System for controllably conducting welding operations adjacent flammable materials and method of welding adjacent flammable materials

A system for conducting welding adjacent flammable materials on a platform, the system comprising

• a chamber defining an interior space;
• a welding apparatus operable within said interior space;
• a sensor for sensing combustible gas in said interior space and generating a first signal in response to said sensor sensing a pre-determined level of combustible gas, an exterior sensor for sensing combustible gas outside of said interior space and generating a second signal, said exterior sensor being in communication with said controller;
• a controller in communication with said welding apparatus and in communication with said sensor, said controller being capable of controlling the operation of the welding apparatus,
• whereby the controller controls the operations of the welding apparatus in response to the first signal and the second signal.

A method for controllably conducting welding adjacent flammable materials on a drilling platform comprising the steps of:

• (a) Building a chamber about an object on the platform to be welded in order to separate the object from adjacent flammable materials and to create a substantially sealed environment about the object,
• (b) Blowing air into the chamber to create a positive pressure within the chamber that inhibits combustible gases from entering the chamber,
• (c) Operating a welding torch within the chamber to repair the object while sensing inside the chamber for combustible gas above a pre-selected level, and
• (d) Ceasing the welding operations upon the sensing detecting combustible gas inside the chamber above the pre-selected level.

A method for controllably conducting welding adjacent flammable materials on a drilling platform comprising the steps of:

• (a) Building a chamber about an object on the platform to be welded in order to separate the object from adjacent flammable materials and to create a substantially sealed environment about the object,
• (b) Blowing air into the chamber to create a positive pressure within the chamber that inhibits combustible gases from entering the chamber,
• (c) Operating a welding torch within the chamber to repair the object while sensing outside the chamber combustible gas above a pre-selected level, and
• (d) Ceasing the welding operations upon the sensing detecting combustible gas outside the chamber above the pre-selected level.