'Remove from service' dates on compressors?

[Rktpwrd]

I am a compressor tech and have been for a decade now, so I’d like to think I know a little something about this.

The reason the tank ID tag was able to be spot welded on is because it was pressure tested and certified after all the welding was done, including welding on the tag. Being a pressure vessel, it has to meet or exceed the required specifications before it can be approved for use, then it can receive its CRN number.

As far as tank testing is concerned, no one tests them hydrostaticlly anymore. We have customers’ old and questionable tanks tested all the time, and it’s done ultrasoniclly now. There are many companies that offer this service, and although the fee isn’t necessarily cheap, it’s sound piece of mind for something that can potentially kill you if it ruptures. Especially when you get up into the 400, 600, 2000 gallon and larger tanks. Just imagine if one of those failed catastrophically, it would literally level the building.

They will test it in several locations, the end bells, the tank sides etc to determine if the integrity is at all compromised, and provide a detailed report afterwards.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Rktpwrd, that is great info! Have you seen the videos where a guy tests a tank himself? They remove all the air, fill it with water, and add pressure either with a power washer, or a grease gun. They add a pressure gauge in a fitting and raise the pressure to 150% of the rated capacity. If it ruptures, water comes out, but not under the kind of destructive pressure that air would. I know it sounds a bit redneck, but if it works..........

 

[Rktpwrd]

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with hydrostatic testing, it’s still by all means the safest way of physically testing. Much, MUCH safer than pneumatically. It’s just that it’s become kind of old school and “messy” if you will.

With hydrostatic, you’d have to take the vessel out of service, usually take it to whoever is doing the testing, plug all the ports, fill it with water, pressure it up to test etc, then reverse the whole process. With ultrasonic, the customer finds it much more attractive because it can stay in service. No downtime, no labor to remove and replace, and no mess. No worrying about trying to get all the water out either.
The ultrasonic guy just comes in with his fancy gizmo, tests it in place, and sends the customer the report. The only downside is, for smaller residential and hobby compressors the cost often outweighs the practicality, so at that point testing it yourself hydrostatically becomes more attractive.

As for the title of this thread, I have never once seen a “remove from service at xyz date” tag before. Sounds like a marketing scam by the manufacturer to get you to buy their product more often. Just this week I did a service on 2 Gardner Denver compressors in a high school automotive shop that were from 1968. The week before that, I had an old Quincy that was running HVAC in a retirement home dated from 1964. The oldest one we’ve seen in our travels was in a very old laundry, and was from sometime in the 1940’s. All with the original tanks they were manufactured with.

The key to tank survival and longevity is regular, routine, DAILY draining. Every reciprocating compressor package sold these days has “Drain Daily” decals plastered all over them, and they ain’t kidding. Keep the inside of the tank clean and dry, and it’ll likely outlive the pump.

Now granted they don’t make them like they used to back in the day, but an “expiry” date on a compressor nowadays just sounds ridiculous to me.

 

[ssn696]

Campbell Hausfield is (was) the largest compressor manufacturer in the world. That said, a high percentage of their products are for 'non-industrial' use - Bob Homeowner. Who drains and condensation from the tank regularly. Yeah. CH probably did a calculation on an estimated corrosion rate, and decided 11 years, given the tank thickness and coating (?), was good advice. D can correct me, but the most likely corrosion spot is where the condensate collects, on the bottom. That's typically where the drain bung gets welded in. Works great if your tank is level and that's indeed the lowest point. Keep in mind that the tank stretches and heats up from the work put into compressing the air. All that stress cycling plus the corrosion spot is how you make an unintended bomb.

 

[78Delta88]

The compressor I had at Camp Atterbury, 1992 was dated to Korea conflict. Gasoline (MOGAS) engine, looked like hell, painted who knows how many times, worked great. According to policy it was to have an "A" Service every two years and tank test every 5..., yeah sure it did.

End of week purge and get about 2 canteen cups of water. Monthly it got lubed, belts checked, etc. When I first took it on it hadn't been done in a couple years or so. After I took over the maintenance portion it got its weekly, monthly, semi annual and annual maintenance and inspections. Over 40 years old, worked great.

Of course I was also told..., if it breaks, it's not in the budget for replacement.

 

[Bonnewagon]

As for the title of this thread, I have never once seen a “remove from service at xyz date” tag before.

That was new for me too. But they are there. Often hidden, or hard to find. I almost bought a small Craftsman pancake unit for tires and stuff around the garage. But I went to the Lowes and inspected it. Yup- 'remove from service'.

I agree about old time stuff being better. I know of several huge 80 gal and up vertical units that are older than me. Never a problem. Most of the compressor horror videos posted seem to be the smaller home shop type, often imported, and either in a garage, shop, or a shed.

I think I will still try and open my Craftsman and see what is inside. I agree too that the drain port is where the water will collect and not be able to get out.

 

[Kamloops cutlass]

Great … now all I can think about is blowing up my old compressor lol 😎💥

 

[pagrunt]

The compressor I had at Camp Atterbury, 1992 was dated to Korea conflict. Gasoline (MOGAS) engine, looked like hell, painted who knows how many times, worked great. According to policy it was to have an "A" Service every two years and tank test every 5..., yeah sure it did.

End of week purge and get about 2 canteen cups of water. Monthly it got lubed, belts checked, etc. When I first took it on it hadn't been done in a couple years or so. After I took over the maintenance portion it got its weekly, monthly, semi annual and annual maintenance and inspections. Over 40 years old, worked great.

Of course I was also told..., if it breaks, it's not in the budget for replacement.

And I bet it was still in service the last time I was out there in '15.

 

[78Delta88]

As stated, I think a lot of that is planned obsolescence. How else to get you to buy a new one on a regular basis.

I guess if you blow your self up, your wife and kids can sue you for wrongful death against the home policy. Don't worry, they will think joy joy thoughts of you as they are on their way to their new Villa in Belize.

Working around Corrugators and Steam Generators at 370*F and 175 PSI after awhile you never give it a thought. Break a Johnson joint, wear out the gasket maybe, but the one we had was installed in 1953 when the plant was built. Never had an issue.

 

[86LK]

Everything has an expiration date. EVEN WATER! How does water expire?

However, living in AZ may make the difference of internal rust. I too drain mine after every use with the drain plug at the lowest point.

but it's not just draining it, it's also how fast you open that plug.

on the nuclear submarine I served on, we had to do weekly maintenance on the air tanks that supplied air to the ballast tanks on the submarine for surfacing. you need positive buoyancy if you have to do an Emergency Surface Blow. the maintenance consisted of doing a weekly bleed on the air tanks to get rid of any moisture/condensation in the air tank. the bleed valves were simple needle valves you opened up, drained the water, then shut.

anyway, as the military does, they have a true story for everything they do. in this case, another submarine had been doing maintenance also but at some point they had to practice an Emergency Surface Blow while out at sea and it almost didn't work. investigation found that not enough air had been blown into the ballast tanks. the reason not enough air was because the air tanks didn't contain enough air. the reason those didn't contain enough air was the way maintenance was being performed. one of the other clues was how long the air compressors were running in order to fill the air tanks. .....not very long at all, apparently

when they were blowing the tanks weekly they were rapidly opening the needle valves instead of slowly cracking them open and opening gradually, letting water drain until nothing but air was coming out. should of taken about 5-15 seconds per valve. the sudden opening caused the air to rapidly push past the waiting water, ergo, no water would come out. "ok, looks good guys!"

end result? apparently it took several hours to properly drain each tank , there was that much moisture inside each tank.

can you guess how I bleed my air tanks?