Air Compressors

Kawboy wrote:

That compressor is 52 years old and still chugging away. Are you sure it's not a Harley??

At that time Spain was isolated from the rest of the world, the dictator Franco was still alive and Europe was a Swedish tourist wearing a bikini sunbathing in our beaches.
A Z900 was loaded with so many tariffs that it could only be bought in the Canary Islands and for the price of what a house cost.

What was manufactured in the industrial north of the country was to be durable and they only had shitty materials.

If you watch the videos of Pakistani Truck Repair you see the Spain of the 60's but without working with sandals and in squatting position.

From a safety aspect, it is worth considering the internal condition of the air receiver on old compressors, especially on the portable machines, which are likely to have thinner construction. Corrosion can be a potentially dangerous issue.

biltonjim wrote:

From a safety aspect, it is worth considering the internal condition of the air receiver on old compressors, especially on the portable machines, which are likely to have thinner construction. Corrosion can be a potentially dangerous issue.

Absolutely. Propane tanks, as an example,  have a date stamp on them and the first inspection date requirement here in Canada is 10 years. That being said, propane tanks are not subject to moisture but they are subject to acidic gases, so the real answer is unknown.

If an air tank ruptures, it won't be catastrophic, but more of a sudden release and I wouldn't be concerned about a 20 gallon tank or smaller, but if it was a 200 gallon tank and located in a workshop, I would absolutely have a hydrostatic test done at 1 1/2 times system pressure. And it's only air, not a flammable, not an oxidizer, and not a asphyxiant. A rupture wouldn't be good , but also not deadly and probably why there's no post testing of consumer owned air storage tanks rated for under 200 psi.

Technical Standards Safety Authority here in Canada require all pressurized storage tanks greater than 5 cubic feet and pressure greater than 15 psi be hydrostatically certified every 5 years. I used to do this testing at the plant and our in house inspectors would witness the test and certify the vessel.

In my welding training at the plant, in our oxyacetylene welding course, we made rectangular boxes  using 10 gauge carbon steel, 4' x 4" x 8" and welded a 1/2" pipe nipple on one end. Then we pressure tested it hydrostatically until rupture. Most would fail at around 1800 psi but we did have a couple go as high as 2600 psi before failure, so this might give you a perspective as to what an air compressor tank could hold under ideal conditions.

Thanks for a wonderful read, guys. Made my morning.

My AC is > 300 feet away... where I have adequate power. For high flow situations, need an accumulator. What to use? Found this... check out the manufactured date! 

is it due for its hydrostatic test yet lol