On Sep 27, 2:07*am, mm wrote:
On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:21:43 -0400, Phisherman
wrote:





On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:40:00 -0400, Nate Nagel
wrote:

subject says all, I was given an old air compressor minus the compressor
and motor - would like to use it as a portable compressed air tank.
McMaster-Carr sells schraeder valve to NPT fittings for cheap, but don't
I need some kind of pop off valve to make this legit? *Also will a
standard radiator petcock suffice as a drain valve or do I need
something more substantial? *I guess my lack of finding the pop off
valve on a quick web search (maybe I'm not using the right keywords?) is
keeping me from hacking this together.

thanks

nate

Tanks rust with time and should be replaced after several years. *A
portable tank does not cost that much, maybe $25.

What happens if a compressed air tank leaks? Do you get air all over
the place?

I agree with Phisherman. Compressors rust from the inside out, so
you're not going to be able to tell anything about how much metal is
left in an old compressor tank. Typically they develop pin hole
leaks in the bottom. But could one fail catastrophically and injure
someone? I've never heard of it happening, but why take the chance?

Plus if it did injure someone, it would be bad enough being sued
without having the plaintiff pointing to a homebuilt piece of crap.