Air compressure warning
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm_FJ6Pat4I

Saw this on you tube .

Wow.

Yup, first thing i did was shut my 25 year oid compressor off. I will turn it on only when i use it. Lucky the dudes kid was not in the garage when it went off like a grenade as he said .

Man, it is absolutely imperative to have an easy-to-access ball valve on the bottom of the tank to blow that moisture out (OFTEN!) to avoid situations like this. Also, keep a sharp eye on that pressure limit switch that’s easy to adjust or replace if need be!

Yes. Very lucky that nobody was near that compressor.

I have a 42 year old SEARS compressor that i still use i often thought about it giving out

Compressed air, a lot of us take it for granted but it can be like dynamite.

I too have a portable compressor in my shop which is only on when needed. Is there a way to check internally the integrity of the steel chamber?

Paul

Paul you could probably check with a telescopic camera thru the hole on top were switch mounts into, with a bright light along the bottom welded seam and you can make this cheap air dryer and remove a lot of moisture that would otherwise settle on the bottom of compressor.

I bought my Sears air compressor in 1975 when I was in college. It maxes out at 85 pounds, but I'm sure that could cause a problem.

That’s 85lbs pressure per square inch multiplied over the volume of the tank so yeah, it’s still scary to think of the damage that could cause. This is one of the reasons the Europeans have very strict inspection criteria on pressure vessel certifications. Here in the US, not so much unless related to industry/business and even then it is not well regulated..
I work on equipment that had a large pressure vessel certified to 600psi which we operated to 310 PSI. When we decided to have some upgrades done the UK vendor refused to work on it because it had not been recertified within their guidelines.