Does anyone have a tip on patching a tank on a compressor? It has rusted over the years and finally popped a leak.
I first tried to weld it – no luck – too thin around affected area
Then tried epoxy – won’t hold
I know I can buy another tank, but, I’m sure as soon as I do the pump will give out.
I think I see a new compressor in my near future
Replies
Yeah...DON'T do it.
It will kill you when it blows out the next time..did I say DON'T do it yet?
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Please don't try to fix it. Repairing pressure vessels is dangerous. Their failure can be catastrophic & fatal. If it has rusted to the point where it sprung a leak, it's going to rust out somewhere else.
What's it cost to replace, compared to the cost of a funeral? Or major medical bills for major hospitalization? Or a lawsuit if it damages an employee?
Don
How did I miss the obvious? You guys are both right. I'll just buy another. This one gave 15 years of good service - can't complain.
Thanks for the reality check
What about having a professional welding shop weld a patch onto it??!!! Do you guys think this would be safe???
I got a pin hole leak on the bottom of my gas compressor, had welding shop weld on a patch. Hole was less than 1/8" diameter, first he welded up the the hole, then welded on ~2"x2" patch ( patch made out of 1/4" plate steel molded to curve of tank). I thought this would be o.k., but now you folks got me wondering.......you guys/gals think this be o.k. or should I worry.
-m2akita
Unless the welder was certified for working on pressure vessels, and the tank was tested and certified afterwards, I sure wouldn't do it. Compressed air in a steel tank can make a BIG mess if the tank fails.
Im not sure if he was certified or not, will check with him. I had the tank welded this past summer and have probably put at least 40 hrs use on it ( maybe 100). More likely than not the tank will probably develope a leak in another spot that is rusting away than at the seal.
I will have the tank looked at before it is used again. Better safe than sorry.
-m2akita
the army tests their tanks w/ a ballpeen hammer. let all pressure off, and peen it lightly all over. if soft, throw it out.
If you do, make sure the guy is certified for pressure vessels.
Same answer..it's still...NO
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
nope...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Anyone ever use that "rust fixer upper stuff". Sorry for using technical language<G>But I recall doing some body work on an old Dodge van and bought this stuff at the body supply store which is a liquid that turns rust to a hard black permanent surface. Actually only works/reacts on rust so you don't scrape the rust off.Further more it's rust resistant when done. This would make a tank a just about lifetime tool.Cor.
I was quizzing a guy from Sherwin-Williams about the product as he had a couple cans of the stuff on a shelf in the store.
He told me it doesn't work.
It's worked for about 6 years on a Dodge van!I haven't seen it in a while as I sold it but it was around town for a while. The roof was rusted around the edge about 2" all the way around. Much of it clear through. I spayed that stuff in and out and it made a black surface. I then patched with resin and fiberglass the holes sanded and painted.I saw it often for the first few years but it's been a while. In the first 6 years there was no sign of recurring rust. I wouldn't consider this structural by any means. But if it does have anti rust properties why not after the tank has a nice layer of rust dump some of this in and let it coat and convert the layer of rust to a resistant material?I also used it on a bicycle. Dumped some of it down the seat tube which always gets a bit rusty and it seems to have stopped the process.Can't think of any reason it wouldn't be an asset.Cor.
okay, dont get me wrong, I'm all for safety, but I'm also curius: I understand about the pressure swich not working and the pressure going higher and higher(much higher than 120) untill somthing fails(tank explodes for example), but that is a problem that a fancy brand(not rusty) new tank wouldnt solve. 120psi really isnt that much for a steel tank, certantly not enough to cause it to explode. If rust worked it's way through the tank making a hole, wouldnt that simply let the pressure out from the tank?? even if the hole was really big, The most that I think would happen is mabey the tank might lift off the ground an inch or so for probably no more than a second or so(depending of course on the size of tank).. am i wrong? If I am, please tell me why, give me a worst case scinario that is actually possible..
Just one more "don't bother". What I've done is save the pump and motor - trash the tank. YOu can buy new air storage-only tanks. Set it up in a shop or garage with the old pump.
Buy another compressor. You could put your motor and compressor unit on an air tank. I have a 30 gallon air tank on wheels. If you are within driving distance of Mays landing NJ, I'll sell it cheap. The air tank had a 3hp motor and compressor unit on it until the compressor died.
mike
you can buy just the tank from grainger. But when mine got a leak, I welded mine. 120 psi is really not that much presure. not like a water tank. and like somebody said. It will proberly fail in another spot.
"120 psi is not that much"
Let's say a tank is only 8 inches in diameter, at 120 psi there is over 6,000 lbs of pressure on that 8 inch end! pi(3.14) x r squared (4x4) x psi = 3.14 x 16 x 120=6,028.8 lbs.
120 psi generates a lot of force on the walls of a pressure tank!
Have you ever stood by a tire that blew out at 40 psi? I have, and it sounded like a bomb went off. I'd hate to see what a steel tank that ruptured at 120 psi would sound, or feel like.
John Svenson, builder, remodeler, NE Ohio
Edited 11/26/2004 9:51 pm ET by Svenny
"Have you ever stood by a tire that blew out at 40 psi? I have, and it sounded like a bomb went off. I'd hate to see what a steel tank that ruptured at 120 psi would sound, or feel like."
I've seen the aftermath of an air compressor tank blowing up. It was a small home air compressor that belonged to a guy I know. The pressure switch failed and the the thing kept on pumping until the tank blew.
Fortunately, no one was in the garage when it happened; what was left of it looked like an exploding cigar, and it threw shrapnel all over the garage. It was sitting next to his car when it blew, and that thing looked like it had been in a drive by shooting from all the holes in the doors and fenders.
Good case for having a pop-off valve, huh?
I hope I'm never around one that goes.
I heard a story once of a home made compressor blowing up. Seems a guy made one out of a steel hot water tank. (Years ago, this was more common than you may think) It didnt' have a pop-off installed, and the limit switch went bad. Did the same thing you describe, except on a bigger scale. Must have been ugly.John Svenson, builder, remodeler, NE Ohio
Another example of compressed air gone bad: I used to work for a company that designs and build wind tunnels for the aerospace industry. The tunnels operated on compressed air, they used BIG compressors and REALLY BIG tanks. I was working on one tunnel overseas that used two 750psi compressors, each about the size of a Kenworth, and four air tanks, each ten feet in diameter and thirty feet long.
One day during the final checkout we were pumping up the tanks to make another run, and some of the piping on the compressors let loose (they were built in Checkoslovakia, so their quality was kinda suspect...) It sounded like a nuclear explosion. Parts were thrown all over the place. That put the project behind schedule, I can tell you.
If the tank had a hole in it, I have to ask, how often it was drained? The most common cause of rust-through in compressor tanks is water being allowed to stay in there. I did hear of one guy who complained that he couldn't get any pressure and volume in his tank. Turns out that he NEVER had drained it and, being a 20 gal tank, it had about 18 gallons of water in it.Ditto on the welder being certified in pressure vessel. and their testing. Maybe they could replace the bottom of the tank, from the weld down. Still safer to get a new tank or whole rig. Whoever said RolAire- thanks for supporting the economy in Wisconsin."I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Edited 11/26/2004 10:51 pm ET by highfigh
go get ya Rolire compressor..
insted of killing / maiming yurself or somebody else....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
The following is from http://www.tssa.org/about_tssa/pdf/big_tub_lodge.pdf
" On June 8, 2000, a worker was working in the dive shop (a store for scuba divers) when a storage tank exploded outside the shop. The storage tank was part of a compressed air tank system used to fill scuba dive tanks. The force of the blast – estimated to be equivalent to three or four sticks of dynamite – spread debris over a considerable distance. The worker died as a result of the incident, which occurred on Big Tub Road in Tobermory. "
The hole it blew in the side of the hotel was impressive.
Jhole,
Use a propane tank.
Millions of them out there with the old type valve on them. Probably free. Nothing at all wrong with them. And they have to hold something like 300 pounds of pressure. (Junkhound knows the numbers.)
You do not have to put a second fitting on them. They work just fine with one pipe going into them, with a "tee" fitting, and the other side of the tee going to the air hose.
You can put everything in line, on one pipe, feeding from the compressor pump to the tee on the tank. Pressure switch, popoff valve, etc...
I am going to do this.
I will set it up with the tank upside down.
The feed coming from the pump to the tank. An "x" fitting instead of the tee, at the tank. The feed to the line from the opposite side of the x, and a brass ball valve coming off the "top" of the x. (Bottom when the tank is turned upside down.)
When finished, turn it off, then open that ball valve to drain the tank of air, and of water at the same time.
Yes, it does work. I did it before with one of those cheapo portable 3 gallon air tanks that you carry in the trunk for a flat tire. This time I am using a very large pump, and two- 5 gallon propane tanks.
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow
Thanks again guys, I think the prudent thing to do is just get another compressor. This was the first one I ever bought ( 15 years ago) it's a 2 H.P. campbell hausfield, 20 gal that just stays in the shop.
It's a little weak for a shop compressor anyways, although I never minded too much how long it took to fill or recover since the refrigerator is in there too.