Crack in air tank

[sniggler]

How old is the tank? What condition is it in? If it is old and rusty i might pass, but if it is clean and solid i would probably repair it.

Ulma Doctor has it right drill the ends. You said the crack is at the foot of the tank so if the foot is welded to tank or to a plate or angle welded to the tank you have that to build the weld off. Welder skill level has a lot to do with this but i would go straight at it with 3/32 7018 (bare wire mig would be fine too) making sure i had zero under-cut and good tie in on the tank surface. Welding hot on thin material is a journeyman's skill.

The premium repair would be a tig weld with argon drifted into the tank to displace the air in the tank during welding and the crack opened up clean the inside surface of the tank.

I could really use a sweet deal on a 5hp compressor about now. I am not recommending anyone weld on pressure vessels just saying how i would do it

Bob

 

[abrasivemike]

Did I miss something Mike? Fennimore Wisconsin is not in Montenegro as I am pretty sure I have seen that on the map while driving to Madison WI. :LOL: Anyway. The only responsible advice anyone could give you is to NOT weld on a pressure vessel unless you are trained to do so. That being said I have seen a few welded successfully. :whistle:

As far as the cracked tank goes, I'm searching for a replacement first. As far as Fennimore goes, you're right, it's about 60 miles west of Madison WI but since I moved here 17 years ago I find only about 20% of the population even know about the country of Montenegro- the home of my ancestors so I put it in print when I can. Thanks to all for the replies to my question. Abrasivemike- Mike Chulafich

 

[savarin]

i learned it was best to drill the ends of the cracks, weld the cracks, grind flush and then weld large patches whenever possible to maximize the weld surface area around the repair you just made, to prevent it coming back.

Done quite a few like this and never had a problem.