Compressor tank repair?

[Fallon]

I have a Kobalt 5hp 60? Gallon compressor I traded for a couple years ago. I normally just shut off the output valve & leave it on. Last week I went out to the shop to find it running (toasty warm & probably had been for a while) & spewing air out the bottom.

Finally got a chance to look at it yesterday. I had assumed water in the drain froze & busted a fitting. However feeling around down there when I kick it on, I found a pencil lead size pinhole in the bottom half way between the side of the tank & the fitting in the center.

Should I try & TIG that hole up (I have some moderate TIG skill), or is that just just asking for trouble? If I fail & it keeps leaking no big deal. I'm worried I might set myself up for a worse failure on a pressure vessel.

I've been looking for a better compressor for a bit, but haven't found a deal on something in the 20cfm @175psi range I'm looking for to keep up with my blast cabinet yet. This one had been good enough for a while so I hadn't budgeted on a replacement.

Hoping TIGing it back up will safely buy me some more time.

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

 

[CNGsaves]

Nope . . . . junk the tank as not worth risk.

Shop CL for oil-less compressor that has bit the dust but tank is still good. Move your oil splash pump over onto the donor tank.

 

[Showkey]

No.........to tank repair.

Best case it just leaks.......

Worst case:

 

[MoonRise]

Turn the dead tank into :

- yard art

- a BBQ or smoker

- anything else that you want that is NOT a pressure vessel

Short answer: NO do not weld on a pressure vessel.

Longer answer: Hell NO do not weld on a pressure vessel.


Longer answer if you want: Look up the requirements for ASME Pressure Vessel Welding, including material specs, process specs, post-weld inspection REQUIREMENTS, and all the required 'certifications' for welding on a pressure vessel.

No matter how 'good' of a welder you are, unless you KNOW what you are doing, you do NOT weld on a pressure vessel.

IMNSHO.

 

[jrcampbe]

I'll pile on and say check YouTube for videos of air compressor tank explosions...

 

[Fallon]

Thanks. I knew better, but was hoping I might be wrong. Will look for a dirt cheap replacement off one of those **** oiless compressors or something until I can get a better one.

 

[rsanter]

How do you know the other tank is any good

I think he said he wanted a better compressor. If you have the money then go buy the better compressor and sell the pump and motor off of your unit to help offset the cost

Bob

 

[Fallon]

How do you know the other tank is any good

I think he said he wanted a better compressor. If you have the money then go buy the better compressor and sell the pump and motor off of your unit to help offset the cost

Bob

Ya, but I can't afford a better compressor for a bit, so if I can get my current one back online for cheap it will get me back on my feet. Also, a working compressor is much more sell able than parts when I do end up upgrading.

 

[Richard Cranium]

if you are going to buy a used tank, look it over very well, make sure that no one has repaired it, or just put a sheet metal screw into a hole. Listen to it make sure there is nothing rattling around it the tank (rust) Drain the tank see what comes out.
But what ever you do "DO NOT WELD ON YOUR OLD TANK"

 

[sberry]

These tanks have crappy welding on them all the time. Just had one where the leak was around the wheel axel was slobber welded on, nothing to write home about when it left the factory but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, probably a bigger issue than that is how sound the rest of it is.
I had a fuel tank a while back, everyone rushed to condemn the thing and I cut a hole in the bottom big enough to get my head in. It had a single hole where the leak appeared about the size of a pencil eraser little bigger than 1/4. The rest of the tank looked pristine. But a small air vessel is about impossible to look in without special equipment.

 

[ovrrdrive]

Save some money and just use elmers all-purpose glue. Yep the same stuff your kids use in school. You'll get the same quality of repair as welding it and it will just as safe to re-pressurize.

Oh and of course I meant unsafe... Throw it away.

 

[dutchgray]

As every one else is saying, bin the tank. Learn from this when you get a new one by draining daily and by switching off when you're not around.

 

[Fallon]

As every one else is saying, bin the tank. Learn from this when you get a new one by draining daily and by switching off when you're not around.

I installed one of those Horrible Freight automatic drains & did drain it pretty much every time I used it. But who knows how well it was treated before I got it

I got it in a trade a couple years ago. Bought a snow blower for $100 & ended up trading the blower for the compressor later. So I can't complain to much about the life I've gotten out of a $100 5hp compressor.

Most annoying part is I sold off my old 20 gallon compressor about 2 months ago as I hadn't used it in ages.

 

[turfgnome]

I used to wonder why you should not weld a compressor tank. Untill that is I saw the aftermath of one going bad. Buying a new one is cheap compared to the damage it can cause. One here a few years back killed 3 and looked like a war zone.