# Oilfield wireman



## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

A couple of pipe wrenches. That should do it.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

Bring some sun block. 

There used to be a long thread with lots of pictures. “Life of an oilfield electrician”. 

I just searched for it but couldn’t find it. So for everyone that always says “search the back threads”, the search here always sucks. I never have any luck finding something specific. Now if I search “IBTL”, or “thanks for posting on electricians talk” I can probably read for days. 

That post might have been a sticky. I searched using the enhanced mobile version. I couldn’t search from the full site because they are experiencing severe delays. I can only bare the mobile version at this time.


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## Chaz (Aug 11, 2018)

HertzHound said:


> Bring some sun block.
> 
> There used to be a long thread with lots of pictures. “Life of an oilfield electrician”.
> 
> ...


I know exactly what you are talking about. It was a great thread with a guy named “robroy” if I remember correctly. I can not find it either that’s why I started this one.


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

Google found it. 

https://www.electriciantalk.com/f2/...ectrician-54412/index18/#/topics/54412?page=1


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## HertzHound (Jan 22, 2019)

On the phone it’s 91 pages long.


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## joebanana (Dec 21, 2010)

Got any experience with a Greenlee triple nickle? Everything will be explosion proof, with rigid pipe. Two levels is helpful. You'll probably only be running pipe, the instrumentation guy's will install the devices. Remember, wear your gloves.


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## Chaz (Aug 11, 2018)

@joebanana I have a little, but I do have quite a bit with class 1 div 1 fitting etc. 
thanks


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## Chaz (Aug 11, 2018)

HertzHound said:


> Google found it.
> 
> https://www.electriciantalk.com/f2/...ectrician-54412/index18/#/topics/54412?page=1


Sweet! Thank you


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

you will always have a little oil contamination to contend with so have a few cleaning rags an a good no flash contact cleaner to add to your tool kit.
at this time you are running pipe, but eventually you will be wiring so pay close attention to your journeyman or masters.
learn to inspect your own work carefully and take pride in good work.
and if something doesn't feel safe to you ask questions and get correct answers.


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## John Valdes (May 17, 2007)

gnuuser said:


> you will always have a little oil contamination to contend with so have a few cleaning rags an a good no flash contact cleaner to add to your tool kit.


I once had a control panel get soaked with hydraulic fluid. Right before quitting time.

I start wiping up with rags and got as much as I could.
Well here comes my idea to use some contact cleaner. What was I thinking? Why did I not read the label? They bought a new brand and no one realized it was flammable. We had been using the CRC brand before. Cheap ****s.
As soon as I pressed the start button it caught on fire.
4 PM on Friday!


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## Chaz (Aug 11, 2018)

Lol that’s a great story. I will keep that in mind, thanks


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## gnuuser (Jan 13, 2013)

We used the LPS Noflash good sutff!
has no flash right on the label as part of the name. CRC was also a good one but a bit more expensive.
although you should make sure the power is off before using it!:vs_laugh:
I watched our engineer get belted pretty hard when he sprayed the fuse block in an mcc panel:vs_OMG:gee for some strange reason he became very anal about shutting down the power after that!


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## just the cowboy (Sep 4, 2013)

Good luck.
Just do everything you are told and don't complain.


Cowboy


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## Rora (Jan 31, 2017)

I do I&C in the oilfield and only advice I have is to think twice about bringing your good tools. I have a pretty high end toolbag put together but I tend to keep it tucked away until there's a serious problem, because everything gets used and abused a lot more than in other industries. Most guys who have been doing it for a long time do their best to get by with beater level stuff.


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## Chaz (Aug 11, 2018)

@Rora Thanks, good to know. I didn’t think about how rough oil fields would be on my tools


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## Rora (Jan 31, 2017)

Chaz said:


> @Rora Thanks, good to know. I didn’t think about how rough oil fields would be on my tools


I didn't either when I started, but if you can imagine--the environment is rough, dirty, and fast paced, so taking care of tools is a low priority compared to getting things done and a disposable mindset if pretty common. Also, it's not always the most organized environment, so you and the people you work alongside may be poorly equipped... the more you bring personally in terms of quality or quantity, the more likely on average you may be providing (or worse, loaning) tools to get things done, so you only stand to contribute at the expense of your own equipment. I have loaned out my nice Knipex plier wrenches only to have them returned (expect you'll have to go hunt them down, of course) covered in crap too many times.

Obviously you need to bring enough to do what you need to do (you'll figure out what that is with experience) but ideally, not too much more than just enough. Unfortunately, the more prepared you are in terms of quality or quantity tends to just be money out of your pocket vs. allowing you to produce better quality work or work more efficiently (which is the case with most jobs in terms of tools).

Best of luck!

edit: I should mention that I do break-fix maintenance where I work alongside operators, so this may not be as much of an issue for installation or if you work alone.


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## Chaz (Aug 11, 2018)

@Rora thanks so much! I will be doing construction on a crew of guys so I’d imagine I would have similar results


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## Peewee0413 (Oct 18, 2012)

Oilfield electrician.. ahh, the good ol days.. nice way to make 2500/wk. Lots of butt time and tons of knowledge.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk


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