Air Compressor Takes Flight

[DRP6833]

Can't say that I've ever heard of anything like this before. A 100-gallon air compressor failed, went airborne and through the roof "several houses down."

Maybe he used PVC pipe?

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2020/08...sor-south-fox-street-like-a-rocket-roof-home/

 

[Davefr]

Wow!!! A 100 gallon compressor must be close to 1000 lbs and for it to take off and fly over several homes is amazing.

 

[The Cobbler]

so for all the naysayers ...

 

[MrSurly]

Seems...implausible, but then, it doesn't sound imPOSSIBLE>

Maybe rather than the compressor it was an auxiliary tank or a gas cylinder being charged?

 

[pancho400cid]

A 5 HP compressor runs for several minutes then shuts off when the pressure switch trips at the high setting.

There is MORE than enough stored energy on tap to move a thousand pound compressor "several houses down".

Gives me the willys. I'd really like to see if the compressor was in fact mounted on the tank (roof hole on re-entry makes me think "yes"), whether it was a horizontal or vertical tank, and exactly how the tank ruptured.

My pet theory is that horizontal tanks are scarier because the lengthwise weld at the bottom (where the water accumulates) can unzip. I've seen vertical tanks get pinholes/rust out but never get a long split. Not saying it couldn't happen you understand.

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[ScaldedDog]

Is this what happens when you don't drain the tank?

Mark

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[johnnyradiant]

Is this what happens when you don't drain the tank?

Mark

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yep

Nothing to do with pvc airlines. My Quincy on top of a 120g tank is heavy but it isn't 1000#.

 

[sberry]

Evewry once in a while something happens to one. Never know if the owner was fooling with it, if it was stock or someone fix it better. The why would be real interesting since its so rare. Millions and millions of comps in service and lots of them do not have the water drained.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Could have been a home brewed unit that someone put together sans a pressure switch or one that failed.

If a pressure switch failed, I wonder how high the pressure would get before the tank relieved itself ?

 

[sberry]

Both switch and relief failed? I used to fix a lot of stuff better, bout killed myself a few times. Lots of stuff, especially "listed" type stuff has been very carefully assembled, some so simple the safety is not obvious. Wood burning furnace is a good example. So simple, so much back and forth to get them right. **** we take for granted and dont give a thought to or may not even make sense to start with. Mess with it a little and it is compromised.

 

[csp]

The video clearly stated that someone working with the compressor accidentally damaged it.

I would interpret this to mean that something happened which damaged the tank enough to make it rupture.

 

[mike93lx]

**** like this makes me want to find ways to not need air in my shop, beyond a small portable compressor.

Sure it is rare, but when **** goes sideways, it makes a hell of a mess

 

[nadogail]

Thanks for posting, the amount of energy in a 100 Gallon tank staggers my imagination.

 

[NUTTSGT]

The video clearly stated that someone working with the compressor accidentally damaged it.

I would interpret this to mean that something happened which damaged the tank enough to make it rupture.

Don't always take what the media has to say for granted. Many times they get it wrong as they "interpret" what the fire report says as they have no clue what they are talking about.

Case in point, copy/paste from the OP's link.

When it came down, it ripped through the home’s roof, tore through the second floor, and came to rest in the first floor, per Pixley.

Look at the picture, it's a one story home. While it may have came through the attic flooring, that's not the second floor. A NFIRS report will show the amount of levels of the structure.



EDIT: I just sent an email to see if I can get a emailed copy of the NFIRS report.

 

[rlitman]

...My pet theory is that horizontal tanks are scarier because the lengthwise weld at the bottom (where the water accumulates) can unzip. I've seen vertical tanks get pinholes/rust out but never get a long split. Not saying it couldn't happen you understand.

...

I share the same pet theory. The tank bell end is also thicker than the cylinder walls, and it's shape funnels water away from welds. Most of the photos online of exploded tanks are of horizontal tanks, but I do recall seeing one vertical one as well.

I've got an 80 gallon tank, and I'm sure the news could report it as a 100 gallon tank.

 

[Ilikeike]

He must not have used very good anchors to fasten it to the floor.

 

[mike93lx]

He must not have used very good anchors to fasten it to the floor.

I would bet a small percentage of compressors get bolted down. Most seem to just leave them on the shipping pallet.

 

[JRC3]

I remember the compressor owner popping up around here last year asking about repairing a compressor tank a buddy gave him. He shrugged everyone off and fixed the pinholes with a couple drywall screws and some JBW. lol

 

[dffay]

Think of the guy at the house in between mowing his lawn and watching this thing arc overhead. Geez.

 

[DRP6833]

Here's a video with more information and some views of the tank. It looks to me like a weld failure on one end of the tank.

https://kdvr.com/news/denver-couple-displaced-after-air-compressor-flies-into-their-home/

 

[pcmeiners]

"He must not have used very good anchors to fasten it to the floor."

Trust me, anchors would not hold down a 60 gallon tank if it ruptured, no less a 100 gallon tank, and that is from impractical experience.

 

[67carl]

The link DRP provided has video footage from a ring doorbell showing it fly through the air! Screen shot from that video;

 

[ManOnTheCouch]

Here's a video with more information and some views of the tank. It looks to me like a weld failure on one end of the tank.

https://kdvr.com/news/denver-couple-displaced-after-air-compressor-flies-into-their-home/

From the video, it looks like a 60 gallon vertical and the weld on the bottom of the tank gave out.

 

[BillK]

Here's a video with more information and some views of the tank. It looks to me like a weld failure on one end of the tank.

https://kdvr.com/news/denver-couple-displaced-after-air-compressor-flies-into-their-home/

Unless they deleted it I dont see any videos or pictures ????

 

[mike93lx]

From the video, it looks like a 60 gallon vertical and the weld on the bottom of the tank gave out.

Agreed, that is 60 gal. I bet someone on the scene guessed 100 and they went with it.

 

[MrSurly]

Almost a certainty that it’s a Chinese tank.
Recall, anyone?


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[tdkkart]

It's not even a 60, I think it's a 30 or 40 gallon upright, watch the video, it's small in front of the firefighters, and did nobody notice it had no motor or compressor on it, just the tank, so more than likely a home made arrangement.


It doesn't take a lot for the motor start contacts to weld shut and let the compressor run on forever, or until something blows. I've had a pressure switch stick, which is why compressor circuit is wired through a contactor so the compressor doesn't get any power when the shop lights are turned off.

 

[pancho400cid]

Yeah... Definitely at odds with my theory about horizontal vs, vertical.

More like 30 or 40 gallons as said, and with no pump/motor unless they got knocked off during the incident.

Secondary air storage with over-pressure relief removed maybe?

Pardon the poor screenshots:









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[DRP6833]

Pancho, in your third screen shot, it's the little spec in the triangle at the top of the porch that's the airborne tank.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I saw a little portable compressor where the pressure switch failed and the tank exploded. It was pretty much turned inside out and looked like a big potato chip. Fortunately no one was in the garage when it failed, but the car that was parked next to it didn't fare so well.

The news article does illustrate how there's a lot of kinetic energy in a compressed air tank.

 

[JRC3]

I was in this thread this morning before I went to Menards...Decided while I was there to pick up a 1/4" valve and line to make an easy drain kit. Also picked up a new pressure gauge to replace the old one on it. A couple years ago it got a new pressure switch and pop off.

 

[pancho400cid]

Pancho, in your third screen shot, it's the little spec in the triangle at the top of the porch that's the airborne tank.

Wow - You're very right... FIXED LOL!!! Thanks! The video looks like that thing is rocketing down from outer space.

I was in this thread this morning before I went to Menards...Decided while I was there to pick up a 1/4" valve and line to make an easy drain kit. Also picked up a new pressure gauge to replace the old one on it. A couple years ago it got a new pressure switch and pop off.

My 60 gal Cambell Hausfield vertical is from 2002 IIRC and I have a Speedaire horizontal that's significantly older than that. I'm thinking it's time for a replacement.


...

 

[yatg]

frame from video

 

[The Tool Tyrant]

Very interesting. Looking closely at the exposed ripped steel, it looks shinny rather than rusty and also looks like the failure was not at the weld seam. Being as no pump or motor, I'd guess it was being used to boost storage capacity.
Could be the receiver was being over-pressured beyond it's MAWP, as in it was designed for a maximum of 150 PSI and someone was pressuring it to 200 PSI or more.

I know that my Quincy QR-25 325 is rated to 200 PSI continuous and 500 PSI intermittent...so who know what some bozo was trying to do

 

[rlitman]

Very interesting. Looking closely at the exposed ripped steel, it looks shinny rather than rusty and also looks like the failure was not at the weld seam. Being as no pump or motor, I'd guess it was being used to boost storage capacity.
Could be the receiver was being over-pressured beyond it's MAWP, as in it was designed for a maximum of 150 PSI and someone was pressuring it to 200 PSI or more.

I know that my Quincy QR-25 325 is rated to 200 PSI continuous and 500 PSI intermittent...so who know what some bozo was trying to do

The motor and pump don't just separate from a tank cleanly on their own, so clearly this was an old tank being used solely for storage.

However, the broken pressure gauge shown in the video tops at 100PSI, and the needle is on zero, so I don't have the feeling that this was all that over-pressurized. But who knows.

 

[NUTTSGT]

It's not even a 60, I think it's a 30 or 40 gallon upright, watch the video, it's small in front of the firefighters, and did nobody notice it had no motor or compressor on it, just the tank, so more than likely a home made arrangement.


It doesn't take a lot for the motor start contacts to weld shut and let the compressor run on forever, or until something blows. I've had a pressure switch stick, which is why compressor circuit is wired through a contactor so the compressor doesn't get any power when the shop lights are turned off.

If you look closely, the pump/motor mount spots ave surface rust. There is also not scratch marks or gouges in the top where the motor/pump should be, not even a section of broken off corner still attached.

I'm still thinking home brewed concoction. Notice they haven't talked to the owner of the tank ? Atleast not that I have seen.


Ponco's screen shot

 

[Wheelingit]

Looks like a 40 gallon tank.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Again using Poncho's screen shot.





The large plug on compressors . . . I always figure were an inspection plug.


Does anybody have one that is tapped with a smaller bushing in it ?

 

[Showkey]

When the myth buster did the water heater to failure and flight......they were at over 300 psi.

 

[walta]

I would not argue with the 100 gallon claim without a tape measure. From the photos the tank may well be 24 inch diameter and 48 inches tall.


Given it failed at the weld it must have been way over pressurized.

The tank looks to have a welded on tag making likely to be an older US made tank.

I would guess it was rated for 150 PSI and that weld was factory tested to 300 PSI. That begs the question where did a home shop get 400 PSI air to blow the tank? Very wild guess is someone got hold of a scuba tank compressor and was fitting this tank to it.

Can anyone make up a better story?


Walta