hole in my compressor tank

[magnusk750]

Is there good way of rustproofing a tank? Draining, sure, but there will still be moisture. Thin rust protection oil for closed spaces in cars will probably work, but if lets to dry for a while, pumping fresh air right through from time to time, will they be dry enough not to clog the air lines and tools with oil? I have a good quality italian made compressor from the 1970s with a good tank, dont want to see rust away.

 

[JASTECH]

Get new tank, use old tank as BBQ grill made by you.

 

[ncfh]

I build and repair pressure vessels everyday, from supercritial steam to liquid helium.

AND I SAY DON'T DO IT.

That said, you guys would **** yourselves looking at some of the abysmal work I've seen on large power generating pressure vessels, like many tens of thousands of psi, even hundreds of thousands of psi, at very high temperatures held back by bird **** (welds).

Probably wouldn't want to see the damage and destruction I've seen when it goes bad either.

I strive to make sure everything that leaves my shop is safe and done right, and I still don't sleep at night thinking about what retarded people *might* do with something I've made.

Go off and make some hack repair, and you will never know when it will go. Maybe your children will be in the garage when it goes, maybe your SO. If you don't KNOW it's safe, then it really isn't.

 

[Jim Johnstone]

I think it's been beaten to death already, we've had a pressure vessel inspector, a pressure vessel welder both comment on not repairing it, so I guess I'll toss in the engineers side of it too. I used to design rolled sheet pressure vessels virtually identical to air compressor tanks, for use in oil and water filtration systems. I've designed vessels from 150 PSI to 5000 PSI, and I have to echo everything everyone else says. There is a reason we had X-ray inspection on various welds, spot x-ray right up through full penetration full circumference x-ray inspection, as well as hydro static testing. Building/repairing these things is not for some guy working in his garage with home depot MIG welder.

 

[Mario]

 

[BDT/NWMN]

It's rusted from the inside out. The drain is not at the lowest point of the tank so I would move it up and down with the drain valve open to help remove the water.

Part of me wants to cut it out and patch it. I know several professional welders so getting a good weld is not the problem. Another idea is to buy the 60 gallon tank on Craigs ($75) and put my pump and motor on that.

60 gallon tank for $75 BINGO

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

i was going to say i think u should drill a hole where its leaking and jb weld it cause if anything blows out it would be the jb weld. then keep an eye out for another used compressor for the tank but that one might just last a yr or save some $ and get a new one, but that sounds like it could be risky. maybe a new or used tank and save for a new compressor. i like the grill idea maybe with some copper fuel lines and a pressure gage to keep it looking like a compressor

 

[transamfan]

safety has been addressed well enough. just replace. you can pick up a newer compressor that has a bad motor/compressor cheap and transfer your good stuff to it.

 

[vga]

I inspect pressure vessels for a living and you need to throw this tank into the trash. The correct way to do it is to drill at least 2 or more large holes into it to prevent it from ever being reused by anyone and turn it into a metal recycler if possible. Do not repair this hole and repressurize it ever again for your safety. Uniform wall thickness is the safety factor here and you will have for sure more than 1 deep rust / pit present within this tank. SHITCAN IT!!!

 

[chris142]

The compressor will live on. Just not with me. I cut grooves in the tank with my die grinder to render it useless.

I then ordered a new Quincy compressor. I talked to the people at Northern and used the $50 off code+ the already $100 off + free shipping which brought the price of the new one down to $449.99.

Since both my tank and the rings in my pump were bad I decided against trying to patch up the pump to use on another tank that may rust out next month.

I then took the old one to a local guy that rebuilds and maintains compressors. He gave me $50 for my old one which brought the price of the new one to $399.99

He really wanted the motor, said he can put brushes and bearings in it and resell it.

I'm happy with the $50 he gave me. I only paid $100 for it 15+ years ago.

 

[Mario]

Great!