Rust in compressor tank

[stuckmotor]

I'm getting rusty water when I drain the tank on my air compressor. Should I toss it and buy a new unit?

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have never seen anything other than rusty water in a compressor tank. I'm guessing they are unpainted and untreated inside. Makes you wonder why they wouldn't coat them.

 

[stuckmotor]

This compressor is only a few years old. The water ran clear for the first couple now it's giving me cause for concern. Perhaps a better question would be if the tank fails will it shoot across the room or just spray water out of the rupture.

 

[JimRB]

It will just hiss, at least my pancake tank did.

 

[stuckmotor]

I can live with a hiss, even a rusty one. Here's my next rewording of my question, does anyone know of person or property being injured by a ruptire of an air tank CAUSED BY RUST?

 

[Dave M7040]

Watch this youtube video of actual explosion and decide for yourself if you want to accept the risk.
Air compressor explosion safety video footage of actual explosion - YouTube

Dave M7040

 

[Ed of all trades]

I have seen many tanks start to leak but never do more than loose air slowly. Ed

 

[stuckmotor]

Watch this youtube video of actual explosion and decide for yourself if you want to accept the risk.
Air compressor explosion safety video footage of actual explosion - YouTube
Dave M7040

Dave,
Thanks for the link. I can't watch a video until I get home where I have unlimited internet. Now I'm on a portable hot spot that's low on minutes. Was the explosion caused by rust?

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

Was the explosion caused by rust?

What actually caused the failure really cannot be determined by that video. The uploader says it was rust, but that might not be the case.

It could have been that the regulator failed and over-pressurized the tank. Looks like the seams failed, and there is a lot of rust inside. Did it fail from rust while in normal use? Or was it over-pressurized? No way to know.

The narration is at the first, for the most part. The explosion happens at the one minute, thirty second mark, and there's nothing useful or interesting before that other than the uploaders opinion that the cause was rust. That's followed by another minute or so of people dancing around wondering what happened, and then at about two minutes, thirty seconds or so there are some pictures of the compressor which are of interest.

I don't get rusty water out of mine, and it's more than 20 years old. I get plenty of oily water, though.


This video is really interesting.

Why You Need to Drain Your Air Compressor - Vlog - YouTube

 

[ray66v]

The tank on my compressor has yielded rust colored water, since it was new in 1984.

I've worked around air compressors my whole life, and as Industrial Toys said, I never saw anything other than rust colored water coming out of one.

It's as common as black oil in a diesel.