I picked up a Kellog two stage compressor the owner claimed had been freshly rebuilt..and after firing it up..I believe him. Quiet, good compression and fast build up.
The issue I have..is the tank. Cosmetically..it looks very good. However..as best as I can figure..it was made in 1948. There is NO bottom drain plug..draining is accomplished by a pipe stinger coming out of the end bell and hanging down the inside of the tank to within a half inch or so of the bottom of the tank. I found this out by pulling one of the 3" plugs on the side of the tank..big! pipe wrench..6' snipe and some grunting.
Bottom of the tank has about 3/4" of sediment on it. A bit of poking with a stick moved enough stuff around to get a glimps of the inside of the bottom..and no big pits were noted. Ill get out the pressure washer this weekend and clean it out.
My question is...Im spooky about not having a drain plug on the bottom of the tank, and really think I should put one in. What I want to do..is drill a proper hole in the bottom of the tank, thread in a 1" fitting, then weld it in place. Tank data plate says tank walls are .235 thick..which is a smidge less than 1/4"..and if I cut into the tank..and find the bottom to be significantly less than that..Ill junk the tank, which the data plate says is rated 200lbs.
Does anyone have any caviats or hints and kinks to doing this? I plan on tapping the tank simply to hold the flange..threading it in..then MIG a bead around the fitting.. Or I could Tig..Ive got the capabilities of both.
Should I hydro the tank when Im done? Ill never run it above
100lbs..so I figure I can fill it with water, then pump up 150-175 and see if it springs a leak.Any discussion on this would be apprciated
Gunner
"If I'm going to reach out to the the Democrats then I need a third hand.There's no way I'm letting go of my wallet or my gun while they're around."
"Democrat. In the dictionary it's right after demobilize and right before demode` (out of fashion).
-Buddy Jordan 2001