Compressor exploded

[RYAN S]

A good friend sent me this picture of his step fathers 40 year old air compressor that exploded today. As far as I know he is alright after a trip to the ER for stitches. From what I gather he had not drained the tank in thirty years or so, it got to 95psi and went boom. Probably a good reminder to drain and check our tanks regularly.

 

[Shootymacshootface]

That is scary as all hell.

 

[ttabbal]

Yikes! I installed a pipe on the bottom that comes out to a ball valve. Makes draining a lot easier. I don't often get much, low humidity most of the time here, but I like knowing it's been done. Mine is an 80 gallon vertical, so there's a lot of energy in there. Might be a good idea to enclose it a bit...

 

[Janderso]

Ouch, how many of us have old compressors and have no idea of the condition of the tank.
At work we have OSHA come in every 5 years to certify.
Glad he didn’t get hurt too bad?

 

[matthewsx]

There's a similar tank outside the compressor service place in town. I also did the valve piped from the bottom of mine since I don't have much info on how it was treated before I got it. I also installed a lower shutoff pressure switch when I had to replace it this year. The guy at the shop said draining should make a big difference and dropping it down to 125psi was a good idea for the motor and pump as well as less pressure in the tank.

Be careful out there....

John

 

[bakrch]

Pretty sure I left my compressor on last night, and now I'm 68 miles away from it ... gah. Luckily it is new, probably okay for now.

 

[Ken from ontario]

Pretty sure I left my compressor on last night, and now I'm 68 miles away from it ... gah. Luckily it is new, probably okay for now.

The worst case scenario is that the hose leaks a bit of air and your compressor goes on/off ,it might be annoying to your neighbors during the night.

 

[Bob Korves]

For helping us to drain them more often, the method big trucks use to drain their air tanks is simple, cheap, and more likely to be used often:

Search results for: 'ri r95512103'

peterbiltparts.com

Pull the cable sideways to the pipe thread in any direction to drain. Spring loaded to return to air tight. Reliable.

There are also automatic drain valves that work with compressor unloaders:

http://www.plazafleetparts.com/uploads/2/1/9/0/2190100/dv-2_drain_valve_installation.pdf

Which can also be bought with the manual drain valve pictured above already installed. They are not expensive, and are robust. All mechanical, no electricity needed. A version with a 12VDC heater is also available for use in freezing conditions. Proven on millions of trucks running in all kinds of extreme conditions. They are available at any store that sells heavy truck parts. 1/4" NPT mounting threads.

 

[Ken from ontario]

Ouch, how many of us have old compressors and have no idea of the condition of the tank.

And how many of us see these 40 /50 year old compressors for sale and think , wow what a great deal.

 

[dlane]

I had a used 80 gal vert IR given to me a while back , there was signs of rust in the tank drain bung, I opened the side 2” bung and sprayed way oil into the tank with a paint spray rig till a fog was in the tank thinking it would slow the rust down
I would think coating the inside of the tank with rust preventing paint from the factory would be a good idea .
I did lower the pressure to 125 from 180 and put it out side the shop in its own inclosure with a filter/regulator on it plumbed thru the wall , think it’ll be ok for a while.