After 40 years, time to retire

[softailgarage]

My air compressor. My Dad bought this from Sears at the Orange Mall in Orange, Ca., Spring 1973. I thought it was the coolest thing ever and the only ones on the block that had one. Almost got thrown in jail one night while using it to paint a buddies car at midnight in the parking lot of a dental building. The apartments he lived in next door didnt have the proper output. Every time we plugged it in it blew fuses, sooo, why not use the outlet that was on the base of every street/ parking lot light? We didnt have that compressor running 5 minutes before 2 Santa Ana cops came flying up thinking it was a stolen car.
The amazing thing about this compressor is in 40 years the oil has been changed once, by me 2 years ago. Never even added oil and it still has the original belt. The other thing is (and this is why it's retirement time), it has never been drained. I tried the same time I changed oil, but the plug WILL NOT budge, tried everything. Lately I've been reading alot about air compressors blowing up and with a little one here the last thing we need is for her to be in the area and have an explosion.I'll salvage what I can, she's been a good compressor.

106.153740
1973-2013
May She rest in pieces

 

[ImportTuner]

Wow, nice looking compressor for one that is 40 years old; you got nothing to lose by attempting to drain it at this point ..

 

[PT Doc]

Photos not loading.

 

[Buford T. Justice]

Very nice compressor and back story. I agree, don't junk it yet! There has to be a way to save her...

 

[gbh]

We used to carry out yearly ultrasonic testing of tanks to inspect wall thickness at my job a loooong time ago. I don't know if you could have that done anywhere near you.
Seems a pity to stop using that compressor if its still working but I understand your safety concerns.

Are there any cheap alternatives like picking up a new tank?

 

[luvit]

i'm not privy on these stories of compressors blowing-up.
i think in theory it makes sense, due to internal rust, of course..

i have seen threads warning about it, but no threads of anyone actually witnessing a compressor blowing-up...
i'm just saying.. is this threat a slim-to-no-chance of happening, but IF you are unlucky enough, it may happen to you ?

.

 

[softailgarage]

Still runs like a champ, but the water...I dunno. Before its totally dismantled I will give the drain one more shot.

 

[srmofo]

i'm not privy on these stories of compressors blowing-up.
i think in theory it makes sense, due to internal rust, of course..

i have seen threads warning about it, but no threads of anyone actually witnessing a compressor blowing-up...
i'm just saying.. is this threat a slim-to-no-chance of happening, but IF you are unlucky enough, it may happen to you ?

.

theres been a few incidents discussed here in the past.

A quick google search turned this thread up although it is not the one I was thinking of
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=122879&showall=1

https://www.google.com/search?q=air...gHawIG4Bg&sqi=2&ved=0CE0QsAQ&biw=1680&bih=872

Ill try to find one that destroyed a guys garage . Completely destroyed the fridge it was next to ...and the guys hand

OP
Ill agree that is not a common occurrence, but it seems silly to risk so many lives for what is an obvious foreseeable and preventable accident. Your doing the right thing IMHO

Maybe you can turn the tank into a burn pit or something like that....

Or how about a metal scrap storage can. Weld some braces to hold it upright and throw some casters on it. Cut the end off. You'll smile every time you grab a piece of scrap from it.

 

[coljar]

I've replaced 2 tanks (60 gal. & 120 gal.)that developed pin holes in the bottom of them, but I don't know of any exploding, although I'm sure it happens.

 

[pipsters]

In that thread linked there was a guy laying on the ground. Looked like his brains were next to him. I drain my tank after every single use and water comes out. I have a horizontal tank and water sitting in it scares me.

 

[luvit]

yeah, i agree about the pinholes.
i removed my post, but i think the explosions could be from anything.. including a failing pressure switch... i;m going to use my old compressor.

unless i missed-it in srmofo's thread.. all the posts i've seen have not been first-hand experiences.

.

.

 

[pipsters]

You'd think they would line the compressor tanks with a plastic or similar lining to prevent water from contacting the metal. Would solve all sorts of issues.

 

[srmofo]

yeah, i agree about the pinholes.
removed my post, but i think the explosions could be from anything.. including a failing pressure switch... i;m going to use my old compressor.

unless i missed-it in srmofo's thread.. all the posts i've seen have not been first-hand experiences.

.

.

You can do what you want, I dont live or work anywhere near you. I totally agree they could have exploded from any number of reasons and the least probable is from a rusted tank. But you cant say for certain that it cant happen.

Catastrophic accidents are usually the result of several smaller failures that just happen to chain themselves together into a highly unlikely situation.

 

[luvit]

^^yeah, man.. we're on the same page.

.

 

[c39er]

I still have my old sears 1 HP compressor I bought new in 1972 or 73. Still works good and is a much better compressor than the cheap China compressors made today. All cast iron with a thick steel shroud. Very quiet too. I did change the oil in it though and used the hell out of it when I was a kid sandblasting my 52 Plymouth! I don't use it much anymore as I have a commercial IR 80 gallon unit.

 

[caprice]

I had one of those too only mine was gold. I heated the big plug with an oxy-act torch and use a wrench and a big pipe and it finally came loose. This one I had bought from a body man who did work on the side at home. It had been used heavily and it used oil. Drained it put new rings in it and used it for a few years and sold it and it is still going strong. I agree it would be worth a try to open the tank up and have a look

 

[softailgarage]

Now I'm just friggin sad





Manual say's to R & R the valves after 200 hours which I'll do (a little late). Still cant get that drain plug off. I'll hit it with some heat tomorrow. BTW, draining the oil I could see metal flakes.

 

[softailgarage]

Or how about a metal scrap storage can. Weld some braces to hold it upright and throw some casters on it. Cut the end off. You'll smile every time you grab a piece of scrap from it.

I like that idea

 

[Thruxton]

Funny thread. I just retired my old Craftsman 2HP which I bought in 1972 - just like the one in c39er's post above. I had replaced the reed valves in it about 10 years ago, and did a JB Weld repair of the pump shaft keyway about 5 years ago. Other than that it has seen a lot of hard use, from painting houses to supplying all the air for my MC shop for a while, and has been on 24/7 for at least the last dozen years straight. I was worried about the tank, and just based on the tapping test, it flunked. And the crankshaft on the needle bearing end had worn out. But the bores and pistons looked new! It has been recycled and replaced with a new 3HP/60 gal IR, which suits my needs, but that compressor had a surprising amount of memories attached to it - thanks for the thread, it brought a few of them up again.

 

[HaroRider]

Only way to be sure is to hydro-test it.

 

[Kev442]

I've been around 3 of those compressors, they tend to pinhole. One guy just JB'ed his!
I bought one with a bad tank (pinholed) and put the pump and motor on a 60 gallon tank from a dead oilless. From empty to 90 psi in 4 minutes, when I can start using it. About 7 minutes to 125. They're a good pump and I got the 60 gallon compressor built for $125.

 

[theoldwizard1]

I sold a few of those while working my way through college ! The green ones came in several sizes, from single cylinder 1/2 hp to the twin cylinder 3 hp.

I lost out on a truly, "like new" 1 hp version at an auction the other day. Went for $80.

I bought the "next generation". Gold colored tank, plastic shroud and center "console" for the gauges, outlet and regulator. 2hp, 240V. Must be 30+ years old and running strong.

 

[PCO6]

... Maybe you can turn the tank into a burn pit or something like that....

Or how about a metal scrap storage can. Weld some braces to hold it upright and throw some casters on it. Cut the end off. You'll smile every time you grab a piece of scrap from it.

Good ideas. Could also be used for beer and ice. That would really make you smile.

 

[tininjun67]

a guy gave me an old tank, I plan to make an oil drain out of it that I can use 15 or 20 psi of air pressure to pump the oil back out of it when it's full. don't want to trust it for high pressure, but a few psi for draining purposes should be fine.

 

[rburke65]

I grew up with a guy....we are 64 yo now. He had his dad's air compressor, still in use. Bought a 1968 Firebird.....all original, with 14,000 mile on it. Beautiful ride. He had just step out of the garage when the compressor did explode, and a large piece hit the front fender! Lesson....drain that water!

 

[bora492]

I bought a similar compressor about 1978 from Sears. Output was 7.4cfm at 90 psi. I replaced the reed valve once, and the motor once. It provided great service for many years, and probably still is.

Last year I bought a small sandblaster, I started looking for a bigger compressor. One morning I saw a "Swanco" compressor on CL for $40. I ran over, and the guy turned it on. It ran great (and very quiet compared to the Sears), and held pressure. I bought it, and he said, "I guess I put the price too low, because my phone won't stop ringing". Luckily, I was the first guy there.

I did a little research, and Swanco is also known as ProAir. Even though it's the same footprint as the Sears, it puts out 12.2cfm at 125 psi, which is fine for my little sandblaster.

The funny ending is that I put the Sears compressor in the paper for $50. This guy comes over in this beat up old car. I can hear his brake calipers dragging on the rotors, metal on metal. He says he works from home and his compressor just broke. He carefully counts out $50 and says, "You were asking $50?". I told him yes, but I wouldn't take any more than $40. His eyes popped out, and I helped him load it up, and off he went.

Dave S.

 

[MoonRise]

theres been a few incidents discussed here in the past.

A quick google search turned this thread up although it is not the one I was thinking of
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=122879&showall=1

https://www.google.com/search?q=air...gHawIG4Bg&sqi=2&ved=0CE0QsAQ&biw=1680&bih=872

Ill try to find one that destroyed a guys garage . Completely destroyed the fridge it was next to ...and the guys hand

OP
Ill agree that is not a common occurrence, but it seems silly to risk so many lives for what is an obvious foreseeable and preventable accident. Your doing the right thing IMHO

Maybe you can turn the tank into a burn pit or something like that....

Or how about a metal scrap storage can. Weld some braces to hold it upright and throw some casters on it. Cut the end off. You'll smile every time you grab a piece of scrap from it.

His hand AND his femur (and tibia). (do you know how much force it takes to break the biggest and 'strongest' bone in the human body? A lot!!! )

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=48232

The tank is not -supposed- to fail catastrophically, but if it does fail in an 'ungraceful' manner then you can be in for a BadTime.

Better that the tank RIP than you or someone else RIP.

Turn tank into a BBQ. Semi-standard thing to do.

Or take tank, cut off top, fill with scrap steel, when full haul to scrapyard and get cash for all the steel. Would need a way to lift and haul that several hundred pounds of steel though.

 

[Ben Buck]

If you do decide to cut the tank, please take some pictures of the insides, different angles, so we can see first hand the damage to the tank. I for one have never seen the insides of a tank, might be interesting?

 

[uniballer]

I got my fathers, it 2hp, 20 gal, looks same, its 220 volts. it should have a 1" plug with the ussual one for drain.

 

[Engineer61]

It's not just rust that you need to consider about pressurized tanks - of any sort. Every time a tank gets pressurized it expands, and when the pressure is released the tank goes back to it's prior dimensions. Yes, with our air compressors you can barely measure the expansion at all, but it still happens. And every one of these cycles has the capability of starting a crack in the metal as the metal slowly work hardens. In a typical air compressor tank this happens very slowly as they are made of mild steel, which work hardens very slowly. But every tank will eventually develop a crack, and if kept in use long enough will fail explosively. Having a tank rust out is actually a safer end as they will develop pin holes before an entire section has a chance to blow out.

 

[nosnerd]

they sure dont build them like they used to...

 

[onewaydave]

Rebuild the motor and compressor and get a new tank. I'd bump up the volume of the tank if you have room. Plumb it to decrease the water collection and you will go for another 40 years. Old tank will make a nice mini BBQ.

Just because you change the tank, it is still the same compressor.

Dave.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I worked for Sears from age 16 til I graduated college; 1970-77. I sold a LOT of those compressors. They were made by Campbell Hausfeld near the end. I'm not positive if they were made by CH earlier but we rarely if ever had one returned because there was anything wrong with them. We DID have a few that got returned for some lame story after the buyer had used it for whatever it was they wanted it for.

Thing is, after a certain period of time we could NOT return them to the warehouse. And we couldn't sell them again as there were no "factory refurbished" type sales in those days. We trashed a lot of them. Sometimes we'd sell them to relatives or employees "off the books" at a huge mark down. Basically a giveaway. My brother in law (10 years older than me) got a bigger one than that for I think $25 or $35! He STILL uses it regularly.
I CANNOT believe I didn't buy one for myself but I was a kid and didn't think further than my nose.

 

[Jarhead0408]

I've got the very same compressor man. Little thing runs like a champ but I do need to see if I can drain it. I've got one of those flexible boro-scopes so I should be able to see if there's any rust or not. Are you going to part it out?

 

[don long]

Man am I disappointed after seeing the shot of the compressor torn down
I was hopping to have you bring it by next week lol

The motor looks like it should go on a saw or something now to replace that project I worked on last week

Good luck with it
Don

 

[ezzzzzzz]

I haven't read every response to this post but I did go to the link at welding web. It took all of thirty seconds to see the mistake that fella made. He charged that tank to over 150 psi when it came apart. There are tanks intended to hold that pressure in service. Most in this capacity are rated to 200 psi BUT not intended to be used there. The typical safety relief is 125 -150. My 120 tank is setup with a 150 valve and an Speedaire automatic drain. On smaller tanks I wouldn't use more than a 125 valve. The small capacity is severely limiting functionality anyway. Maintenance is critical to longivity also.

 

[softailgarage]

If you do decide to cut the tank, please take some pictures of the insides, different angles, so we can see first hand the damage to the tank. I for one have never seen the insides of a tank, might be interesting?

I am and I will. Kinda interested myself.

they sure dont build them like they used to...

No, no they dont, sure wish they did!

I've got the very same compressor man. Little thing runs like a champ but I do need to see if I can drain it. I've got one of those flexible boro-scopes so I should be able to see if there's any rust or not. Are you going to part it out?

Not sure yet Marine, I'll definetly use the parts towards something.

Man am I disappointed after seeing the shot of the compressor torn down
I was hopping to have you bring it by next week lol

The motor looks like it should go on a saw or something now to replace that project I worked on last week

Good luck with it
Don

Ah yes Mr. Long, I believe that motor would work. Funny thing about that "other" motor (kinda embarrassing really), I'll fill you in Tuesday.

Thank you guy's for the "condolences". I managed a little bit of free time tonight and started on the pump...

 

[camarotoolman]

Keep it fr parts, You'll find a replacement tank sooner or later.

 

[58Yeoman]

I had that same one and used it for years, until I got a Sanborn 60 gallon, then sold it.

 

[timbitca]

I have a very similar compressor in my grandfather's garage that's been there for god knows how long. It's also had a pinhole (or two) leak underneath for as long as I can remember :O

These days though (and likely the last 4-5 years) the hardest work it's seen has been to blow up some tires. I never leave it on very long and once I'm done filling my tires it's unplugged.