Thread: Air tank

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I was at an industrial surplus place today and they had a 30 gallon air tank (used to be a complete compressor) for $30. It's huge and heavy but it's also a killer price. Since it was a compressor, the tank pressure rating is high but it does not have a relief valve.

I ran one prop (and air cannon) last year off my 12 gallon compressor. The compressor didn't run excessively but this year I expect to have more people plus I'm adding a trashcan terror to the mix.

Since the tank has a similar pressure rating to the compressor itself, I should be able to run high pressure into it to support the air cannon. Are they any other considerations I should think about before going back tomorrow and buying it?

Thanks!

Yes, i would see if they will take less

Does it have a valve limiting the psi exiting it? How long does it take to refill?

They wouldn't take any less which is one of the reasons I walked away yesterday. I expect that won't change due to the nature of the company. I did some research last night and $30 is a pretty darn good price for a tank that size and it does seem to be in excellent shape. It does not have a pressure relief valve. However, it could be added. It's a compressor tank, not a standalone air tank so it's rated quite high (200 psi if I remember correctly). There is no way I can see that the compressor would be capable of overpressurizing the tank, especially since they're connected with rubber lines. Also, since it's basically one big tank (and compressor tank, the lines and the aux tank) the pressure release on the compressor tank would work for the whole system. I don't know how long it'll take to fill... probably five minutes with my compressor to fill both tanks.

Did I miss anything or make any false assumptions?

I guess a followup question would be if anyone thought I'd be better off going with a smaller tank rather something this big. It might end up costing me more but...

If you have someplace to store it bigger is better. With a maximum of 200 psi you should have no worries. Most compressors only fill to about 150 psi anyway.

Originally Posted by OpenTrackRacer

I guess a followup question would be if anyone thought I'd be better off going with a smaller tank rather something this big. It might end up costing me more but...

You can pick up a relief valve pretty cheap, I got a few tanks that way. For props, storage (air reserve capacity) is everything. This year I'll be placing a few tanks along a feeder hose so they'll be near the props and away from the compressor noise.

Since you and I both live in San Diego, I figure you likely know about Marshall's hardware, but if you don't , then all I can say is this makes San Diego Hardware look like an Ace hardware. They are located on Production just past the tracks above Miramar. Whatever valve, fitting, etc you want they likely have. What I really like is you can buy a single nut or bolt is you want to. Anyway just FYI.

I am currently working on my first 3 axis skull. Hope to make some progress this weekend after I found some hardware at Marshall's.

The thing I would look at ,would be the size of your compressor motor and the compressor unit itself. When you go with more volume it will take longer to fill the tanks due to the increased volume, once it fills you will also see an increase of time when it refills. It will not matter if you use 6 tanks that are 5 gal. or 1 30 gal tank, the times will be prety close to the same. Along with increased run time comes increased heat, you'll have to make sure it won't overheat , otherwise you'll be resetting breakers all night or worse destroy the compressor. If the compressor can handle the extra volume, I say go for it!! hope this helps.

You know what Spinman1949? I was on my way to Marshall's when I saw the sign for the liquidation place! They're right around the corner from my office. I'm probably in there once a week or more. They place is Toys 'R Us for adults! I've gotten everything there from bolts for my race car driveline to precision screws and fittings. I don't know what I'd do without that place.

So, I went back today and the tank was still there. I waited a bit so I could see if the might be more willing to deal. They were but I almost waited too long... I'm looking at other stuff when I see two guys looking at the tank. I hear one say "How about $15?" and the lady that works there says "$25". The guy then says "How about $20" and as she was thinking about it I walked up and said "I'll take it for $25". Sold! Five minutes later, another guy shows up and is shocked to see the "Sold" sign. He wanted it yesterday but didn't have the cash and came back to buy it!

I looked around some more and grabbed a bunch of good stuff. I got some good hoses, a whole mess of excellent regulators, a double solenoid set and some manifolds. I got out the door with all this stuff for less than $50!



The tank looks good. It's rated for 200 psi so I should have no problems. My compressor is going to run longer to full this tank but it'll be a wash... longer and less frequent running versus shorter and more frequent running. I have to move the compressor away from it's dedicated 20 amp circuit due to noise so I'll do some tests to make sure it won't trip the breaker.