have no idea if AC would be different. Don't see why it wouldn't be the same in the movies.
Reply:ive heard of my teacher welding in about 10 inches of hydraulic oil. It is possible unless he was feeding me a line of crapAs said by CHENRY:you cant weld on a thingamajig like that. are you even certified to do thingamajig welding ? I once saw an improperly welded thingamajig fail and eleventy twelvoteen things got ballywhacked. I dont think i would risk it.
Reply:Cool, thanks for the info guys.
Reply:It's possible as I have done it (always using DC current) I would not try it with AC, as with my experience Ac will knock the crap out of you even in damp conditions.  Much less with water standing.I'm a Lover, Fighter, Wild horse Rider, and a pretty good welding man......
Reply:Originally Posted by Tim MCool, thanks for the info guys.
Reply:I always thought that they had a remote switch to turn the current on/off to weld underwater. And I am not talking about poking a 6011 rod down in a bucket of water with a piece of steel in it.
Reply:I'm in the Navy and have not welded on the hull but I do inspect our gear for electrical and sound shorts. As long as you're not standing between the lead and ground in the puddle of water there's not worries. As for how it works with the ship in water. The electrode and ground are bothe onboard so the current will just pass from one to the other. The only way the current would want to leave the ship is if you held the ground a few feet below the hull in the water and I doubt I could start an arc that way with less than 400-500 amps minimum.My Photos on Flickr
Reply:Originally Posted by deadman1474Didn't they all die of the radiation anyways if I rember the movie right?
Reply:I can tell you from experience that ac will zap you just like dc if your gloves and boots are wet. I couldn't tell a difference in the way it felt.The difference between art and craft is the quality of the workmanship. I am an artist.
Reply:I worked at a shipyard for a while, and although we never stood in a foot of water and tried to weld, seems like every time we had to weld outside the boat it was raining. As long as you had some rubber gloves on you were ok, leather gloves were a different story. Wet gloves = getting zapped. If you were fast enough you could lay the rod on your leg and grab it with your stinger, but most of the time you would just get knocked in the leg a little if your pants were wet. While we were welding you feel a little tingle sometimes, but the hardest part was just getting the rod in your stinger. Glad I dont do that anymore, work in a shipyard that is.