Testing for air compressor tanks?
 

Is it common practice to have air compressor tanks hydrostatically
tested or otherwise tested periodically? Can the typical test facility
handle a 60 or 80 gallon or bigger compressor tank? Is testing
something you would normally do if buying a used compressor, or are
these things so overbuilt that it's not something to worry about,
barring obvious corrosion or other damage?

Bert

Australian standards require periodic testing of pressure vessels but I
don't recall the interval. There is a formula which multiplies volume by
pressure . If the product is below a certain figure it is not regarded as a
pressure vessel and is exempt from testing. If you aren't required by law
to do it, don't bother. The chances of a catastrophic failure due to
fatigue, are pretty small at the stresses that would apply in most
non-industrial applications. Its more important to check for rust patches in
the tank. As water is usually deposited in the tank it quite often rusts
badly on the bottom. That is the most common source of trouble in air
receivers

Tom


"Bert" wrote in message
...
Is it common practice to have air compressor tanks hydrostatically
tested or otherwise tested periodically? Can the typical test facility
handle a 60 or 80 gallon or bigger compressor tank? Is testing
something you would normally do if buying a used compressor, or are
these things so overbuilt that it's not something to worry about,
barring obvious corrosion or other damage?

Bert

Exploding compressed air tanks kill people. I was involved as an expert
witness in several cases. If you're lucky they just spring a leak, but
high volume compressors can cause catastrophic failure of a seam. For
peace of mind, everone should fill their tank with water and
hydrostatically test it to twice the working pressure every couple of
years.
Bugs

On 18 May 2005 04:40:13 -0700, "Bugs" wrote:

Exploding compressed air tanks kill people. I was involved as an expert
witness in several cases. If you're lucky they just spring a leak, but
high volume compressors can cause catastrophic failure of a seam. For
peace of mind, everone should fill their tank with water and
hydrostatically test it to twice the working pressure every couple of
years.
Bugs

And it is easy to do with a few pipe fittings and a grease gun.

On Thu, 19 May 2005 02:15:26 GMT, Andy Asberry
wrote:

On 18 May 2005 04:40:13 -0700, "Bugs" wrote:

Exploding compressed air tanks kill people. I was involved as an expert
witness in several cases. If you're lucky they just spring a leak, but
high volume compressors can cause catastrophic failure of a seam. For
peace of mind, everone should fill their tank with water and
hydrostatically test it to twice the working pressure every couple of
years.
Bugs

And it is easy to do with a few pipe fittings and a grease gun.


Please expand on this a bit, how would I go about testing my
compressor tank?

Bugs wrote:

Exploding compressed air tanks kill people. I was involved as an expert
witness in several cases. ...

Oooo - an expert! Now we can get real answers instead of I-thinks! My
question is: when air tanks explode is it generally because safety
devices have failed and the tank has been over-pressurized? Or because
of tank failure at normal pressures?

Thanks,
Bob

Andy Asberry wrote:
And it is easy to do with a few pipe fittings and a grease gun.

Well, when I did it, it wasn't that easy. Even though I was very
careful about completely filling the tank and fittings with water, it
took quite a bit of grease to get the pressure up. I theorized that the
water was actually a little compressible due to dissolved gas/air. This
was a 20 gal tank that took about a cup of grease to get the pressure up
to 300 psi. IIRC. And then all that grease had to be cleaned up.

If I were to do it again, I'd use my pressure washer to pump it up.
Being very careful not to go too high!!

Bob

On Thu, 19 May 2005 20:00:24 -0400, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

Bugs wrote:

Exploding compressed air tanks kill people. I was involved as an expert
witness in several cases. ...

Oooo - an expert! Now we can get real answers instead of I-thinks! My
question is: when air tanks explode is it generally because safety
devices have failed and the tank has been over-pressurized? Or because
of tank failure at normal pressures?

Thanks,
Bob

Booooooooooooooooooom

Regards

Daveb