Rusty 1970s Air Compressor Tank- is it Safe?

[Skywalker.LJT]

Hey y’all, I’ve got this Sears paint sprayer air compressor I intend to use for auto body work at home.
I’ve got it taken apart right now because I did a hydro test yesterday and it sprung a pinhole leak twice in the outlet fitting for the air hose (I JB-welded it closed once). I probably will JB-weld some more then test it again.
I’m looking for advice for dealing with the rust inside the tank.
Should I do a CLR rinse? I have a quart on hand
Also looked into buying a quart of 85% phosphoric acid to dump in with water and let sit.
Just not sure how I’m going to go about this or how dangerous this tank would be operating at 100-120 psi.

 

[TurnipTruck]

That tank is trash.
It will unzip at some time in the future, and you don’t want to be in the same room when it happens.

Trash.

Don’t waste another second considering repair.

 

[zendriver]

Why not just put your money and effort into a decent air compressor?

They are not really that expensive today.

I would take that one to the scrap yard, where it belongs..

 

[Nutria]

Man, Sears made a gazillion of those. No way would I use that tank.

 

[Skywalker.LJT]

Thank you all for your advice, I like the old school simplicity of this compressor. But I wasn’t sure about how much rust is too much.
I knew before I bought this that a new compressor was the way to go because of the hazard tank rust is, but I’m cheap and hard headed so I bought this anyway!
I reckon I’ll have to save some money to buy a nice belt driven one new. Oh well

 

[mikedodge]

They all rust but if it's getting pinhole leaks in the tank it's done.
You could always keep the compressor parts off it and put them on another tank when you find one for sale with running problems. That's what I've done before.

 

[Skywalker.LJT]

They all rust but if it's getting pinhole leaks in the tank it's done.
You could always keep the compressor parts off it and put them on another tank when you find one for sale with running problems. That's what I've done before.

I think the leak isn’t from rust; it’s on the end where the air outlet fitting is welded on.
All that rust is the whole bottom about 2 inches up, pretty clean metal above it.

 

[The Cobbler]

if the tank has any leaks in it, toss it, as you say it's a fitting... but you should strip the tank down of alll fittings & plug all the holes except for your test port and go to about 150% of the working pressure . I have seen tanks a lot worse than that that don't leak . a pin hole is the end of a tank and should never be attempted to be fixed. compressor explosions are not that common, but when they do go off, it's serious.
caveat emptor is at play here .

 

[Skywalker.LJT]

Yeah when I got there I tried to undo the drain bung and broke the valve, should have taken my wrench to it cuz it had a a gallon or so inside.
Here is the end of the tank, that fitting is welded in place under the JB-weld

 

[Citation]

The pinhole leak is how the tank, gracefully, says "I'm done". When you hear about consumer type tanks failing you will also see a tank that was "repaired" after springing a leak.

 

[Skywalker.LJT]

Yep I’m not planning to use it at this point, going to see if I can find a replacement tank before trying to sell the rest of it

 

[Beerhippie]

"Compressor tank" Rusty" and "Safe" are words that should never be used in the same sentence.

 

[American Locomotive]

If it has a good pump and motor, there are plenty of tanks or blown up compressors around that can be easily repowered.

As mentioned earlier, when the tank starts leaking, it's letting you know that it's done.

 

[PZ 1]

As a related question, can anything be done to the inside of a tank to protect it? I am sure a liquid rust preventative could be put in and then the compressor rolled around, but then the outlet air would need to be filtered I would assume. What is the best thing to do?

 

[American Locomotive]

As a related question, can anything be done to the inside of a tank to protect it? I am sure a liquid rust preventative could be put in and then the compressor rolled around, but then the outlet air would need to be filtered I would assume. What is the best thing to do?

If you got a brand new tank straight from the factory with 0 rusty, somehow chemically scoured the inside to remove any trace of oil and moisture, you might be able to coat the inside with some kind of epoxy.

Really the best thing to do is just drain your tank. Its not uncommon to get 50+ years out of a tank.

 

[threepiece]

Hey y’all, I’ve got this Sears paint sprayer air compressor I intend to use for auto body work at home.

You may later find this pump is insufficient. Unlike mechanical repair, auto body repair requires more air delivery for the tools used. Sanders, polishers, paint sprayers, sand blasters and blow guns are usually used at long duty cycles. Compressors with 1 HP motors usually can’t keep up with demand.

 

[Bert_]

My campbell hausfeld tank sprung a leak and I used it for several years. Most of the time the pinhole would plug itself with a piece of rust. Finally it was leaking all the time so I found a different tank.

I just looked on Craigslist for a blown up oiless compressor. I took my motor and pump, welded up a new bracket to hold it on the tank.

 

[driftpin]

Always a good idea to add your location below your avatar/screen name. Someone by you may have a deal. I got a Saylor-Beall 80 gallon 240V-1 Ph. upright at a very decent price from an acquaintance who has a compressor sales and service business in So. FL. It came with a new Baldor motor, a new belt, new mag. switch & etc.



I was visiting one day and this one came in on a junk man's trailer. The shop owner bought it, he will refurbish it and sell it. He has two full-time techs covering 3 counties and he has a lot of toys.



This looks similar to mine.

He usually gets the old compressors when he's delivering the new one(s). He offers free disposal. If he can fix it, he will, if it's only good for parts, it's stripped. He said a business using air compressors needs a replacement immediately so they can continue to work. The last thing they need is a broken, inoperable tool in the way.