COMPRESSOR TANK VISUAL CHECK

[rcs9250]

I was at a friends house this afternoon. A friend of his dropped off a shop air compressor that had a little accident.

The tank has some years on it. The owner admittedly had not drained any moisture on any kind of regular interval. If at all.
So if you use one for a booster or just shop use perhaps drain the tank periodically and you’re supposed to also periodically pull on the safety valve to release air and assure that it can be pulled to release air. I suppose it’s possible that the auto shut off valve may have failed and the relief valve was stuck and maybe the tank was rusted out. Where the tank was split open on the very bottom (where water would be laying) was paper thin towards the left side. In the photo. I gues it’s possible that the bottom was paper thin and just burst. The owner only sustained a bruise on his ankle when one of the wheels blew off and his ankle stopped its flight.
I have seen two shop compressor tanks that started leaking air from a pinhole that rusted out rather than split out.
We are going to check the relif valve for function but it really only would have been in question if the auto shut off valve had also failed.
About two years ago compressor blew up and killed two men. Never did hear any reason for the failure.
In any case, if you own a shop air compressor it wouldn’t hurt to at the very least, drain the tank of air and remove the drain plug on bottom of tank, pull the ring on the relief valve occasionally and maybe observe now and again at what PSI the compressor turns off.

 

[F6Hawk]

Darwin tends to take care of the ID10TS in the world.

 

[AlanMcD]

That compressor was clearly doomed, as the outside of the tank is also very rusty - all tanks face corrosion on the inside, as the physics of compressed air results in the fact that once the compressor goes into use there will always be condensation of some amount on the inside of the tank, even with frequent draining (which absolutely should be done).

We also need to keep the outside of the tank protected and free of rust for maximum life . . .

 

[Chris_K]

Most of manufactures stamp date codes on the tanks, and recommend removing from service after 7 years (this is in most owners manuals). I think longevity really depends on use, as if whether you are operating within the duty rating, storing properly, and draining after use. They make aluminum tank compressors, too, but I'd rather have steel because they rust and leak and hopefully show a noncatostrophic failure.