Ten free 307A Steamfitter/Pipefitter practice questions.

Ten 307A Steamfitter/Pipefitter questions in the format of the Red Seal exam: four options, one correct answer, no trick questions. They are free to use, print and share. There is nothing to sign up for on this page.

01How to use these

The questions come from the TicketPrep 307A bank and are spread across the exam's work activities in the order and roughly the proportion the Red Seal Program publishes for this trade: A (performs common occupational skills), B (performs layout, fabrication and piping installation), C (performs rigging, hoisting, lifting and positioning), D (installs, tests, maintains, troubleshoots and repairs low and high pressure steam and condensate systems), E (installs, tests, maintains, troubleshoots and repairs heating, cooling and process piping systems), F (installs, tests, maintains, troubleshoots and repairs renewable energy systems), G (performs commissioning, start-up and turnover). Answer each one before opening the explanation. Every explanation covers all four options, because on the real exam the wrong options are written to be plausible, and knowing why they are wrong is most of the skill.

• Pace. The exam allows four hours for 130 questions, so about 1 min 51 s per question. Try these at that pace.
• Print. The printed version shows the questions and the answer key without the explanations, so it works as a handout. Print this page Download PDF
• Mark. The pass mark is 70 percent on every Red Seal trade; seven of ten here is the same bar.

02The questions

1. Recall · Performs common occupational skills

   A steamfitter will inspect tank-wall piping from a rope access system. How is each technician connected in a certified rope access system?

   1. To one line tied off to two anchor points
   2. To one working line fitted with a rated descender
   3. To a bosun's chair hung from a single fall line
   4. To two independently anchored lines: working and backup
   Show the answer

   D. Correct. Rope access uses a working line and a separate backup (safety) line, each on its own anchor, so a single failure cannot drop the worker. Only trained, certified technicians working under a qualified supervisor use it.

   Why not the others

   A. Two anchors on one line protect against an anchor failure but not a rope failure. The system needs two independent lines.

   B. A single line has no redundancy; if it or its anchor fails, the worker falls. Rope access always adds a second, independent backup line.

   C. A bosun's chair still needs an independent lifeline on its own anchor; a single suspension line is never enough.

2. Procedural · Performs layout, fabrication and piping installation

   A 200-ft (61 m) carbon-steel steam line is installed at 70 °F (21 °C) and will operate at 340 °F (171 °C). Using expansion = L × ΔT × α with α = 0.0000065 in./in.·°F, how much will the line grow?

   1. 0.35 in.
   2. 5.30 in.
   3. 4.21 in.
   4. 2.11 in.
   Show the answer

   C. Correct. L = 200 × 12 = 2400 in.; ΔT = 340 − 70 = 270 °F. Expansion = 2400 × 270 × 0.0000065 = 4.21 in. (about 107 mm). Loops, joints, guides and supports are laid out for this movement.

   Why not the others

   A. This leaves the length in feet (200 × 270 × 0.0000065). α is per inch of length, so convert first: 2400 in. × 270 × 0.0000065 = 4.21 in.

   B. This uses the operating temperature (340 °F) instead of the temperature difference. Expansion depends on the change: 340 − 70 = 270 °F, giving 4.21 in.

   D. This is half the growth. If the line were anchored in the middle, each end would move about 2.1 in., but the total growth of the 200-ft line is 4.21 in.

3. Recall · Performs rigging, hoisting, lifting and positioning

   A synthetic sling in a module yard has a cut that exposes red yarns from inside the sling. What does this mean?

   1. It is the colour code for the sling's capacity
   2. The sling may be used at half its rated load
   3. The core is damaged; remove it from service
   4. The sling is due for its periodic inspection
   Show the answer

   C. Correct. Red warning yarns are built into many synthetic slings so that damage reaching the load-bearing core shows. Once they are visible the sling is tagged out and removed from service, as with cuts, tears, burns, chemical damage or a missing tag.

   Why not the others

   A. Round-sling colour coding is on the outer cover, not hidden inside. Red yarns showing through a cut are a damage indicator, not a rating.

   B. Damaged slings are never down-rated in the field; their remaining strength is unknown. A sling showing warning yarns is removed from service.

   D. The periodic inspection runs on a calendar. Exposed warning yarns mean the sling is damaged now and must come out of service immediately.

4. Procedural · Installs, tests, maintains, troubleshoots and repairs low and high pressure steam and condensate systems

   The boiler-water conductivity (TDS) reading taken with the test kit on a low-pressure steam boiler at a food plant is above the limit in the treatment program. What is the correct adjustment?

   1. Raise the boiler operating pressure
   2. Add more sodium sulphite to the boiler
   3. Increase blowdown to lower the TDS
   4. Reduce the make-up water feed
   Show the answer

   C. Correct. Evaporation leaves dissolved solids behind, so they concentrate in the boiler. Blowing down removes concentrated water, which is replaced with fresher make-up. High TDS causes foaming, carry-over and scale. Record the reading and the change in the log.

   Why not the others

   A. Pressure does not remove dissolved solids. The fix is controlled removal of boiler water.

   B. Sulphite scavenges oxygen and adds dissolved solids. It would raise the TDS further.

   D. Make-up must replace the water the boiler evaporates. Starving the boiler only drops the level and leaves the concentrated solids in less water, so it makes the TDS worse, not better.

5. Recall · Installs, tests, maintains, troubleshoots and repairs heating, cooling and process piping systems

   Under ASME B31.3, for which fluid service may the owner elect an initial service leak test instead of a hydrostatic leak test?

   1. Category D fluid service
   2. Category M fluid service
   3. High-pressure fluid service
   4. Normal fluid service
   Show the answer

   A. Correct. Category D covers non-flammable, non-toxic fluids at no more than 150 psig (1034 kPa) and between -29 °C and 186 °C (-20 °F to 366 °F), such as utility water. For it the owner may elect an initial service leak test: the system is brought up to operating pressure in stages with the service fluid and every joint is examined.

   Why not the others

   B. Category M fluids are toxic enough that a single exposure can cause serious harm. They get more stringent examination and testing, never a service test with the toxic fluid.

   C. High-pressure fluid service has stricter test requirements, not lighter ones. Only Category D may use the initial service leak test.

   D. Normal fluid service requires the hydrostatic leak test (or a pneumatic test where justified). The initial service leak test option is limited to Category D.

6. Procedural · Installs, tests, maintains, troubleshoots and repairs renewable energy systems

   A drainback solar system is being piped for a school's domestic hot water. The collectors must empty whenever the pump stops. How is the collector supply and return piping run?

   1. Sloped continuously toward the drainback tank, no sags
   2. Level, with drain valves at each low point
   3. Sloped toward the tank, with a return check valve
   4. Pitched toward the collectors, with a vent at the top
   Show the answer

   A. Correct. When the pump stops, the water in the collectors and exposed piping drains by gravity to the drainback tank and air takes its place, so every run must fall continuously toward the tank at the slope the manufacturer sets, with no sags or traps to hold water that could freeze or boil. No check valve goes in the collector loop.

   Why not the others

   B. Level runs hold water in sags and depend on someone opening drains. Drainback works automatically only when the piping slopes continuously back to the tank.

   C. The slope is right, but a check valve would hold the water column on the collector side and stop it draining back. Drainback collector loops do not use check valves.

   D. Pitching away from the tank traps water in the collectors, which is what a drainback system must avoid: it freezes in winter and boils in summer. The fall is toward the tank.

7. Recall · Performs commissioning, start-up and turnover

   After chemical cleaning of new stainless steel piping in a food plant, the specification calls for passivation. What does passivation do?

   1. Dissolves mill scale and heat tint by attacking the surface
   2. Rebuilds the thin chromium-oxide film that resists corrosion
   3. Removes oil, grease and cutting fluids left from fabrication
   4. Raises the pH of the spent acid so it can be drained safely
   Show the answer

   B. Correct. Stainless resists corrosion because of a thin chromium-oxide (passive) film. Fabrication, free iron from carbon-steel tools and welding damage it; passivation (usually a nitric or citric acid treatment per the specification) removes free iron and restores the film. Sanitary food and pharmaceutical systems specify it after fabrication and cleaning.

   Why not the others

   A. That describes pickling, an acid treatment that removes scale and weld heat tint. Passivation follows it and rebuilds the protective oxide film rather than removing metal.

   C. That is degreasing, the first stage of chemical cleaning. It prepares the surface but does not restore the corrosion-resistant layer; passivation comes after cleaning.

   D. That is neutralization of spent cleaning solution before disposal. It protects the drain and the environment, not the pipe surface.

8. Procedural · Performs layout, fabrication and piping installation

   A support base plate is being fastened to a concrete floor with adhesive (chemical) anchors. What must be done before the adhesive is injected?

   1. Oil the threaded rod so it can be removed later
   2. Clean the dust out of each hole by brushing and blowing
   3. Set the rod first, then pour adhesive around it
   4. Fill each hole with water so the adhesive cures faster
   Show the answer

   B. Correct. Drilling dust left in the hole stops the adhesive bonding to the concrete and can cut the anchor's capacity sharply. Brush and blow out each hole per the maker, inject from the bottom, set the rod and leave it unloaded for the full cure time.

   Why not the others

   A. Oil stops the adhesive bonding to the rod, so the anchor will pull out. The rod must be clean and free of oil.

   C. Adhesive is injected from the bottom of the hole first and the rod is twisted in, so the annulus fills without air pockets.

   D. Standing water weakens most adhesives and is not part of the installation. Holes are cleaned and dry, or treated only as the maker allows.

9. Recall · Installs, tests, maintains, troubleshoots and repairs low and high pressure steam and condensate systems

   In a gravity-return low-pressure steam system, which description fits a wet return?

   1. A return below the boiler water line that runs full of water
   2. A return that carries flash steam from high-pressure traps
   3. A return above the boiler water line that carries condensate and air
   4. Any return that drains to a condensate pump
   Show the answer

   A. Correct. A wet return runs below the boiler water line, so it is always full of condensate and carries no air or steam. A dry return runs above the water line and carries air as well as condensate.

   Why not the others

   B. Flash steam in returns belongs to high-pressure condensate systems. Wet and dry refer to where the return runs relative to the boiler water line.

   C. That describes a dry return. Because it runs above the water line it is only partly full and also carries air to the vent.

   D. A pumped return is a mechanical return. Wet or dry describes whether the gravity return runs below or above the boiler water line.

10. Procedural · Installs, tests, maintains, troubleshoots and repairs heating, cooling and process piping systems

    Spools of 316L stainless arrive for a chemical plant, and the QC plan calls for alloy verification before installation. What does the fitter do?

    1. Check the painted colour code and install
    2. Confirm by PMI and match heat numbers to the MTRs
    3. Test with a magnet, since stainless will not attract it
    4. Rely on the fabricator's packing slip
    Show the answer

    B. Correct. Positive material identification (a handheld XRF or spark analyzer) confirms the actual alloy, such as the molybdenum that makes it 316 rather than 304, and the heat numbers on the pipe are matched to the mill test reports for traceability. Results go into the QC records before the spool is installed.

    Why not the others

    A. Paint and colour codes can be wrong, faded or missing, and they cannot tell 304 from 316L. Alloy verification means PMI and heat numbers traced to the MTR.

    C. Austenitic stainless is mostly non-magnetic, but a magnet cannot tell 304 from 316L, and cold-worked or welded stainless can be slightly magnetic. It is not an accepted alloy verification.

    D. A packing slip is not a material record. Shop mix-ups happen; that is why the QC plan requires PMI and heat numbers traced to MTRs.

03Answer key

04More free questions

For the 307A exam itself, the 307A exam guide covers the work activities, their weights and how the exam is scored, and the 307A Steamfitter/Pipefitter practice exam page describes the full TicketPrep 307A question bank. The same free format is available for the other 9 trades, plus the free guides on the pass mark, question counts, exam day and how to study.

How these questions are written and checked: how our questions are made. Found a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.