Air Compressor Carnage

[Creekside]

Thought you guys might like to see this. This is a Quincy QT-15 15hp reciprocating compressor that is used for a production air supply. There are two of them that run in tandem. A bolt broke that holds a reed valve onto a reed plate and contacted the low pressure piston and lifted the entire cylinder assembly. The broken connecting rods and guard damage were secondary to the cylinder assembly breaking off. This was a freak failure that I have never seen before, these units are absolutely bulletproof normally.

Admins feel free to move this to a more appropriate place if needed. I wasn’t sure where to put it.

 

[Eddie]

An expensive bolt for sure.

 

[oggb]

She's dead, Jim.

 

[Trav]

 

[AutoMechanic]

Ouch .

 

[Donald]

Did the bolt break or unscrew? Or hard to tell?

 

[KenshinHimura]

Just needs some flex tape and its good as new

 

[Creekside]

Did the bolt break or unscrew? Or hard to tell?

Definitely broke. The rest of the bolt is still in the nut and you can see a perfect indentation of the bolt head in the bottom of the reed plate.