Air tank possibly dangerous?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
AlwaysLastPlace

AlwaysLastPlace

Member
Sep 6, 2024
156
118
43
Gilbert, AZ
I have an omega little "pony keg" air tank that has been awesome for years.
It has 1000 PSI inside and it is stuck. I can turn the valve. Neither will letting the purge open (I expected that of course but I was exploring how broken)

My first instinct was to twist the valve off and I put the tank between my leg and was about to twist and then I thought about what the hecking heck I was doing.
Can our awesome community please tell me how to NOT blow my balls off?

I just want my lil tank back it's really great.
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: beerthief, Dr. Kralenstein, Rondo and 4 others
The first thing I would do would be to open the valve and just leave it be for a day or more - hopefully it will start to vent/leak down and then you could remove the valve.

If it were mine and that did not work, the next thing I would try would be to loosen the burst disc on it (I'm assuming it has one), I'd back that off ever so slightly until it started to hiss and leave it to vent. Probably have to do it a few times to get all the air out, but eventually it should empty out and then you can go to town on the valve.

But I would not do it via the valve as it will be massively hard to turn under pressure - almost all of these tanks seal via an o-ring at the top, so loosening it a half turn won't cause it to blow off like a projectile, but it will be difficult to turn and you could damage something. But if that is all you have to work with then that is all there is - you could always take it into a shop if you can't get it to move or don't want to do that.

Whatever you do, be sure you are safe as you do it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: beerthief, rayroz, AlwaysLastPlace and 6 others
Upvote 0
Not having pictures of the setup, hard to answer specifically. If gauge is integral to valve that's a tough one. If it's a screw in type gauge I totally agree with @thammer above. Slowly loosen gauge to bleed any pressure. If there is pressure in tank it's difficult to nearly impossible to crack the valve seal. (i.e., if tank retains 900 psi internal pressure it'll take 900 lbs of pressure or more to crack valve!) Good (& safe) luck.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chasdog, rayroz, AlwaysLastPlace and 2 others
Upvote 0
AlanMcD said:
The first thing I would do would be to open the valve and just leave it be for a day or more - hopefully it will start to vent/leak down and then you could remove the valve.

If it were mine and that did not work, the next thing I would try would be to loosen the burst disc on it (I'm assuming it has one), I'd back that off ever so slightly until it started to hiss and leave it to vent. Probably have to do it a few times to get all the air out, but eventually it should empty out and then you can go to town on the valve.

But I would not do it via the valve as it will be massively hard to turn under pressure - almost all of these tanks seal via an o-ring at the top, so loosening it a half turn won't cause it to blow off like a projectile, but it will be difficult to turn and you could damage something. But if that is all you have to work with then that is all there is - you could always take it into a shop if you can't get it to move or don't want to do that.

Whatever you do, be sure you are safe as you do it.
Click to expand...
When was the last time your tank was hydro’d? And inspected visually inside?
When does your hydro date expire?
 
  • Like
Reactions: beerthief, maxtrouble and .20calguy
Upvote 1
coastal drifter said:
put it across the yard and shoot it lol
Click to expand...
There's a video of a guy shooting expired scba tanks. He shot them with a.45 cal Texan and the slug just bounced off. It took a.308 pb to penetrate the tank.

I agree, loosen the pressure gage to release any air in the tank. I also think your gage is faulty.
 
  • Like
Reactions: coastal drifter and AlwaysLastPlace
Upvote 0
AlanMcD said:
The first thing I would do would be to open the valve and just leave it be for a day or more - hopefully it will start to vent/leak down and then you could remove the valve.

If it were mine and that did not work, the next thing I would try would be to loosen the burst disc on it (I'm assuming it has one), I'd back that off ever so slightly until it started to hiss and leave it to vent. Probably have to do it a few times to get all the air out, but eventually it should empty out and then you can go to town on the valve.

But I would not do it via the valve as it will be massively hard to turn under pressure - almost all of these tanks seal via an o-ring at the top, so loosening it a half turn won't cause it to blow off like a projectile, but it will be difficult to turn and you could damage something. But if that is all you have to work with then that is all there is - you could always take it into a shop if you can't get it to move or don't want to do that.

Whatever you do, be sure you are safe as you do it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply. I will read through the rest of the comments but this sounds like the best plan. Maybe I'll pick up one or two tricks.

Re: Safety my neighbor is a firefighter and I told him what I am doing. Thanks for mentioning saftey.
 
Upvote 0
thammer said:
DO NOT UNSCREW THE VALVE UNDER PRESSURE. Loosen the gauge until it leaks out if no other way. Guessing it's empty and the gauge is broken. You should not be able to even turn the valve under 1000psi of pressure but better to be safe than sorry.
Click to expand...
Ok, please forgive me I am not arguing at all, I really just think I am misreading or misunderstanding. Both for my safety and because I like my air gun stuff and take care of it well. I am certainly disappointed that I may have a bad tank or valve.

Are you saying that I should unscrew the valve and not the burst disc?
 
Upvote 0
AlwaysLastPlace said:
Ok, please forgive me I am not arguing at all, I really just think I am misreading or misunderstanding. Both for my safety and because I like my air gun stuff and take care of it well. I am certainly disappointed that I may have a bad tank or valve.

Are you saying that I should unscrew the valve and not the burst disc?
Click to expand...
You can try the burst disk or gauge but not the valve.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AlwaysLastPlace, Sodbuster, beerthief and 1 other person
Upvote 0
Gerry52 said:
Not having pictures of the setup, hard to answer specifically. If gauge is integral to va
1000014678.jpg
1000014678.jpg
1000014677.jpg
1000014677.jpg
lve that's a tough one. If it's a screw in type gauge I totally agree with @thammer above. Slowly loosen gauge to bleed any pressure. If there is pressure in tank it's difficult to nearly impossible to crack the valve seal. (i.e., if tank retains 900 psi internal pressure it'll take 900 lbs of pressure or more to crack valve!) Good (& safe) luck.
Click to expand...
Good feedback. I'd better post a photo it's the
 
Upvote 0
davecole said:
Let the pros deal with it.
Take it to a company that tests and repairs fire extinguishers, SCUBA tanks, SCBA tanks, etc. Your local dive shop should be able to make a recommendation.
Click to expand...
This is usually my first thought but ever since you had to go to scuba shops to fill I have had weak experiences. I've been refused by "pros", and paid for it, to rehydro a perfectly fine tank. Still charged me a $100 to look at it.
 
Upvote 0
I'm still going with unscrewing the pressure gauge. It might have sealant, like Loktite or other, and you MIGHT damage the gauge but those can be replaced for about $7. What is the BRASS fitting? I'm assuming it's a bleed valve (or what you called a purge) for residual pressure in the valve housing & won't bleed the tank itself. Gauge removal (SLOWLY!!!) is the most direct route to solve the problem. You can also remove valve KNOB & see if you can put a wrench on the valve stem the knob is mounted on. Maybe more leverage will help. Don't mess with the burst disc if you don't have to.
See if there's a fire equipment distributor near you. They deal with HP tanks all the time & doubt they'll charge you $100 for a looksee like that shop u mentioned. They should be b-tch slapped! If you go the gauge removal route, once you hear air escaping, loosen a LITTLE more (1/4 turn) & be patient for air to slowly bleed out.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Looking at your pics the gauge is reading zero or very very near zero. Where are you coming up with the 1000 psi? Bourdon style gauges do wear out and lose accuracy they depend on very uniformed flexing of the bourdon tube. They don‘t last forever, even the high dollar ones.
I agree with all those who suggest bleeding any air off by loosening the gauge enough to let air escape. Once it starts don’t loosen it any more or jsut a litle bit more as has already been advised. Let it sit until you cannot hear any air. Loosen another quarter turn to make sure it is empty.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sodbuster
Upvote 0
Chukar60 said:
Looking at your pics the gauge is reading zero or very very near zero. Where are you coming up with the 1000 psi? Bourdon style gauges do wear out and lose accuracy they depend on very uniformed flexing of the bourdon tube. They don‘t last forever, even the high dollar ones.
I agree with all those who suggest bleeding any air off by loosening the gauge enough to let air escape. Once it starts don’t loosen it any more or jsut a litle bit more as has already been advised. Let it sit until you cannot hear any air. Loosen another quarter turn to make sure it is empty.
Click to expand...
One gauge shows 0 (gauge after valve?), other one shows about 3000psi (tank pressure?). The gauge that is tilted on picture where burst disk assembly is shown.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu