Compressor age limit

[RaceDiagnostics]

One of my compressors is now 12 years old, do they have a time limit before they should be retired?

It's too cheap a unit to be tested/certified.

 

[Seadog]

Mine was made in 1969. I think that @brightspark may be able to better that. (It could be another member though)

 

[brightspark]

if it works ok keep using bruv has one 1930 s. mines over 40 years old the other i have is un known date

 

[optima21]

in a domestic setting just carry on using them. over time the inside of the reservoirs can rust though, I had one that rusted though after about 15 years, it was just a small pinhole, so no real worry. it was replaced though

 

[brightspark]

as above if they corrode at the bottom they just pinhole at 1st and you will notice then its time to scrap it

 

[GRW]

Mine is 50 in 2-months time (good old IR30). Bought not that long ago just cos I like old well-made stuff over Chinesium tat.
I believe the older Recievers were made of thicker (& better) steel than newer stuff, so probably it takes a lot longer to eat through them (while of course the cast-iron body pumps are also better made with greater longevity).
Surely a 12-year-old Reciever (even being of lighter construction) shouldn't be rotten yet though?

 

[Morrisman]

When you drain the tank do you get rust coloured water coming out? If it's clear you probably don't have any corrosion inside.

When I worked offshore operating 1800cfm, 2000psi compressors, we had to hydrostatically test the whole air system from the compressor outlet to the main reservoir tanks, and valve panels etc, every 2 years. It meant sealing all outlets, filling the entire system with water, and pumping to 3000 psi for 20 minutes or so, with a calibrated gauge to ensure no more than 0.5% pressure drop.

The odd thing is that nothing on the actual compressors themselves was pressure tested. They were five stage units, with intercoolers after every stage, but some of the machines were 25 years old and the coolers and dampener bottles were never pressure tested.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

It's not leaking, just had in my head that I thought I'd read about a lifetime somewhere.

When drained it's always been brown and mucky, nothing new there.

 

[anto44]

At 1.38 in that video it looks like that tank has had some sort of drain valve welded into it by someone

 

[Brad93]

The older it is the thicker the receiver is likely to have started out. Nowadays you're lucky if they're 3mm thick.

As long as it has been drained regularly it shouldn't be an issue.

You can always hydro test the receiver yourself.

And ultrasonic thickness testing won't be too expensive.

 

[vx490]

This is mine, stamped 23 -10-54, second row down. Still going strong, used most days. Made to British Standard BS487 published in 1949 (next row down). It’s a Broomwade, still with its original pump, but it’s had a few motors I guess.

 

[dan.taylor.1]

I've always been of the understanding that if they rust through and aren't full of water they'll just pinhole and you'd notice it, you're only going to get a serious problem if the relief valve doesn't work or if it's full of water and tries to pump up? If there's a weak spot it's just going to blow out of a tiny hole rather than explode surely?

 

[pedrobedro]

At 1.38 in that video it looks like that tank has had some sort of drain valve welded into it by someone
View attachment 362342

I was looking at that pigeon poop same as you. I wonder if he ever tested the blow off valve ? Mine went over pressure once and the valve opened. It startled me and made me aware of testing it every so often pulling the ring to check operation.

 

[mike os]

While I’m sure they do fail spectacularly on rare occasions I’m personally not aware of anyone who has actually seen it happen. Plenty of stories but little more.

I can’t help think that those that do so are being run over pressure and or abused.

High pressure systems, yes I believe it but those are usually well monitored and inspected.

In normal use with a functional correctly adjusted pressure switch and prv I suspect the real risk of an explosive failure is approaching zero. Wind up the pressure as far as you can and I still suspect the risk is single figures for most kit.

Popping a tank like that takes a lot of pressure …

 

[anto44]

That red one in the video, the guy says in the comments that the repair was done to the drain tap 5 years before it popped due to pin holes in it. I've changed lots of air tanks on trucks due to pin holes caused by corrosion, the only ones I've ever seen that went bang was where the patches on repaired ones blew off.
My abac compressor is about 15 years old and I recently stuck the bore scope inside it and thankfully no signs of corrosion so I'll keep using it and just keep monitoring it

 

[Popcorn]

My Ingosol Rand is dated 1938 came out the local Bus depot when they shut it down, tank must be half inch thick.

 

[R Kraft]

I've seen several of them fail.
They just pin hole and leak air or dribble water.

 

[not done it yet]

Simply put - it is the receiver that determines the safety of a compressor. It (only the receiver) needs to be insured for a business, it must be tested regularly, by a suitably competent person (of course).

Some receivers can be worked at much higher pressures - think here starting tanks for large IC engines (30Bar, or more) or perhaps reaction vessels at a refinery. One little vessel I used to use was about 6000psi (it was not called a ‘bomb calorimeter’ for no good reason!). Gas bottles are all tested regularly - they, too, are receivers after all.

If you have ever seen an acetylene bottle/cylinder explode, you might understand the ferocity of such an event. I have.

40 gallon drums kill people when they explode (idiots who take gas torches to them, when empty), even when they have a 3” opening already.

I just checked my receiver - it was made in 1968. It still tests OK at twice its safe working pressure. It is mildly surprising how much it expands while testing.

Tests cost nothing, or very little, for peace of mind. I doubt that many receivers (that are regularly tested) are among the accident statistics. It’s only those that have not been tested regularly, that are at any real risk.

Tiny steam boilers, that operate at even less than, say, 6Bar are required to be inspected, if used in public.

At the end of the day it is your safety. Do as you please - as long as it will not affect anyone else if/when something goes wrong.

 

[Alan Reynolds]

The old Broomwade I restored sounded as thick as a girder when I hit the receiver on the bottom. Proper old engineering.

 

[atomant48]

It is mildly surprising how much it expands

Wow. That’d be interesting to see.

Isn’t all this where the phrase standing by your work comes from ?