Extra air

-
daredevil

daredevil

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 19, 2007
Messages
10,983
Reaction score
249
Location
S/w Houston
I,m a plumber and have access to almost new water heaters occasionally. I,m thinking I could pull the burner control and plug it and connect my air compressor to it and my air hose to it and have an additional 50 gallon reserve for free. They have a pressure relief valve set at 150 psi and a drain on the bottom for moisture. Its even on legs so it can stand in the corner next to my compressor. What do ya,ll think.
 
if the tank is not contaminated with rust looks like a good idea. I was in a friends lawnmower shop and he had ran his air lines using 2" pipe and said he did it for volume. Keeps compressor from kicking on and off so much,Joe
 
I am thinking about building a multirow PVC reserve tank for mine, 2" schedule 80 has a ~230psi operating pressure, and my compressor can't go to that. Every 10 feet of 2" would add 6.5 gallons.
 
PVC is not the way to go - it would be like a grenade when it breaks
 
your dealing with a pressure vessel - and while the water heater might work, it is designed for water pressures in the 50-60 PSI max range - you'd be doubling that and it's not the safest thing to do.
 
daredevil said:
I,m a plumber and have access to almost new water heaters occasionally. I,m thinking I could pull the burner control and plug it and connect my air compressor to it and my air hose to it and have an additional 50 gallon reserve for free. They have a pressure relief valve set at 150 psi and a drain on the bottom for moisture. Its even on legs so it can stand in the corner next to my compressor. What do ya,ll think.
Click to expand...

With all do respect....I think your name (Daredevil) matches you well. :D
 
Compressed air has much more stored energy than water or even steam. Watch the Mythbusters episode where they overheat a water heater (w/ relief blocked). Exploding boilers was what led to the ASME pressure vessel codes in the early 1900's. I don't even trust water heaters and have a tankless type (safe and efficient). I sure wouldn't want to stand next to 2" PVC pipe with 150 psi air in it.
 
BillGrissom said:
Compressed air has much more stored energy than water or even steam. Watch the Mythbusters episode where they overheat a water heater (w/ relief blocked). Exploding boilers was what led to the ASME pressure vessel codes in the early 1900's. I don't even trust water heaters and have a tankless type (safe and efficient). I sure wouldn't want to stand next to 2" PVC pipe with 150 psi air in it.
Click to expand...

I would only be running 115 pounds. I don't understand how 150 lbs of air and water are different. Seems if the pop offs are rated at 150 I,d be safe at 115.
 
I think you would be working your smaller compressor motor more as well. The larger the tank the larger the motor.
 
Do your research 150 psi relief valve or 150 degrees relief valve ?
The tank itself is rated for water pressure ( 80 psi at best ).
 
daredevil said:
. I don't understand how 150 lbs of air and water are different. Seems if the pop offs are rated at 150 I,d be safe at 115.
Click to expand...

Water and air are VERY different. Liquid/ Water in a tank DOES NOT EXPAND with a rupture like air/ steam/ other gasses do. Water tanks are KNOWN for failure by leakage, even the so called coated ones. But when they leak, (with water in 'em) they may make a mess, not explode

THIS IS WHY when divers tanks, welding tanks, etc, are tested, they call it a "hydro test" which MEANS water. They fill 'em with water for testing, which is a hell of a lot safer

This is ALSO why pressure vessels are so tightly regulated. If you think I'm kidding, look up a good "boiler man" in your area and see what he says. Find one that's at least 45 years old.

Do yourself a huge favor and forget this idea

roch_air_cmprsr_fail.jpg


http://ncsp.tamu.edu/reports/WorkCover/Alerts.htm

0.gif


http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/ca/05ca010.html

05ca010e.jpg


tank_explosion.jpg
 
I used it,set at 100 psi. Maybe I am a daredevil.Just went outside to look at the shell and it says it has a test pressure rating of 300 psi and a working pressure rating of 150 psi
 

Attachments

  • dirty 010.jpg
    92.8 KB · Views: 348
  • dirty 011.jpg
    88.1 KB · Views: 380
  • dirty 012.jpg
    124.6 KB · Views: 347
Wish I had the pics of a friends garage when his hot water tank air compressor blew. Not good. There are some things one shouldn't go cheap on.

Moe
 
i have a tank from a Craftsman Oilless compressor i use as a storage tank. dont think i would use a water heater... the pcv is easier and doesnt rust...but i just used all galvenized pipe on ours...
 
You'll be ok just get it up off the concrete on a nonconductive base and don't forget to drain the water off regularly. I think what some others were trying to express was that air can be compressed and water cannot. You can buy 1000psi solvent welded pvc pipe. It's eaiser to use and doesn't condense like iron does. It just has to be supported better than ridgid pipe and doesn't like a lot of vibration. We used it throughout the DPW shop here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top