Hurricane Deck 100366 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Came home this evening after a hard days work, opened up the garage and what do I find? My 150gallon compressor has disassembled itself - all over the garage. Lost a connecting rod in the cylinder leading to a punctue of the tank, then it was all over. Luckily, the CNC is fine, but the computer that RUN's the CNC took a shard to the motheboard and needs rebuilt. The power supply for the stepper motors had it's cover torn off, but it seems okay. Its times like this that I'm grateful for having google Drive to store all the CNC projects I've done. Looks like it's time to turn up the sales a bit so I can replace the compressor. until then, I'm running on a pancake compressor for only the most important jobs (like staining). I bet the sound that it made as it came apart was legendary! Glad no one was in the garage when it happened. Worst part, it appears to have cracked my progressive press. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I have no idea what your talking about but it sounds bad! I hope you can get it all fxed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Uh... pictures? And any chance that press was a Dillon...?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Brules Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I don't know how much pressure you were holding in that 150-gallon code pressure tank, but I'm guessing at approximately 75-100 psig. A sudden, catastrophic tank rupture would be akin to a hand grenade detonation, or worse, in an enclosed space like your garage. I realize that the cause, in this case, was the failure of the compressor, and it sounds like the pressure tank was punctured and did not violently fail (maybe it did!), however just a suggestion for the future, which almost certainly you already know: You may wish to mark your calendar or set alerts to check your compressor oil at least every week and to manually purge your pressure vessel of condensate every day or two, even if you have an in-line condensate filter, which you almost certainly do. This could easily have been fatal had anyone been in there with it when the compressor failed. You dodged a bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Time for that rig to have it's own little shed on the side of the shop. Make sure the roof is attached in such a way as to allow it to easily pop off rather than hold all that air in just in case you experience another tank failure. Are you 100% sure the tank did not fail and damage the compressor? Puncturing the tank should have just let all the air out not resulted in a catastrophic failure of the tank and shrapnel everywhere. Internal corrosion is a real problem in our neck of the woods when it comes to air compressors. One in our shop at work had a timer that vents the low point drain periodically and we still have a lot of moisture in the system. I would also do a Cat suggested with the replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Deck 100366 Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 Thanks for all the advice guys. The pressure vessel was penetrated by a broken connecting rod on the compressor head. After inspection, it appears that the bearing on the eccentric failed, causing the connecting rod to experience torsional force, snapping it in the middle. The bearing came apart and is in a million pieces, the lower half of the connecting rod punctured the vessel and was set flying across the room (what appears to have hit the computer). the upper half of the connecting rod and piston came out of it's cylinder and was then hit by the eccentric, sending IT across the room as well and cracking the cylinder on in the process. Essentially the whole compressor it toast. I do have a regimen of maintenance on the compressor. it has two driers on it, one at the compressor and one at the wall where the hose plugs in. Any time I see the beginnings of condensation, the vessels relief valve is used to drain water. can be once a week or once a month depending on usage. Sorry hardpan, I didn't take any photos. probably should have. The press is Red in color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sedalia Dave Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Thanks for all the advice guys. The pressure vessel was penetrated by a broken connecting rod on the compressor head. After inspection, it appears that the bearing on the eccentric failed, causing the connecting rod to experience torsional force, snapping it in the middle. The bearing came apart and is in a million pieces, the lower half of the connecting rod punctured the vessel and was set flying across the room (what appears to have hit the computer). the upper half of the connecting rod and piston came out of it's cylinder and was then hit by the eccentric, sending IT across the room as well and cracking the cylinder on in the process. Essentially the whole compressor it toast. I do have a regimen of maintenance on the compressor. it has two driers on it, one at the compressor and one at the wall where the hose plugs in. Any time I see the beginnings of condensation, the vessels relief valve is used to drain water. can be once a week or once a month depending on usage. Sorry hardpan, I didn't take any photos. probably should have. The press is Red in color. Give the Red Press guy a call. So far the support I have gotten from makers other than Dillon has been every bit a good as the reputation Dillion has. Besides all they can say is no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Dot, 14911 Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Any particular reason the compressor was on with Nobody in the room? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elk Creek LeMieux Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 If his compressor is like the one in my shop, being hard plumbed into piping taking it various locations in the shop... It costs less on the power bill to leave it on at all times than it does to turn it off and on each time I need it. And I'm looking for a new compressor motor too, right now. My tank is fine, but the rod broke much like his. So, maybe it isn't cheaper, long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Original Lumpy Gritz Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 When was the last time the compressor's oil level was check'd? A 'thrown' con-rod, 99% of the time is caused from lack of lubrication. OLG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Dot, 14911 Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 No offense but what's the cost of his current repair bill versus the extra few cents in power? I see it as a safety issue as well. What if the shrapnel arced out a power supply? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurricane Deck 100366 Posted February 22, 2015 Author Share Posted February 22, 2015 The bearing that shelled was a sealed bearing, so no manner of oil would have made a difference. The compressor was purchased back in 2003 and is used almost daily. It makes more sense to leave it on and pressurized as it allows the duty cycle to remain low. It's not at all uncommon to leave a compressor this size pressurized all the time as long as it's maintained. I contacted the red press folks, they were sympathetic but that was really it. I can't afford a Dillon AND a compressor at the same time, so I bought a used loadmaster to replace the broken one. I'll get a Dillon someday. . maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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