Shopsmith Forums

Here is my 37 gal air compressor. My old one bit the dust so I took the motor off and using it as extra tank. New one is 20 gal the old one was 17 gal so now I have a 37 gal compressor.

Remember those tanks have expiration dates after which they should not be used anymore.

joedw00 wrote:Here is my 37 gal air compressor. My old one bit the dust so I took the motor off and using it as extra tank. New one is 20 gal the old one was 17 gal so now I have a 37 gal compressor.

When you need to fire them up to add some air to the car tires, you have to fill them first to pressure. Nice when you need big volumes of air, costly and time consuming when just need a little.
I would set them up with a close off valve to the 2nd tank and some air line connections to the 1st one for smaller air use.
Which I see you can do. For connection of the 2 tanks, I would go with a larger diameter hose.

Nice air compressor.there is perfect for my new framing nailer.

stephen_a._draper wrote:Remember those tanks have expiration dates after which they should not be used anymore.

Has anyone ever seen an expiration date on a low pressure air compressor tank? I will have to check my Quincy but I don't think it has one. What is one supposed to do? Throw out a $1000 air compressor. I know high pressure (3000-4000 PSI etc.) gas bottles have to be static tested every so often, but do they actually expire at some time?

JB, I googled it and I am sure you did too, all I came up with on the search was the portable ones that you fill up and use, nothing about an air compressor tank though.
Call the manufacture or email them. Get it from the source.

I bought my 60 gallon compressor in 1993, still going strong. Granted, not hard use, and low hours, but it still looks like new. Glass lined on the inside, so it should not rust thru from within. Not date to be found on it.

B4 his Highness chimes in, must be taking $ from the natives, and not to insult anyones smarts here, I hope you drain it on a regular bases.

ERLover wrote:B4 his Highness chimes in, must be taking $ from the natives, and not to insult anyones smarts here, I hope you drain it on a regular bases.

After each use is good procedure!

If I had a $1000 compressed air tank I would be checking into this but I don't.

Yes, there are recommendations to discard compressed air tanks after a period of time. The time depends on size of tank and the material from which it was made. Aluminum tanks last longer. Generally speaking, the life expectancy of a compressed air tank is 15 years. The tanks that most of us have in our shops are not going to explode (as a result of age). What they will most likely do is leak. Mine works fine as long as I don't need pressure after I turn it off. If you fill your tank, turn the compressor off and come back a half hour later and don't have enough pressure to move the saw dust on your floor - your system has a leak. It may be the tank. It may be the hose. It may be the couplings.

Don't pressurize your tanks above their recommended level, If over pressurized they do become hazardous