I had a scary deal this morning. Air compresssor tank exploded. My old compressor gave out so I bought a new one and had plumbed in the old tank along with the new tank to get the additional draw-down air. Well, the new compressor shut off pressure was 15 PSI higher than I had the old one set and the old tank blew up big time! Knocked a bunch of stuff over, blew my new compressor on top of the tongue of my trailer sitting next to it, and blew a hole in the metal wall of my storage unit/shop. Sent one piece of sheet metal, now shrapnel, through the wall of the next unit 15' away. Fortunately nothing was in the next storage unit to ruin, I wasn't standing at my bench grinder next to the tank that blew, and the landlord was very understanding about the whole thing. I have some pics but can't re-size them to post, so if someone would let me e-mail them to post here they are a sober warning that crazy, un-expected things DO happen. I just thank God it wasn't worse and that I'm fine, although some pieces went past me in the explosion!
Thats crazy, I'm glad you are ok! I have seen shops that were plumbed with pvc on the air compessor blow up and scatter everywhere in sharp pieces. Even embedded in the wall and into wood, etc. Scary stuff
Was there a date code on your tank? How old was it? I'm thinking it may have been rusty and that's what made it weak. Those tanks are made under strickt safety requirements and it could be you need to alert the compressor mfg. I think they are usually proof tested at way more PSI than your'e going to put in with a regular air comp. Was the old compressor imported? Man, the thougt of this just makes me cringe, you are thankfully a lucky dude. Panhead
Moisture in the air compresses in the tank and forms into water. Even blowing down the tank, to drain the water, leaves a little moisture inside the tank. Eventually rust forms inside and reduces the thicknes of the metal, which leads your compressor sitting like a time bomb. Keep you tank outside of the work area or have it pressure tested every few years. If you can't do either then replace the tank after several years of service, tanks are cheap compared to repairing your shop or paying medical bills. Seen results of several tank explosions and it always scares the hell out of me.
Man, I can't even imagine......I've had lines blow apart, and that alone scares the hell out of you. My compressor is 15 years old......Makes you think. Glad your alright JayD
Glad everyone is OK....this brings up a question I have.I always leave my tank empty no matter what so it wont rust, except I just realized last night that I never emptied my tank for the past 2 months. When I open the valve on the bottom, rust water came out for about 5 seconds and then it was clear. This is a 2 year old 33 gal Craftsman. So I be concerned at this point?
This is the most common cause of tank explosions. Wall thickness deteriorates and failure occurs. I worked at a big shop that had a tank explode and blew a hole in the wall that you could drive a tank through. We all thought that they dropped the big one. Couldn`t hear shit for the rest of the day. Glad your all right.
Don't worry about a 2 year old tank. The rust colored water is normal, the inside of the tank is bare metal, of course and water is created when the air is compressed. I've known of commercial compressors still in use that are over 50 years old. As I said in a previous post, my compressor is 15 years old. I drain it on a regular basis, I really don't have any concern on my tank, but it still makes you think!!
Another reason to mout the compressor outside in a shed......also here in Missouri they will make more condensed moisture than in other places,so it rusts worse.....Id say drain the tank every day unless you have an auto purge setup. I have two 5 hp units and the newest one will make a quart a day of water!
Thanks for all the "glad you're OK's". Oddly enough the first person that came running to my rental unit asked if I could hear OK, I can and don't have any ringing or anything. Several people mentioned the exact problem....the inside of the tank rusted and thinned and I'd guess started "ripping" near a bottom seam that would have trapped water and deteriorated faster. PSI I had always run with the old compressor was 120 PSI shut-off, and the new compressor turns off at 135 PSI......the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back". Now the bad thing is the bottom dome on the new tank has a dent about 3/4" to 1" deep just below a weld and there's a scar of sorts where whatever caused the dent sort of scraped along the tank in forming the dent. I'm concerned enough that I think I may replace the tank and am waiting for a quote now. This morning I would have tried to buy the same tank at a bargain if I saw it on the showroom floor and never gave it a thought! Rather funny how one's perspective changes. I'd still like to get the pics to someone to re-size and post just to show what can happen. Certainly made me think about how much worse things could have been. Thanks again to all the well wishers!
glad your alright very lucky. ive often wondered why the tank makers dont coat the inside of the tanks with a rustproofer ?
Scarey stuff. I have seen a couple. One when I was a kid that blew the side out of a shop and another small one just recently that just opened up but didn't cause much damage. Makes you think, I have welded pinholes shut in my old craftsman.
we put some undercoating in our current compressor when we got it. just pulled all the fittings poured in some coating, rolled it around the yard for a day (IE push it a couple inches and let it sit for 10 mins adn repeat) I think the OLD tanks (IE more than 20 years old) were made a little more heavy duty. but today it is all about cost.
I had my 1964 Curtis tank tested at 250# before I even built the pump/motor on it. Prior to testing I soaked it with a molasses mix for 10 days. Then flushed completely, dried and coated the inside with 3 coats of Zero Rust. That should outlast me. BTW, I couldnt find any local source of new tanks.
I used to work in a metallurgical lab for a company that makes all sizes of compressors. We had a couple pallets filled with tanks that exploded. Every one of them was from the wall thickness being reduced by rust.
I asked the fellow where I bought my new compressor about having the tank tested since it has the dent and "scrape" in the lower dome but he didn't know of any place. Anyone know of a place that does such testing, preferably in central Missouri?
I had mine tested at a place that tests and certifies compressed gases tanks. Call your local welding supply for suggestions.
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