NCCER Boilermaker study guide
NCCER Boilermaker · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The NCCER Boilermaker credential belongs to NCCER's craft training and credentialing system, which NCCER describes as built for industry by industry and delivered through accredited training and assessment programs. NCCER states that it was created in 1996 and is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational foundation, and that its credentials are industry-recognized and can be verified through its credential verification service. The NCCER Boilermaker study guide has 5 sections and about 1,904 words.
01Boilermaking Safety and Tools
Every task in this domain starts with a hazard assessment, the right PPE (hard hat, safety glasses or goggles plus face shield for grinding, hearing protection, FR clothing, gloves sized to the task, and respiratory protection where dust, weld smoke, or coatings are present), and a plan for the energy involved. Know lockout/tagout: shut down, isolate, lock and tag, release stored energy (pressure, steam, springs, hydraulics), and verify the zero-energy state before work.
385 words, about 2 min02Oxyfuel Cutting
Oxyfuel cutting uses a fuel gas plus oxygen for preheat, then a jet of pure oxygen to oxidize and blow the steel away. Acetylene is the common fuel: never set acetylene delivery pressure above 15 psig , open the cylinder valve no more than about 1½ turns, and keep cylinders upright.
397 words, about 2 min03Welding
Boilermaker welding covers SMAW (stick), GMAW/FCAW (wire), and GTAW (TIG) for root passes and tube work. The most-tested knowledge is electrode identification.
363 words, about 2 min04Layout, Fabrication, and Blueprint Reading
industrial drawings use third-angle projection : the top view sits above the front view, and the right-side view sits to the right of the front. Get this backward and you will fabricate a mirrored part - a favorite exam trap.
399 words, about 2 min05Boilers, Pressure Vessels, and Heat Exchangers
Firetube boilers (HRT, firebox, scotch-marine) pass hot gases through tubes surrounded by water; watertube boilers pass water through tubes surrounded by hot gas and are used for higher pressure and capacity. Learn the pressure parts - shell, drums, tubes, tubesheets, heads (flanged-and-dished, ellipsoidal, hemispherical), nozzles, manways and handholes, stays and staybolts - and the heat-trapping components such as baffles, superheater, economizer, and air preheater.
360 words, about 2 min