Air compressor explosion

[Kevin54]

I just thought I'd post this for others to see. In the video, the gentleman's grandfather is standing at the rear of the truck. Don't take your air compressor for granted. https://hot.legendaryspeed.com/air-compressor-explosion-safety-video-footage-actual-explosion/

 

[Cope]

Posted a week or so ago.

 

[sberry]

That is wild. **** does happen. I am all for a thread here where we all show our exploded air tanks.
My Bud just stopped in, says he was at a body shop recent and sees 1 1/2 cpvc pipe in a manifold. Yikes. The guy claims his tools run better with it.
I am guilty of not checking relief valves for good long time. My system has 2 on it but it wouldn't hurt to check them. My neighbor had a little comp I demoed, it was a mess with 2 or 3 people work on it and cobbled parts, had some **** wiring and ungrounded to boot. It was at a garage sale and not sold and I cornered her and said, you cant sell it like that and she gives it to me. I used some parts from it.
Wasn't only 1 minor thing as I recall but had 2 or 3 issues and maybe no relief valve either but the hose they used for a steel tube prolly would have gave out before tank rupture.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

On the horizontal two wheeled portable compressor tanks, there is a drain plug on the bottom of the tank. The question to ask with so many of these compressors is in regards to how often that drain plug ever got removed? I like a quarter turn valve to replace that plug. Then position the compressor so it is sloped with the valve in the lowest position; and drain it often. No reason to drain off all the air pressure, just the water. If buying a new compressor, get a quarter turn drain valve at the same time.. Buying a used compressor; look for any welding or JB weld on the bottom of the tank.

Should the vertical tanks be treated any different? Nope. Some members have automatic drain valves on their compressors. Not a bad idea.

 

[cajunfirehawk]

Yeah I almost got drawn and quartered for posting this...lol
I often worry about things like this when I fill my lil sears portable air tank, which I keep stored empty in its original box, but ya never know?

 

[sberry]

It isn't that it shouldnt be posted but we do need to keep in mind the actual risk. I actually wonder how often it happens and what the cause is? We seem to leap from there to the assumption that someone didn't drain the water and that if he did it compulsively things would be all right and one could sleep so much easier.
I have actually seen broken PVC on air a couple times. I believe it is a statistical risk due to the fact that my personal sample would be small and see 2, multiply a few guys like me and it makes for a lot of incidents.
It is serious and precautions are good, the video what would be the solution? Of all the times I bout killed myself it was always something dumb I done and remember building a tank when I was a kid which would have went off if I had left it long enough.
I give more caution today to fukkin with engineered design and try to stay pretty close to codes or am aware of the risk and always skepitical after something has been worked on. I should check my engine drive relief, jeeze, I do try to watch it thru a cycle make sure it unloads.
There is a lot of **** welding on these vessels. Had one a year ago where the bracket brace for the wheels rusted thru from a **** mig job, good ole USA stuff.

 

[sberry]

I often worry about things like this when I fill my lil sears portable air tank, which I keep stored empty in its original box, but ya never know?

I don't fill it before storage but don't drain it either. My air is on 24/7. I made a shelf just for the tank, was a thing seemed to always find itself on the floor in the way. I had it and stuck up a place for it. I see I might be able to add an elbow to move the gage a bit.
It kind of worked out easy and clamped the valve to the handle.

 

[Cope]

On the horizontal two wheeled portable compressor tanks, there is a drain plug on the bottom of the tank. The question to ask with so many of these compressors is in regards to how often that drain plug ever got removed? I like a quarter turn valve to replace that plug. Then position the compressor so it is sloped with the valve in the lowest position; and drain it often. No reason to drain off all the air pressure, just the water. If buying a new compressor, get a quarter turn drain valve at the same time.. Buying a used compressor; look for any welding or JB weld on the bottom of the tank.

Should the vertical tanks be treated any different? Nope. Some members have automatic drain valves on their compressors. Not a bad idea.

I need to put a new valve on my 30 gallon portable, thanks for the prod.

I put an electric auto valve on my 60 gallon. It comes on for 30 seconds once each hour. Compressor is in the front of the garage next to the door from the house. Never fails to come on just as my wife walks past it.

 

[sberry]

Looks like the exploded tank thread is going to be pretty short. Considering the hundreds of posts about draining and constant worry one would think it would be substantially longer?

 

[cajunfirehawk]

Looks like the exploded tank thread is going to be pretty short. Considering the hundreds of posts about draining and constant worry one would think it would be substantially longer?

This is the 2nd one, the original thread is HERE--> http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=347185

 

[Richard Cranium]

That video was also posted over a year ago.

 

[sberry]

https://sites.google.com/site/metropolitanforensics/cause-of-explosion-of-air-compressor-tanks
Allan Copeland here is the first real account I know of this happening in the sense that I know cope from Hobart for years. As Cope said, don't do it, the guy did it anyway, he probably smokes, drank and drive and didn't wear a seatbelt and rode a Harley too?
I wonder how llong it took the risk management site to find those, what a great biz, insure and charge for Harley Davidson rates where the true risk is so miniscule you cant miss.
I am not saying to be negligent but to really calculate the risk, in the meantime 100 killed in cars, million injuries, 50K overdose and in a small town here dozens on motorcycles.
I have a friend who is a lead xray tech. She has a motorcycle and rides bicycles. She bought a comp and asked me about it.
I said, there is as many or more comps on this block as bikes, how many in the er a day on bikes and its a lot,,, I ask her, how many air comp injuries? She has been there 20 yrs. How many you figure she seen?

 

[btdobie]

That video is several years old now. When I first saw it one of the stories floating around was that the pressure switch had either failed or been disabled.

 

[TheGrooveking]

In more than a few states they have regulations about pressure vessels. I know in New York, Illinois, Texas and California to name a few. In our plants in Illinois the State Fire Marshall comes by every few years to inspect and brings with them sometimes a portable xray to check. Also in some municiapalities they require air tanks to be in dedicated rooms made of brick or pured concrete.

In one plant I worked at the automatic drain stopped working and the air dryer **** the bed and it half filled a 600 gallon tank, which air or liquid hydraullically blew a few pipes apart.

TheGrooveking