Air Compressor Safety

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I found this in a forum unrelated to welding, the guy posted it after his friend was seriously injured during a similar circumstance. It got me looking at my 25 year old Craftsman 25 gallon compressor and I too found lots of rust on the outside and around the welded seams. I can't imagine what the inside of mine looks like. I pulled the plug and now will shop for a new one.Stay safe.My compressorOld Lincoln Weld-Pak 100 MIG conversion Vulcan 220 Omnipro
Reply:Years ago a member here had a compressor tank comeapart with at least one person being pretty badly injured.I’ve since forgotten who it was, but I’ve checked the inside of my old tank several times after seeing those pics.Miller a/c-d/c Thunderbolt XLMillermatic 180 Purox O/ASmith Littletorch O/AHobart Champion Elite
Reply:couple things to remember. nearly every home use compressor is from china so qaulity likely will be sketchy. and rust degrades the steels integrity.  a recipe for disaster no doubt.
Reply:Originally Posted by Flyer58I found this in a forum unrelated to welding, the guy posted it after his friend was seriously injured during a similar circumstance. It got me looking at my 25 year old Craftsman 25 gallon compressor and I too found lots of rust on the outside and around the welded seams. I can't imagine what the inside of mine looks like. I pulled the plug and now will shop for a new one.Stay safe.My compressor
Reply:Unfortunately buying domestic doesn't improve your odds either. My IR upright is assembled in the US, but the compressor pump is clearly marked "Made In China" and I suspect the tank likely came from there as well. My son paid extra to have one that was "Made in Canada", but now 5 yrs later his upright tank is starting to leak at a lower weld. I think it's just a pinhole in the welding and not a rust issue, but we'll get a camera in there and check it out before we attempt a repair. It seems to me the last failed compressor vid I saw was also a Craftsman.Last edited by whtbaron; 02-03-2021 at 09:53 PM.250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC StickF-225 amp Forney AC Stick230 amp Sears AC StickLincoln 180C MIGVictor Medalist 350 O/ACut 50 PlasmaLes
Reply:im well aware of the "assembled in usa". go into any home depot and every compressor on that isle has a large assembled in usa sticker with american flag. its a con and misleading to the uninformed. likely what that meens is the entire unit is made in china, probly even 90% assembled there and then shipped to a usa facility where its probly repackaged (assembled) into a new shipping package for transport to your house or local homedepote, lowes etcfrom my research, you have to step up to a industrial sized compressor to have any chance of good qaulity made in usa stuff
Reply:Just to give you an idea, I paid $600 for a 60 gallon tank. This is an actual tank, with real welds and a welded on pressure test data plate. I cant carry my compressor onto job sites without the data plate, so I have to spend the money for a good tank. My old tank (from 1978) had developed cracks around 3 of the feet. I mounted this one in rubber, so it should last a fair bit longer.
Reply:Yea... a pump and motor from a small portable aren't really worth bothering with. I've seen 60 gallon single stage uprights sell for around $700 Cdn, so you can likely do better down there. It's still made in China, but it will be a better unit than putting your old pump on a bigger tank... at least in the short term. Doesn't Harbor Freight sell cheaper replacement tanks/grenades? I know Princess Auto stocks them up here, but I'm not sure what their export policies are. Built a dog house for my upright and I've never regretted it... worth it just for noise/space constraints.250 amp Miller DialArc AC/DC StickF-225 amp Forney AC Stick230 amp Sears AC StickLincoln 180C MIGVictor Medalist 350 O/ACut 50 PlasmaLes