Old School,
Great job for finding this info.
I read what the welder stated and in the process he used, i.e. welding, the temperatures far exceeded what normal exhaust temps would be. So I was not surprised by his recount of the off-gas problem.
To tell you the truth, I've never been a lover of galv. pipe as a process piping designer, still in this application it has worked. In wet applications, galv. pipe will corrode from the inside and in many cases, without any outside visual indication. It's use in industrial fields are mostly for costs savings & in many processes, will last a long time.
I do like the fact that you were being thorough in backchecking what you read in the threads. In the 2 years on this site, It's evident we have some very good folks with great knowledge & experience and I applaud all.
CR