*AIR COMPRESSOR WARNING*

[generation_racing]

How is everyone doing? I hope everyone is well and safe! We do have an investigation video that’s a follow up to this. We go over where and why it failed. We also go over some tips to avoid this. If you have any questions please head over there to see if it answers any of your questions. If not feel free to leave a comment and I’ll do my best to get to all of them. This unit is a horizontal 26 gallon Husky air compressor made in the USA bought brand new at Home Depot about 15 years ago. It was drained on a regular basis. I also realize people see my repair on the bottom of the tank on the drain bung and that is the only repair done on the tank. Even though we welded the drain bung it did not fail where we repaired it! It failed on the factory seam as seen in the investigation video.That repair was done about 5 years ago. There was a few pin holes there. That was our chance to realize the tank was compromised and past it’s life expectancy. Never did I expect it to explode, felt it was more likely to leak its self to death. However after this experience welding the tank was a bad idea. We realize at this point it is extremely unwise to weld or repair a compressor tank of any kind! We posted this as warning on how dangerous and powerful these explosions can be! Thanks for your support and hope to see you all at the track this upcoming season!

[Hammerjockeyrepair]

well jesus man, what did you expect when you "repaired" the tank 5 years ago due to rust holes.. Why didnt ya tell us this right to begin with, DONT REPAIR YOUR COMPRESSOR TANKS!!! WHEN THEY NEED REPAIR THEY NEED RECYCLING

[GHOSTRIDER-kypt]

Some of you may already know, I want to say for the ones that don't know that at the bottom of every compressor is a valve that you open up manually to release any water from moisture. Also there is a second valve that should release if there's too much pressure in there, it's called a safety vavle, those two should be checked every time you use compressor.

[Wolfyjinny]

I used to work on industrial Hydrovane compressors as an apprentice to a 65 year old guy that was due to retire, I had been learning at the job with him for about 4 weeks, we went to an engineering works that had a stand-alone compressor with about a 100-gallon vertical receiver tank to do a clean and oil change.
We entered the 10x12x8 double skin brick building that the compressor and receiver were housed in at about 7 am, drop the 3 phase main feed and empty the receiver of residual air, upon opening the receiver valve we pulled about 3/4 of a gallon of water out which was not a good start, (long story short) we did a test run as we were cleaning our paw prints off everything when all of the sudden the old fella grabbed me by the back of my collar and ran with me, he dragged me over several pipes, out of the door and around the corner of the building next to the compressor house, his trained ear had told him that the over pressure switch had not kicked in and that the safety valve was not doing its job saving both our lives, I still remember a snapshot with parts of the building enveloped in what looked like a big misty bubble flying through the air, when we went back around the corner there were bricks embedded in the side of the building we had hidden behind, I was temporarily deaf, the compressor house and tank had gone, and the compressors insides were showing where the receiver had sliced into it as it exploded.
When I put my first shed/shop together I caged my combi compressor and only left room for it to expel vertically, the damn things scare the crap out of me now.

[jackhargreaves]

A hugely important video. Never (ever) repair rust holes in a compressor. It and you are living on borrowed time as soon as you do that. Thank you for posting.
[I’m glad you are all safe. We all make mistakes - me more than most!]

[airraptor]

look at the weld job on the drain, a tank this old should have been tossed long ago.

[Flyingwalrus]

2:53 Typical dad, says he’s gonna wake his son up early to make him help out and then doesn’t do it and does all the work so his son can get some more sleep. His Kindness really did save his son.

[rescuebox]

First rule of pressure vessels "Don't fuck with pressure vessels".

[wayneharrison]

My uncle had an old compressor that he tweaked the regulator so it went to 160 psi before cutoff, rather than the 120 psi it was supposed to be. It worked fine for over a year, but one day it blew, and flew across his garage taking a large chunk out of the workbench where he usually worked at. He got a new compressor, and put it outside in a small enclosure he made after that. Also, he left the cut off where it should have been at.

[fastacker]

Its illegal to weld repair a pressure vessel unless you are a certified "R" stamp code shop. Now you know why. they would likely rehydro test the tank and X-ray any suspect areas.

[billsixx]

If you look at the tank on many air compressors, there is an end of life date stamped into it. You need to replace the tank as directed. In the mean time, you should drain the condensation out of the tank every time you use it. Otherwise, the trapped water will eat the metal until it ruptures under load.

[johnjaco]

The main thing is is you've probably saved somebody's life by telling us this story thank you

[barryedzant]

I was just telling my wife that my aging compressor hoses are starting to leak and need to be replaced. I also told her that I'm thinking about maybe replacing my 15 year old compressor even though it's running fine - but I wasn't sure. So in my searches for U-Tube reviews on compressors, I came across your video. Well, it turns out that my compressor is the same one! I went into the garage, unplugged it, and told my wife it's being replaced, no questions asked. I always figured this kind of thing could happen, but had never actually seen the damage it can cause. Thank you so much for posting this - as has been said by others, you likely prevented some serious injuries out there. Glad you were fine.

[lironmtnranch]

My first job was at a Pep Boys in the 80s. There were 2 huge compressors in the back room of the store to serve a 10 bay shop. One of my duties when closing was to drain the tanks, they each had a valve into a vent pipe outside. I worked elsewhere for over a year and came back. First closing I worked I went back there shut the breakers and opened the valves. It didn't sound like I remembered, but whatever, walked through the store and was let out the front. At the corner of the building was a group of employees who were let out a minute before, marveling at this FLOOD of reddish water coursing out of the parking lot. Those 120 gallon tanks must have been nearly FULL of water! NOBODY ever drained them after I left that first time.

[carlmaruyama]

I was taught to open the drain plug after each use. My brother was part owner in an auto repair shop. Their air compressor was a large heavy duty one and they would open the plug at the end of day. The state inspector would come out and place a magnet around the body of the compressor and was always surprised that there wasn’t any corrosion.

[spondulixunlimited]

My Dad worked for one of the major oil companies in their pump repair shop. Along with repairing pumps they also repaired air compressors and much more. Dad said the way they tested air compressor tanks was to fill the tank 100% with water, pressurize it to 500 psi and let it sit for 1 hour. If it leaked or blew there would just be a water mess. Nothing more. Of course, an employee who did not know how to safely test a tank, put 500 psi into an empty tank. He walked away to give it the required one hour wait test. It blew up, tore the roof off and the rear concrete block wall of the building collapsed. Nobody died only because nobody was in that area of the shop.

[PH-mdxp]

We learn from our failures. Two things, 1) Always, always drain a compressor tank after you’re done using it. That’s why every tank is fitted with a drain valve. 2) When there are any signs of rust or damage to the tank, just recycle it and get a new one. It’s just not worth the risk of dying or getting seriously injured.

[docgiggles]

I used to be an arcade tech. I was sent to a store to find out why their air powered games never worked right. I noticed that the air compressor would start running as soon as people tried to play one of the games and would shut off very quickly. First thing I did was to check the compressor and found that the water trap on the output line was completely full. I then tried to move the compressor out, but it was so heavy that I couldn’t budge it. I now knew why they couldn’t get enough air pressure to run the games. The tank was almost completely full of water. Knowing that this was a humid area, I held out the hope that the water hadn’t been in there too long, but my hopes were dashed when I opened the drain and a red mud slowly poured out. The rust mud took an hour to clear before the rusty water finally started to come out. At this point I knew this tank was done for, but I knew the bosses would need proof. I put my inspection camera in through the drain and when I saw how pitted the inside of the tank was, I cut the drive belt off of the motor and removed the power cord. I found out from the store staff that no one had ever told them that they had to drain the tank (policy was to drain it at least once a week.) There was so much water in the system that it had even made it into the all the air lines and valves in the games themselves. The end result was a new compressor, new air hoses from the compressor to the games, new air lines, valves, and pistons in all the games and about 2 weeks of me living in a hotel. Total cost was over $7000. Keep in mind that the tank wasn’t even leaking air and it had done that much damage.

Drain the water after use. Lift one side after draining to make sure there isn’t water still in the tank. If you hear water sloshing, drain it again. Use a water trap on the output hose and drain it before using the compressor. Never weld a anything on the tank. Never patch a pinhole. If you can’t unscrew what is leaking and screw in a replacement without modifying the tank, your tank is at risk of blowing up.

Oh and remember, water in your tank means water could be getting into your tools. Just think of how much it would cost you to replace them. Suddenly the time maintaining the compressor isn’t so bad.

[Gord]

Should never have welded it. If it’s rusted out enough to start leaking there is bound to be plenty of other week points. Glad no one was hurt though.

[undead]

This is one of my biggest irrational fears, but maybe it's not so irrational... Every time I use an air compressor I think, "If this blows, they're gonna find parts of me a block away". So glad that no one was hurt.