A pipefitter is half pipe-fitter and half welder. The kit reflects that — you need FR layering for the welding stretches and serious mechanical work clothes for the threading, cutting, and bolt-up. One outfit has to do both because you don't have time to change four times a day.
Base layer: FR. Always. Carhartt FRB001 long-sleeve henley or the Bulwark Excel FR ComforTouch tee. The pipefitter is going to be in spark range at some point in the day even if he didn't wake up planning to weld. NFPA 2112 base layer protects you when the spark finds the gap.
Pants: Carhartt FR Rigby Five-Pocket. The non-FR version isn't right for this trade. About $90. Reinforced knees because you're kneeling on grating, on concrete, on whatever floor the mechanical room has.
Outer layer for welding: a leather welding jacket or a Carhartt FR Heavyweight sweatshirt depending on the welding intensity. Stick at high amperage gets the leather. MIG and TIG can do with the FR sweatshirt.
Boots: 8-inch lace-up steel toe with steel midsole. The Thorogood 804-6210 or the Red Wing 2406. Steel midsole because you're in mechanical rooms with rebar, dropped pipe, and threading machines that throw chips. Composite toe is fine for the toe but you want STEEL midsole.
Avoid the boots with extensive padding and athletic-style soles. A mechanical room floor is concrete and grating. You want a stable, stiff, traditional work boot, not a sneaker-style.
Gloves: TWO PAIRS. Always two. A welding glove and a mechanical glove. The Tillman 1338 goatskin for the welding stretches. The Mechanix Original or the Mechanix M-Pact for the wrenching. Switch as needed. Don't try to do bolt-up in a welding gauntlet — you can't feel the wrench. Don't try to weld in a Mechanix — it'll burn through.
"The pipefitter is going to be in spark range at some point in the day even if he didn't wake up planning to weld."
Helmet: same as a welder. Lincoln Viking 3350 or Miller Digital Elite. We stock both.
Eye protection when not welding: ANSI Z87 with side shield. Pipefitters get more eye injuries from grinding and cutting than from welding because they take the hood off when they're not welding. The 3M SecureFit 400 with foam gasket is what we sell most.
Hard hat: ANSI Type I Class E. Most pipefitters work with the hard hat AND the welding hood, switching between them. A hard hat that's compatible with a welding hood is the move — the Lincoln Welding Hard Hat Helmet works with most Lincoln hoods.
Tools: a 24-inch pipe wrench (Ridgid 24), a 18-inch (Ridgid 18), a 14-inch (Ridgid 14). Two crescent wrenches. A pipe threader (Ridgid 31A) if you're field-threading. A 4-1/2-inch grinder. A torch. Most pipefitters carry their wrenches in a Klein 5102-22 canvas tool bag because metal tool boxes are heavy.
Pencil/marker: a soapstone holder for marking pipe (Forney 70205) and a silver Sharpie for stainless. Regular pencil for everything else.
Layering for mechanical rooms: they're often hot. A boiler room in summer is 110 degrees. A boiler room in winter is also 110 degrees. The FR base layer plus FR pants is the right answer year-round; you don't need a heavy outer most of the time.
Hearing pro: NRR 25+. Mechanical rooms with running pumps are loud. The 3M Peltor X3A muffs are the standard.
Pipefitting is the trade where the FR layering matters most because you're not in a clean welding shop — you're in a hot mechanical room with grinder dust, oil, and intermittent welding. The FR isn't the outer layer for this trade. It's the base layer.