will it blow?

[BLINGN]

I use my aircompressor once a week or a little on big projects and do not drain it often. Has anyone ever really seen one of these blow up, from rusting or what not? If so what should I do to get the rust crap out? thanks

[Junk Driver]

RUN LIKE THE DEVIL!!

no its ok. I drain mine, 80 Gallon tank every 6 months or so. There should be a drain on the bottom, take that piece to Home Depot or whatever, figure out how to get it to do a 90 degree bend to a valve you can turn on/off. Make sure you point this out the door if you can. With some compressed air still in the tank, not max or even 20% I can shoot the accumilated water 25 feet clear across my shop.

[ironpig70]

dont think they will explode in a catstrophic way from rust would think the rusted area would "break" and be like a nail in a tire

[bignissan]

yeah, my tank just rusted through on a compressor I got from my grandfather...worked fine one day, then after that, just had a leak in it.

[fj40guy]

[QUOTE=I drain mine, 80 Gallon tank every 6 months or so. [/QUOTE]

Every SIX MONTHS? I need to drain mine a few times a day when it is humid. Large puddle of water when I drain. Usually just open the valve at night and let it air down (small compressor, doesn't take long to air up).

Tom

[Junk Driver]

Calgary Alberta...... Definitely not known for humidity, actually pretty dry. I admit I probably should do it more often.

[sothpaw]

http://www.irgaragesolutions.com/drain_valves.asp[/URL]

Retails for like 200.00. Got mine on ebay for 40.00. Never have to think about it any more.

[jerseyzuks]

Hey, that auto drain is pretty sweet. When I install a big shop compressor, I think I'll get one of those. Thanks for the link.

[KLF]

I've seen a couple rust out, they don't blow up, just start leaking out a rust hole in the bottom.

I try to drain mine after every use (Porter-Cable 60 gal vert tank). But I've always wondered if I should let it drain all the way down to 0, or just pop the bleeder open for a minute to blow out the water that's sitting in the bottom of the tank? The instructions that came with the compressor don't say.

[Just-fabricate-it]

I recently cut apart a 80 gallon vertical air tank that had been in daily use in a car dealership for about 14 years. I don't know what their maintenance schedule was but when I got it I drained about a gallon of oil/water chocolate mixture. When I cut it open it had all kinds of sludge and rust particles in it. About a good shoebox sized amount in the bottom and another like amount clinging to the top and sides. There was no way that would have gone out the drain. That stuff was nasty. Scraped it out with a putty knife. Reminded me of a rusted mass of thin sheetmetal mixed with oil sludge. Even with all that the tank was in good shape. The two domes were slightly pitted but the walls of the tank were still very smooth. The tank was about 3/16"-1/4" thick material.

I have a 35 year old 20 gallon sears tank that is still going strong. Drain it whenever I think about it (probably once a year). Don't use it much though.