Should I be concerned?

[KenMathisHD]

So upon coming home I decided to better look over the air tank I had and noticed that some of the paint was peeling/flaking at what I’m guessing is the bottom weld. Curious, I took a wire brush to knock some of the flaking paint off, and noticed rust on the bottom of the tank. I went further and tried knocking off as much of the flaking/bad paint as I could and noticed a decent sized portion of rust. I have yet to hydro test the tank - I’m waiting for it to get warm enough to take it out and test it - but from what you see in the picture, is it worth testing, or do you think I’d be fine just going at the rust with a wire brush and coating over it to prevent further rust once it’s off?

 

[Zebu Fellenz]

Air tanks usually rust out from the inside due to not being drained on a regular enough basis. I wouldn't worry about rust on the outside unless it's heavily rusted. If the tank is older hydrotest is a good idea, at a minimum I'd pull the largest plug on the tank and either look inside with a light or better yet stick a borescope in the hole and take a look.

 

[lakeroadster]

An Ultrasonic Thickness Test (UTT) is the best method to determine wall thickness of a pressure vessel.

I'd recommend going to this website https://www.nationalboard.org/ManufacturerDirectory.aspx

and finding a shop near you that has a "U" stamp or an "R" stamp (Leave the company name blank). Give them a call and ask them if they can perform an Ultrasonic Thickness Test (UTT) of the tank for you.

I made a living as a Pressure Vessel M.E. I used to do these types of evaluations.

Hope that helps.

 

[KenMathisHD]

Air tanks usually rust out from the inside due to not being drained on a regular enough basis. I wouldn't worry about rust on the outside unless it's heavily rusted. If the tank is older hydrotest is a good idea, at a minimum I'd pull the largest plug on the tank and either look inside with a light or better yet stick a borescope in the hole and take a look.

The tank is somewhat old, it’s ASME plate is stamped 98. I couldn’t quite fit a flashlight in there - if I could get a boroscope that works with my iPhone I’d be all over it. I’m half tempted to get an older Samsung tablet to have for keeping manuals, records, tool programs and whatnot since Android is open source but haven’t reached that point yet


Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[KenMathisHD]

An Ultrasonic Thickness Test (UTT) is the best method to determine wall thickness of a pressure vessel.

I'd recommend going to this website https://www.nationalboard.org/ManufacturerDirectory.aspx

and finding a shop near you that has a "U" stamp or an "R" stamp (Leave the company name blank). Give them a call and ask them if they can perform an Ultrasonic Thickness Test (UTT) of the tank for you.

I made a living as a Pressure Vessel M.E. I used to do these types of evaluations.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Lake! I’ll look through the listings and call them when it comes morning. What do the U or R stamps stand for in this - is there one or the other that’s better to specify when searching for companies?

 

[lakeroadster]

Thanks Lake! I’ll look through the listings and call them when it comes morning. What do the U or R stamps stand for in this - is there one or the other that’s better to specify when searching for companies?

A "U" stamp means they can design and build pressure vessels

A "R" stamp means they can repair pressure vessels.

Many "U" shops have an "R" also.