Welding Manhole Covers - New York Manhole Covers, Forged Barefoot in India

"New York Manhole Covers, Forged Barefoot in India"

That is the title for an article from the New York Times, November 2007.

The Article web page on the New york times site displays an image of shirtless and barefoot foundry workers in India carrying ladles of molten metal. Did you hear what I said? Barefoot and carrying ladle pots full of red hot molten metal. Dont believe me? check it out for yourself...Check it out.... New York Times Article on Manhole covers Why is this even worth writing about? Well, I will tell you. It started out as an internet search about welding manhole covers.

I have a friend who asked me about the best way to weld them because he was trying to help out another friend whose business is struggling in these hard economic times.

I got to thinking about this and did some internet searching for welding manhole covers and discovered that theft of manhole covers is on the rise and is really a big problem.

I mean think about it, a 2 or 3 foot hole that leads to who knows what at the bottom. Children could fall in, lots of bad things could happen. That is the main reason that lots of cities and municipalities are contracting to having them welded.

Not welded completely, but tack welded so that it would be noisy and difficult for anyone to steal them.

I also discovered that another reason manhole covers get welded is for security as is mentioned in the youtube video above that describes the welding of manhole covers in St. Paul Minnesota before the 2008 Republican convention.

But the

whole scenario is jacked up....What do barefoot foundry workers in India have to do with the theft of manhole covers in New York?

Why are people stealing manhole covers in the first place? If you had a manhole cover sitting in your carport, would you carry it inside at night for fear of it being stolen?

Manhole covers are stolen because scrap metal prices rose to the point where someone looks at a 200 pound chunk of iron and all of a sudden, it looks like money instead of a hernia. Maybe its a guy out of work, trying to feed his kids...or maybe its some crack addict. Maybe its a steel worker that lost his job because the steel mills shut down...now that would be jacked up.

So what makes scrap metal prices get so high? Demand. Demand by countries like India and China who are getting into the manufacturing game big time.

All powered by workers making about a dollar a day who aspire to make 2 or even 3 dollars a day.

So Manhole covers in the good old USA get stolen...and then a City purchaser places an order for more manhole covers.

The order goes to a Foundry in India because apparently, not having to worry about OSHA and EPA laws along with paying your workers a buck a day allows them to be really competitive. Manhole covers are shipped back to New York on a boat that burns fuel...which then helps drive demand for oil.

In the US, if you get injured on the job, you can just pick up the yellow pages and call a lawyer to get your check, I wonder how many lawyers in India will step forward and represent the workmens comp case for the guy who burns his feet in the foundry.

Anyway back on point... As times get tougher, We can expect more theft of manhole covers, not less.

A Silver Lining to Theft of Manhole Covers

Welding manhole covers is a business opportunity for someone willing to work. And the Equipment for welding manhole covers is pretty simple and inexpensive. You could get by with a portable generator welder like a Miller bobcat or you could use any generator along with a portable inverter welder like a miller maxstar 140. It only takes about 120 amps to run a 1/8 stick rod and the welds for a manhole cover are typically only a few inches long.

Duty cycle would not be an issue with either of the scenarios listed. I would recommend stick simply for the simplicity , portability , and forgiving nature when welding in windy or wet conditions and for dirty metal.

You could pretty much park your truck, unroll leads, fire up, and five minutes later...done.

What Other Visitors Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...

What stick do you use for cast? 
Ive lost $2500 worth of covers in two weeks to people less fortunate. What type of rental welder and rod do you recommend to tack them down.I'm a good …

BLUCO WELDING TABLES? 
i wonder how much bluco paid jesse james to promote their product? not that it isn't a great looking hunk of equipment. i personally think the acorn platens …

Comments on Big Als post 
Thanks big Al, Jody here, chiming in on welding manhole covers. I think you have to look at the intent of welding them shut in the first place and …

The over-safetifying of America 
Now this really doesn't have much to do with the real reason for this subject. However, I have to laugh when some Americans start applying our own standards …

welding manhole covers 
What type of rod is being used for this process. I was informed that the covers are of poor quality metals and hard to weld. So unless you get a welding …

exit welding manhole covers and see other welding videos

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.