I wonder if there is a place that can hydro test it.
Air compressor explosion / Portable Air Tank Explosion
- Thread starter Fordiesel69
- Start date
On both of my vertical compressors (I think they drain better) I retro-fitted a ball valve brought out for easy access with 1/8 threaded pipe. A few blips on that and she's drained, easy access make it less of a PTA. I fitted a male quick connect for airing up my portable tank. I grew up in a body shop so that was a mortal sin to not keep the tanks drained. Industrial compressors have a drain solenoid to do this periodically. I suspect not draining regularly leads to the death of many compressors.
so the guy just happened to have a camera there at the right time to record the compressor explode? Probably right about the AI. Generate uTube clicks
My portable tank has a dispose of date on it. Some states they are illegal to sell portables in, NJ is one, had to go to PA to get one.
At work I won't allow any air compressor tank in the building that we buy as a stand alone, unless it is ASME certified with inspection ports, the exception is a small hand held tank only for filling tires or blowing air in say a small machine, as the one we have will slowly bleed of air and not stay pressurized after a week. I don't have a choice if a machine we use has a tank that is built into it by the manufacture, we allow those. Not that the cert will make a difference, but at least it has passed some sort of certification it was welded correctly and looked at from the inside after the welding process. I assume our insurance company would push for this form of pressure vessel.
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Check with a fire extinguisher place. They hydo tanks all the time.
While tank explosion is a serious thing, the vast majority of the time the probability is vastly overblown and not appropriately characterized. Tank rupture provide plenty of warning if anyone is paying attention.
The ruptures you hear about are the worst of the worst-- tanks that have gone years without drainage, tanks that have been abused as well as neglected. It's practically an achievement the Negligence Hall of Shame to have successfully pushed a tank to the point of rupture. The tanks themselves are generally cheap small units in humid locations and are almost never drained and certainly never inspected.
Tanks crack before they explode. Every rupture starts first at a crack that was initiated primarily by pressure cycling the tank. Pressure fatigue is a real thing-- as the tank goes up and down in pressure, it will generate fatigue cycles once the material has been compromised enough to locally yield.
A tank failure is therefore a slow-then-fast classic kind of failure. It starts with rust and corrosion degrading the strength enough to allow some fatigue cycles to initiate. Then a crack starts. The crack propagates. And then you take it up to high pressure and that crack propagates very violently and lets all the air out.
One reason ASME coded tanks with 200psi WP are so much better is because they have to pass rigorous metallurgical inspection, ND testing of the welding, and a 1.3x hydrostatic proof test. So my 200psi WP tank, for example, was proofed at 260psi. That's pretty good margin for a 175psi compressor, and gobs of margin for a 135/150psi compressor.
This is one reason why you almost never hear of ASME coded tanks on vertical compressors failing. Not to say it never happens, just that in almost every case, when the full facts are known, the inevitable conclusion is "Well, of course it was on borrowed time."
The ruptures you hear about are the worst of the worst-- tanks that have gone years without drainage, tanks that have been abused as well as neglected. It's practically an achievement the Negligence Hall of Shame to have successfully pushed a tank to the point of rupture. The tanks themselves are generally cheap small units in humid locations and are almost never drained and certainly never inspected.
Tanks crack before they explode. Every rupture starts first at a crack that was initiated primarily by pressure cycling the tank. Pressure fatigue is a real thing-- as the tank goes up and down in pressure, it will generate fatigue cycles once the material has been compromised enough to locally yield.
A tank failure is therefore a slow-then-fast classic kind of failure. It starts with rust and corrosion degrading the strength enough to allow some fatigue cycles to initiate. Then a crack starts. The crack propagates. And then you take it up to high pressure and that crack propagates very violently and lets all the air out.
One reason ASME coded tanks with 200psi WP are so much better is because they have to pass rigorous metallurgical inspection, ND testing of the welding, and a 1.3x hydrostatic proof test. So my 200psi WP tank, for example, was proofed at 260psi. That's pretty good margin for a 175psi compressor, and gobs of margin for a 135/150psi compressor.
This is one reason why you almost never hear of ASME coded tanks on vertical compressors failing. Not to say it never happens, just that in almost every case, when the full facts are known, the inevitable conclusion is "Well, of course it was on borrowed time."
Certainly possible. Lanolin products might also be a good idea. THe main thing to coat is the bottom where water will puddle, that's where failures initiate overwhelmingly, not from the surface rust above waterline.
In fact, it's quite common that the failures initiate right at the waterline of a tank that's had a constant water level for awhile.
The best air tanks are epoxy coated on the inside. Yes, they are stupid expensive for their size. A little 30 gallon top-shelf tank from McMaster is almost every bit of $1000 for JUST THE TANK. And that's a tank that doesn't have the top mounting plate for your compressor and motor.
I looked into a tank upgrade for my old Champion refurb project since it's 20+ years old and saw much use. The 120 gallon vertical tank with epoxy lining and the top plate for the hardware was FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS for just the tank.
That's what it takes to get ASME coding, Powder coating on the outside and epoxy lining inside. Yes, it's basically a forever tank that your grandkids can trust forever. But of course almost never needed for home gamers.
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