WARREN - RG Steel LLC took care of some routine maintenance Tuesday by replacing a bleeder valve on its towering blast furnace.
A crane lifted the 10,500-pound valve so five members of Ironworkers Local 207 could install it on the 244-foot blast furnace - the tallest structure in Trumbull County at nearly 25 stories.
The valve, which measures 5 feet, 4 inches wide and 8 feet, 6 inches high, is one of three on the furnace that relieve pressure during the ironmaking process, according to RG spokeswoman Bette Kovach.
Article Photos
Tribune Chronicle / R. Michael Semple
A large crane is erected next to the blast furnace at RG Steel LLC in Warren on Tuesday.
The furnace produces molten iron by burning coke, iron ore and limestone at temperatures exceeding 3,000 degrees. The iron then is transported to the basic oxygen furnace to be converted into steel.
RG idled the blast furnace on Main Avenue S.W. for the project but should be able to restart it today, Kovach said.
Working near the top of the furnace were iron workers Kevin Conway, Dustin Allen, Bob Olson, John Gallagher and Jason Brummert.