Propane tank for air compressor?

[niget2002]

I have a nice sized air compressor pump that came off of another tank, but I don't have a tank or motor for it.

Looking on craigslist and other marketplace, I've noticed that some rather large propane tanks for sale for $100 or so. I've seen a lot less actual air compressor tanks in this same price range.

Could you use a used propane tank for an air compressor? Assuming it was properly emptied/purged of previous propane.

 

[matt_i]

Have to look at the ASME tag to see pressure rating and assess its condition...maybe it failed a recert test (?) I'd be worried about getting the mercaptan out of it...I don't think there's any solvent for that other than a flame.

Then you are into heat issues of running the compressor for 30 straight minutes to fill the tank up and theoretically you don't have to run it for another month. Any small leak anywhere is going to slowly chip away at this "bank" you have paid to fill and if it gets away from you its going to be another half hour (or whatever) to fill it back up again. Keep in mind building compressed air is very expensive, nowhere else does it require a 5hp electric motor to keep up with a 1/4hp tool.

So, can you do it, yes of course. Some perils down the road though.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I once used a 123 tank for additional air for several years. A tomato juice rinse out will help knock down the mercaptan smell. Unless you pipe the tank with it upside down, you will have no way to drain water from it.

 

[Bondo]

Could you use a used propane tank for an air compressor?

Ayuh,.... Sure, go for it,......

Most air systems run a 120 psi,.....

Propane tanks are rated at 250 psi,....

 

[jubilee]

I don’t know how many portable air tanks I’ve made out of old propane tanks. I fill them with water and a few ounces of muriatic acid and let sit for a couple of days to kill oder. I’ve welded in many 1/2” and 3/4” pipe collars for access. Probably shouldn’t have mentioned that as the safety Rambo text police will be all over me. If you get a propane tank out of an RV, it’ll have numerous outlets.

 

[laser3kw]

Looking on craigslist and other marketplace, I've noticed that some rather large propane tanks for sale for $100 or so. I've seen a lot less actual air compressor tanks in this same price range.

used cylinder for $100 isn't much of a deal. New isn't much more. Shop your local Propane and Propane accessory store.
100lb propane cylinder link

 

[larry_g]

Unless you pipe the tank with it upside down, you will have no way to drain water from it.

Read the above again. You have to be able to drain the condensate out of the tank and this is what separates the air tank from the propane tank. Solve this issue and the pressure ratings and your off to the races.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[isb cornbinder]

I used a large propane tank for my shop air compressor for 25 years. I replaced the propane tank with an Ingersoll T30 on an 80 gallon tank.
Before I took the propane tank to recycling I had my son cut the tank in approximately half. He decided to make the cut in a wave pattern around the center of the tank. When we tipped the tank out of the truck at recycling the cut separated and the tank appeared to have just cracked and broke into pieces. There were several persons marvelling at this situation.
Propane tanks are not accepted at the city transfer station unless they have been cut open.
BTW, the smell never totally left the tank.

 

[Lucky13driver]

I used one for as a portable air tank till it was stolen out of my truck.

 

[rwa2004]

I havn"t completed my set up, but I have all the pieces. I collected x4 100lb propane tanks I plan to use. 2 in each opposite corners of the shop. They equal about 25 gallins each. Mount them upside down to quiete the naysayers about welding and moisture. Use a drip leg under them. I have x1 40lb aluminum one I plan to plumb in with a coupler so i can grab it as an air ball at any time.

I found 100lb propane tanks for $10-$20 each.

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[LS6 Tommy]

Can it work? Yes, if you install it upside down to allow condesate drainage. It's also illegal. At your house that probably won't make a difference except for maybe if you go to sell and it's left behind. In a commercial setting, it would be a problem.

Tommy

 

[nelstomlinson]

LS6, where would it be illegal? Is that an OSHA rule?

 

[OccupantRJ]

Here in NC a compressor tank in a factory has to be state inspected yearly and a permit issued for it to be used. The data plate is the first thing checked. The pressure reliefs are second, and you have to activate it for the inspector. He also checks the pressure rating on the relief.

 

[MoonRise]

LS6, where would it be illegal? Is that an OSHA rule?

Using a propane tank as a compressed air storage tank is "illegal" because:

- The design codes for a pressure vessel specify such things as the design pressure and the tank material and the usage environment. Propane is 'dry' and a hydrocarbon, air is 'wet'.

- The pressure vessel has to have a "data plate".

- No water drain valve on the bottom of a propane tank, hence no way to drain the condensed atmospheric moisture that collects in such a tank if that tank were filled with compressed air.

And the mercaptan smell lingers. For a long time. Unless you chemically remove the mercaptan residue (chlorine bleach or a wash out with a mix of detergent and standard hydrogen peroxide), but then you have introduced more water into this tank which doesn't really have a way to drain water out of it.

Oh, and you HAVE to purge the tank of ALL propane also.

Just go buy an actual ASME-rated compressed air tank. Couple hundred dollars and done.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

LS6, where would it be illegal? Is that an OSHA rule?

It's illegal nationwide. In a nutshell, it's because a pressure vessel is being used (or modified for use) outside of its design parameters, just like making disposable refrigerant cylinders into portable compressed air tanks.

Tommy

 

[nes999]

The racers down and the local dirt track typically use these so they don't have to bring a compressor.

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[ez-duzit]

Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing.