Power Tong Repair & Maintenance
Power tongs are essential for rig operations, spinning pipe up, and sometimes applying the last bit of makeup torque. Don't leave your key equipment neglected.
Power Tongs: Explained
Designed to improve the efficiency, and safety of drill floor operations, power tongs are essential tools in the oil and gas industry. They are large-capacity, self-locking wrenches used for applying torque, and gripping drill string components. The torque needed to make up the casing thread is monitored, and controlled in order to ensure that the casing thread does not leak. It makes a rotating motion when breaking out, or making up casings, tubings, drill pipes, and other pipes. The make-up torque ratings rely on casing size, grade, metallurgy, weight, and the thread compound friction factor being utilized.
The Four Types of Power Tongs
- Casing Tongs: Casing power tongs, available in various sizes and models, help maintain the integrity of well openings while making or breaking casing tubular.
- Tubing Tongs: These power tongs are designed to run tubulars for rigs to extract oil and gas from designated reservoirs. Coming in a variety of models, tubing tongs provide steady, reliable performance at base level and higher torques.
- Drill Pipe Tongs: Used primarily to drill tubular strung together, forming drill strings, drill pipe tongs allow for drilling directly into the ground. These also come in a variety of sizes with assorted torque power.
- Riser Tongs: Risers, in a similar fashion to pipelines, provide a channel that transfers materials from the blow-out preventer among the seafloor to the production structure or rig. Riser tongs make this possible through their specialty design built around deep water usage.
Service and Maintenance: What To Know
Any equipment used on a regular basis is subject to wear and tear, requiring routine checks in order for appropriate corrective action to be implemented. Not only does this promote safety in your operations, but it also prevents costly replacements through preventative care measures. While an array of issues can arise in your power tongs, below are just a few of the tong properties we inspect when providing our maintenance and servicing of power tongs:
- Head rollers
- Dies
- Brake Band
- Tong grease point
Inspect all head rollers to make sure they remain able to freely turn.
As an important component of the clamping manipulator, tong die performance is key to the overall safety of tong operation. We inspect each die to be sure that each biting edge is not overly worn and still maintains optimal functioning performance by providing the needed friction. These can be replaced if the teeth have been deemed excessively ground down.
Break bands are relatively prone to breaking, slipping, or becoming excessively worn — mainly if you don't heed the signs of potential breakage. We've got you covered and can tell if they need to be reapplied correctly or replaced entirely.
Moving parts in any piece of equipment means regular grease reapplication is a must.
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