Compressor blows in garage

Just me thinking out loud here but larger (40 gallon plus) sized aluminum air compressor tanks could have some potential issues. The constant stress from the pressure fluctuations may be an obstacle in their application to a high pressure vessel. I would think that steel has more "elasticity", for lack of a better term, than aluminum. I think of some of the aircraft that have come apart (Hawaiian Air) due to thousands of pressure cycles. They obviously have significant number of pressure vessel penetrations such as cables, wires, and most obvious, rivets. But, an aircraft is only pressurized to about 7 or 8 psi although the volume is immense. I wonder if that is why we don't see aluminum air tanks in higher numbers.
Not saying it can't be done or shouldn't be done, it is just that there is always that price point manufacturers are working towards.
 
I would think aluminum or stainless might work harden with the pressure cycles and vibration from the pump. They don't make bridges out of either material and it's probably not just for cost....
 
I remember watching this video 4 years ago, Tubalcain was lucky that his Craftsman compressor started to leak and not explode like the OP's compressor, if you want to see how thin the walls could get due to water accumulation/lack of regular draining, fast forward to 7: 49:
 
For what it's worth my take on it is it's not totally about the material. It's about the welds. I've not seen a tank failure that didn't start at a weld. And I don't see how that would be any different if the tank was aluminum, stainless or steel. Personally I have much more confidence in a tank that's ASME than not. At least somebody is checking it. These cheap compressors have always been a pass for me. Cheap pumps, motors etc. Just born to die and that's fine if you are not a big shop. But like my old compressor it's cast iron motor and compressor and is HEAVY. Like at least 300lbs. And that's not just the motor and pump. The tank is HD. To replace it with same grade would be almost $4k. I'll be hydro testing it rather than just trashing it.
 
A visual (borescope) inspection of the inside of a compressed air receiver is a waste of time and will tell you nothing about the safety of the tank.
Hydrotesting is the correct method to proof the tank. Most anybody with a small pressure washer can perform a competent hydrotest.

Hydrotest it yourself
No need for a pressure washer really...a grease gun will do it as well. I made up an adapter with a grease fitting for the top port...get it full of water and it will come up to pressure with the grease gun pretty easily. I've done this a couple of times and it works fine, with one exception; don't use a grease with a high moly content as it can be messy when you drain it.
 
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