Air Compressor Explosion

[4 FN 27]

Grab this from a guy I use to race with FB Feed:

"I wanted to let you know, first I am going to be fine.

Second if you own a old ************* air compressor, STOP using it!

This thing had no signs of rust anywhere on the outside, I tested it with 40 psi of air, checked for leaks, found nothing wrong. I let the machine run till it dropped to an idle at 120 psi. Let out air till it cycled and was watching it fill. When it got to 120 psi it exploded with me standing next to it. I have severe bruising on my left side, but no broken bones, Some cuts and scratches. Very, very, sore. Going to take a while to get back to normal.

Honestly don’t know how I am still here!

This was a 30 gallon tank!"

Glad to hear he is OK. Not sure of the full story behind how, where or when he got it or what he was doing with it???







**edited the quote for grammar.

 

[The Cobbler]

there's a lot of potential energy in compressed air. I like that my compressor is in my shed .

 

[PCustoms]

Sounds like he suspected it had issues.....

Test with water!

 

[tarbellb]

Likely the PVC airlines fault



i kid, glad he is ok....

 

[welder4956]

Edit: My calculation was a bit off.

A 30 gallon air tank has a volume of 4 cubic feet. At 120 psig (134.7 psia), the stored energy is 78,000 about 3,700,000 ft-lb or about 106,000 5,000,000 joules, the equivalent of 0.05 2.5 lb of TNT. But, no one has to prove that to the guy that was standing beside it.

 

[luvtheheat]

if you own a old ************* air compressor, STOP using it!

Any idea of brand/mfg, and age? Tank sheet metal seems kind of thin.

 

[Wrench97]

I'd love to see better pictures of the inside of the tank.

 

[MacMcMacmac]

The tank has a Castair label on it.

 

[dogdog]

Lol

 

[B_Bimmer]

Looks quite clean inside from the pictures I currently see...

 

[mike93lx]

there's a lot of potential energy in compressed air. I like that my compressor is in my shed .

This is why I don’t even own a compressor beyond my little aluminum tank CAT. Cordless does well enough for it to not be detrimental for me

 

[Walkers]

WOW! Glad he is all right! Looks like it might have had a cheap chinese zipper instead of a real YKK Zipper.

 

[Firebrick43]

I bet the gauge was incorrect, and the PSI was a lot higher than that.

 

[4 FN 27]

Any idea of brand/mfg, and age? Tank sheet metal seems kind of thin.

I don't know...

But I did have this brief chat with him"



Edit: I should add I do know him from Racing and well enough to give him a little ribbing.

Also I edited his grammar but I see he should edit my spelling. ***** to be human.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

Back in the 50's, the garage I used to work for opened. A couple years after opening, a garage up the street, had a car in the air on a lift, when the compressor failed/blew up and through the car off the lift and across the street, through the doors, overnight. Not a pretty thing.

 

[4 FN 27]

I bet the gauge was incorrect, and the PSI was a lot higher than that.

That is what I am thinking. And the Pop-Off Valve may have been sticking.

A good thing to do is pull them Pop-Offs on occasion just to be sure they are functioning. I do when I think of it but it has been a long time.

 

[Firebrick43]

Back in the 50's, the garage I used to work for opened. A couple years after opening, a garage up the street, had a car in the air on a lift, when the compressor failed/blew up and through the car off the lift and across the street, through the doors, overnight. Not a pretty thing.

Your saying the car was thrown off the lift and landed across the street? or the compressor tank ended up across the street? Because if its the first, BS. Physics says that is impossible. There may of been another type of explosion (such as gas) but it wasnt the compressor tank.

 

[Firebrick43]

That is what I am thinking. And the Pop-Off Valve may have been sticking.

A good thing to do is pull them Pop-Offs on occasion just to be sure they are functioning. I do when I think of it but it has been a long time.

Did it even have a pop off? We have an 80 gallon air intensifier for a critical op at work. The tank pop off was faulty and opening at a low pressure so it couldn't make full pressure shutting down the op. One of the mechs was going to put a pipe plug in it just to get it going as we didn't have one. I told him I would fire whomever done so.

 

[4 FN 27]

Did it even have a pop off?

I don't know. I'll ask.

Did it even have a pop off? One of the mechs was going to put a pipe plug in it just to get it going as we didn't have one. I told him I would fire whomever done so.

I would too. That is not a good work around.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

Your saying the car was thrown off the lift and landed across the street? or the compressor tank ended up across the street? Because if its the first, BS. Physics says that is impossible. There may of been another type of explosion (such as gas) but it wasnt the compressor tank.

What I was told was the compressor, which was at the height of the lift, blew up, and threw the car off the lift, through the garage door and where it landed was the other side of the street, where it rolled into that business. (was in the air for drive shaft work or something)
I wasn't alive back then, just heard the story from the old (extended family) mechanic.

 

[4 FN 27]

Did it even have a pop off?

His reply:

 

[Firebrick43]

What I was told was the compressor, which was at the height of the lift, blew up, and threw the car off the lift, through the garage door and where it landed was the other side of the street, where it rolled into that business. (was in the air for drive shaft work or something)
I wasn't alive back then, just heard the story from the old (extended family) mechanic.

Ok, car rolling across the street makes sense especially if it didn't have a driveshaft. A lot of those old center post lifts were air over hydraulic and the loss of pressure may have let the lift go to the ground and once the car touched down it rolled on its merry way. A buddy has an old inground center post and he has 4 tall stands to put under the vehicle if he leaves it up. More than once he has found it setting on them

 

[Packard V8]

After sixty years around air compressors, they're literally the last thing I worry about. I'm in much more danger driving to and from the shop than standing beside the air compressor.

And FWIW, I've had several tanks develope a leak in the bottom of the tank. That's all it was; a leak, never an explosion.

jack vines

 

[gearhead1]

Not a detailed analysis, but I don’t see a lot of rust inside. I also suspect the pop-off valve may have been stuck or some other root cause.

We make ASME pressure vessels every day where I work. I agree with Packard V8, failures are rare and you have more risk getting hurt from a distracted driver than you do an air compressor. Of course that assumes the air compressor was made well and not from a place cutting corners.

 

[Jswain]

This is why I don’t even own a compressor beyond my little aluminum tank CAT. Cordless does well enough for it to not be detrimental for me

Sell all your vehicle's and zip up the bubblesuit then. You're probably far more likely to die because of a part failure in your car then to be injured by an air compressor exploding.

 

[Olafur]

Thanks!
Looking at the pictures this tank is surprisingly!! thin, but one can see some edges that appear thicker than the rest. Did they stamp the bottoms out of wrong gauge? Or is it much more corroded than it appears?

Is it possible the explosion and the deformation of the material shook of most of the rust so it's not visible in the pictures?

I

 

[mike93lx]

Sell all your vehicle's and zip up the bubblesuit then. You're probably far more likely to die because of a part failure in your car then to be injured by an air compressor exploding.

Nah, I'm good.

But next time I make a safety decision for myself, I will consult you. Deal?

 

[pcmeiners]

"You're probably far more likely to die because of a part failure in your car then to be injured by an air compressor exploding."

True
Not making light of a tank explosion, but crossing a street has more danger than the chance of an average compressor blowing up.

As to the the tank, damn that is thin metal, no less it is very odd it ruptured from both ends. More like an explosion from explosive vapor in the tank. Possible oil mist or oil contaminated with a flammable substance.

"Is it possible the explosion and the deformation of the material shook of most of the rust so it's not visible in the pictures?"

The explosion could gave removed some oxide dust and some heavy rust on the surface but rust which eats through metal is hard and most of it solidly adheres to metal.

 

[Zewnten]

I'm guessing the tank was damaged on the bottom giving a weak point for the over pressurized air to deform more.

 

[Olafur]

odd weld - repair?

 

[Zebedeewesty]

I've got into the habit of switching mine on and leaving the garage until the shutoff switches it off after a mate had the same thing happen to his a few years back.
His blew a big chunk of blockwork wall out when it blew.

That metal looks really thin. I always assumed they were made of thicker steel.

 

[Milton Shaw]

I have heard of an inground hoist cylinder exploding. This happened at a new build where the plumber was testing the piping for the hoist under pressure before he back filled. He chained the cylinder down and pressurized it to 175 lbs. working pressure. His chain would not take the pressure and the cylinder broke the chain. The big problem was he did it without hydraulic oil (over 55 gallons) to make the cylinder move at low speed like it would with a car on it. From what I heard it went through the roof, out of sight, and back down through the roof elsewhere. No body hurt. The hydraulic oil has to go through an orifice that slows movement down sort of like a big shock absorber.

 

[Firebrick43]

I have heard of an inground hoist cylinder exploding. This happened at a new build where the plumber was testing the piping for the hoist under pressure before he back filled. He chained the cylinder down and pressurized it to 175 lbs. working pressure. His chain would not take the pressure and the cylinder broke the chain. The big problem was he did it without hydraulic oil (over 55 gallons) to make the cylinder move at low speed like it would with a car on it. From what I heard it went through the roof, out of sight, and back down through the roof elsewhere. No body hurt. The hydraulic oil has to go through an orifice that slows movement down sort of like a big shock absorber.

I would pay money to see that.

From a distance that is.

 

[ATC]

My buddy's shop. Happened overnight sometime, so no one was there...

 

[NUTTSGT]

Hope your buddy heals up well Pat. Any issues with his hearing ?

 

[Jswain]

Nah, I'm good.

But next time I make a safety decision for myself, I will consult you. Deal?

Deal

 

[Grant Gunderson]

Edit: My calculation was a bit off.

A 30 gallon air tank has a volume of 4 cubic feet. At 120 psig (134.7 psia), the stored energy is 78,000 about 3,700,000 ft-lb or about 106,000 5,000,000 joules, the equivalent of 0.05 2.5 lb of TNT. But, no one has to prove that to the guy that was standing beside it.

Ive stood 30-40 feet away numerous times when 2.5lb dynamite charges have gone off ( avalanche control) and you can feel the blast pretty good, and that’s with the snow absorbing most of the blast. I couldn’t imagine standing next to that much force and not being dead. Dude is damn lucky if he was actually close enough to read the gauge.