FAQ |
Members List |
Social Groups |
Calendar |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
||||
|
||||
Drain and inspect your air compressor tank
Air compressor explosion videos were popping up on my feed.
Wow. I drain my tank but not every time. I just went out and unplugged mine. It's right next to my car. Explosion at about 1:27: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVP_A7eGYxw&t=102s Here's another that shows some aftermath of a different explosion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm_FJ6Pat4I&t=60s |
The Following User Says Thank You to F ROCK For This Useful Post: | ||
#2
|
||||
|
||||
Pretty scary for sure.
I moved mine to another room about 10 years ago so I didn't have to listen to it. I'm glad I did after seeing those videos!......
__________________
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a Veteran! https://cliffshighperformance.com/ 73 Ventura, SOLD 455, 3740lbs, 11.30's at 120mph, 1977 Pontiac Q-jet, HO intake, HEI, 10" converter, 3.42 gears, DOT's, 7.20's at 96mph and still WAY under the roll bar rule. Best ET to date 7.18 at 97MPH (1/8th mile), |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Power plants that require 24x7 plant or control air install either mechanical traps or automatic electric drain valves to keep their receivers clear of free water. We also checked them daily.
|
#4
|
||||
|
||||
I put an auto drain on mine. The larger professional air compressors aren't thin wall consumer grade like the ones that failed.
__________________
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” ― Calvin Coolidge |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Mine is fairly new but I do drain it on a regular basis. My Ingersoll Rand appears to have a pretty good tank and if I have any problems my neighbor works at the local Ingersoll plant.
__________________
1971 GTO,72 400, stock bottom end, 670 heads, Lunati BMII cam, headers, iron intake Q-jet, four speed. Best 60 ft 1.806in 2004. Best 1/8th mile e.t. 8.46 with 3.55 open rear 85 Grand Prix, 70 400, casting 62 heads stock rebuild, Turbo 350 trans 78 800 cfm Q-jet modified as per Cliff Ruggles book. 87 F350 6.9 4 speed dually A poor man has poor ways. |
#6
|
||||
|
||||
Yep, those look like bottom of the barrel cheapo compressors. Even then, catastrophic failures are very rare. With rust it almost always starts with a pinhole leak that gets larger and larger. I'd be willing to bet that in both those instances the tanks were over pressured by a faulty pressure switch and relief valve. Of course improper maintenance and lack of draining can accelerate the demise of both those components. And of course some people will readjust the pressure switches to a higher pressure and disable the relief valves to get more pressure.
Those look like structural failure of the tank on a fundamental level rather than rust failures. |
The Following User Says Thank You to dataway For This Useful Post: | ||
#7
|
||||
|
||||
First off I fully acknowledge that air compressor tanks fail, but the massive failure of this tank might have more behind it. First off, the granddad is right beside it for several minutes as if monitoring its progress. Looking at the stills at the end of the video it looks like a bung might have been added on one of the domes, and possibly some recent welding along the fracture. At least the paint looks burned off which definitely didn't just happen. Maybe it's just me, but motor and compressor look pretty big for what appears to be a low line tank setup. Also in one of the stills there is a new unit right next to where he was working, and this would support the theory that the guy was just getting this one up and running.
I don't worry about my 80 gallon upright because it is outside behind the garage and very heavy metal, and the 30 gallon barn unit is probably 20 feet from the work area. What hit home with the video is the danger with my old 11 gallon portable tank that I have to stand over while filling it prior to loading it up in the trailer when going to the drags. Definitely light metal and no drain.
__________________
Mick Batson 1967 original owner Tyro Blue/black top 4-speed HO GTO with all the original parts stored safely away -- 1965 2+2 survivor AC auto -- 1965 Catalina Safari Wagon. |
#8
|
||||
|
||||
Here's pictures of dad's compressor when it blew out the bottom. It broke a 6" thick section of concrete, and blew the wall out of the garage, and shot straight up in the air high enough to hit the 10 foot trusses. Shrapnel everywhere and several thousand dollars damage to the garage. Had to cut and pour a new floor.
|
#9
|
||||
|
||||
i got one from a friend of my dads. It was a 20gallon horizontal, opened up like a flower on the bottom, providing a nice amount of surface area for the thrust vector. 3 doors, 2 cars, and 15,000 later, every thing was fixed. Had to fix the ceiling where the compressor and motor made holes.
__________________
Clutch Guys Matter _______________________________________ 53 Studebaker, 400P/th400/9" 64 F-85 72 4-4-2 Mondello's VO Twister II 84 Hurst/Olds #2449 87 Cutlass Salon 54 Olds 88 sedan |
#10
|
||||
|
||||
Formula ... now that looks like a rust failure.
Sure wish you could pay extra and get stainless tanks, they would last forever. |
#11
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
Dad was standing in the garage about 20 feet away when it blew. Sounded like a bomb going off. The garage sat on a 5 acre lot probably 150 feet away from the house and my mother heard the explosion inside the house. It's pretty violent when these things decide to let go. Just 120 psi and look at the damage that does!! Imagine what damage the compressor I have now would do that is regulated to 175 psi. Yikes!! |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
After reading all this stuff and looking at the damage, I am intrigued by the auto drains. After looking for a few minutes, there are many different kinds. Pneumatic operation, 115V on a timer, 115V with some type of float deal like a sump pump, 220 single phase like the compressor itself. Quite a variety. Any recommendations? I have my vertical 80 gallon anchored to the slab with shock cushions. I can see that would offer little resistance to an all out failure
|
#13
|
||||
|
||||
I've never done the auto drain stuff so can't offer a recommendation.
I simply just open the drain valve every morning before working, so it gets a daily drain. I have it plumbed so it's a simple ball valve that drains into a bucket, easy to reach, and I'm back in the corner turning on the air compressor every day so it's just simple to turn the ball valve while I'm there. Out here in Arizona though the air is so dry here with single digit humidity and dew points, I get very little moisture out of the tank. Nothing like I used to get back in Ohio. |
#14
|
||||
|
||||
Just to add,
Something to think about. This might be a good reason to consider a standup compressor. I never liked the little roll around units, which is shown in the videos that Frock posted. It seems apparent when those things go there is no telling what direction, as they have much more surface area along the bottom for potential rust and holding water and those videos show the explosion covers a broad area. The stand up is only the diameter of the tank, not the length that is affected by rust as the water settles in the bottom, and from dad's experience they apparently tend to go straight up like a rocket rather than sideways like the videos of the horizontal style. Dad's destruction is only concentrated in the corner where the compressor was sitting as you can see in my pictures. He had both cars parked in that garage at the time and none of them were affected. He was just 20 feet away, and other than his head ringing, he wasn't hit with anything. Might be something to think about. |
#15
|
||||
|
||||
My bud had an upright go thru his garage roof, definitely no joke.
Looked like yours Formulajones, wish I still had the pics, he was running really high pressure for big truck wheel removal, etc. |
#16
|
||||
|
||||
Dayum!! Seems the higher pressure could do more damage. That little Ingersol of dad's was just a 120 pounder. The 2x4 roof trusses of the 10 foot ceiling stopped it so it never got into the attic area. It was an all open attic with no finished drywall. I don't believe it even broke the 2x4's, it did most of it's damage to the concrete floor and the bottom of the wall.
|
#17
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
I have always opened the drain (if I knew I was not going to use the compressor for a while) and left it open. No water was ever left in the tank to rust out the inside of the tank at the end of the days work. Course My air compressor was purchased 30 years ago before all of the Chinese stuff hit the market. You really need to watch them purchases today on garage equipment, as shown by the crappy floor jack stands, etc posted in a couple of threads last year. When I move out of this house the air compressor will be in a custom "shed" next to the garage on the outside of the garage more to reduce noise than anything else. Marty Palbykin had his set up that way back in 1996. Glad no one was hurt. Tom V.
__________________
"Engineers do stuff for reasons" Tom Vaught Despite small distractions, there are those who will go Forward, Learning, Sharing Knowledge, Doing what they can to help others move forward. |
#18
|
||||
|
||||
I have this one.
https://www.gosuburban.com/our-brand...ic-drain-valve
Not cheap, but USA made and works like a charm.
__________________
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” ― Calvin Coolidge |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
|
#20
|
|||
|
|||
Any good automatic drain device for condensate removal should work fine and be considered, especially for 'constant use' units. I'd suggest cycling the manual drain daily to ensure the auto draining is effective.
I don't run my own compressor daily so after each use I open the drain and leave it that way until next use. Depending on jurisdiction, large plants are required to get their air receivers inspected/certified periodically, requiring operational, internal and UT checks. We don't have that at home.... |
Reply |
|
|