I have a older Sears/Craftsmen 30 gal. air compressor. Tank has developed a pin hole leak in the bottom. I there any way I could purchase just the tank from anyone? I have looked at Northern Tool, Grainger, etc with limited or no luck. Seems most replacement tanks aren't the right size or are way over priced. Does Sears sell just the tanks for these older units? Thanks for the help......

 

It is possible that Sears still has the part you need. Find the model number of your compressor and go to www.Sears.com and click on the parts link. From there you can enter the model number and get a list of the parts on your compressor. From there you can enter the part number and find if it is available and the price.

RussA

 

I gave a buddy an old sears compressor because the bottom was rusting out with pinholes. It was one of the old green painted quiet belt driven models. At the time I thought that no one sold replacement tanks, so I gave it away. Then later, just for grins, I opened the Yellow Pages only to find a few businesses locally that could have supplied me with a new tank. Live and learn, I guess. Check yer local yellow pages too.

 

I have one of those "old sears compressors" (green, belt-driven) and also have rusting on the bottom of the tank. Model 106.154160.

The Sears website states the compressor tank is "no longer available" for ordering.

You mentioned you found companies in the yellow pages that offered replacement tanks. What type of company was it? Did they offer exact replacements or were they able to replicate the tank?

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!
Chuck

 

Look under "tanks" in the yellow pages. You will find tank testing companies also.

They probably will not have direct replacements. A fabricated tank will probably cost more than a new compressor unit.

 

If yours is like mine was, the motor and the compressor are on a panel that's welded to the tank. You can separate the tank and discard it. You'll want to save the switch and the unloader that attach to that T-shaped "manifold" that screws into the top of the tank. You'll also want to save the pop-off safety valve.

As far as a new tank, consider that you can use pipe as a tank. If you look around at some of the small job-site compressor packages that carpenters use, you'll see some that have little torpedo tanks under them. For the home user who only uses the compressor in the garage, you can use PVC pipe for a reservoir. Look to see what room you have in your garage rafters, and fashion a reservoir from available pipe. This stuff is pressure rated, so make sure you get some with a rating that's 1.5 to 2x the pop-off valve pressure. After that it's a glue job to get it together.

If you want to get fancy (read: more $$), you can have a local pipe fabricator put end caps and fittings on a piece of metal pipe for you. ASME codes require certification on pressure vessels greater than about 25 gals IIRC, explaining why home compressors often have smaller tanks. Anyway, a fab shop will install the fitting bungs for you too, and if the new pipe is big enough they can stitch the existing mountying panel to the new tank.


If you want your steel tanks to last a while, conside running a tube from the water drain hole on the bottom up to a valve that's easier to get to. Use steel brake line tubing and fittings for a secure installation. Having the drain valve up where you will use it more will remind you to use it more.

The dew point of the air in the tank changes with pressure. Moisture that's in the air going into the compressor will drop out as the pressure rises in the tank. It falls to the bottom of course. If you don't drain it regularly, you get rust. Remember from high school that the oxidadtion rate goes up directly with the increase in pressure, so it's not good to leave the tank pressurized when not in use.


Hope this helps!


dr bob

 

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT USE PVC PIPE FOR AIR!!!


PVC pipe is not "pressure rated" for compressed air service. It is for liquids only. See the threads here on PVC pipe. Many people have assumed pressure is pressure but that assumption can be deadly.

Use steel pipe, either galvanized or black, for air lines. Code calls for black pipe but I don't like rust in my lines so I use galvanized and label it compressed air every so often with stick on labels. Some types of copper line can be used for compressed air.

 

For you own safety do not use PVC pipe or any home-made tank for a compressor air storage vessel!!!! The reason there are standards and requirements for pressure vessels, even small home compressors, is because they can be dangerous. I've seen one case where a compressor tank exploded. When one blows it throws shrapnel like a hand grenade and is every bit as deadly. If you can't find a properly rated replacement tank--buy a new compressor. The little money you will save on a home-built is not worth the danger.

RussA

 

Amen to that.

Someone told me once, using that theory of pvc pressure holding ability, to make an air tank to put in my tool box to save space. So I built a looped tank using 4" sch 40 pvc, and sure enough when pressure got up there, it blew the end cap right off! My ear was deaf for a good half a day (my head was right there at the tank as I was filling it!) Good thing it missed me!

I know my glue job was as good as it could be, the stuff just isn't meant for it!

 

There's nothing critical about tank size, if that's what makes it hard to find a replacement. Bigger tanks will take longer to pump up, but will deliver more air before the compressor kicks in. That's it.

Try placing a want ad, or cruise the flea markets. I got a decent 25 gallon tank that way; old, but it didn't leak. Mounting the pump and motor required some drilling, cutting slots, and figuring out a way to put a nut way back under the mounting saddle (used some 1/4" x 1" flat bar with holes tapped in it).

Would it be very dangerous to use a water pump pressure tank? They're pressure-tested to a lot of psi, aren't they?

 

Water pump pressure tanks have a bladder inside of them, and most well pumps I know only go to 75 psi or so. I don't know what the tank will hold, or what would happen to that bladder with pressures much higher than that.

I'd say stick to a regular air tank.

 

Heya, Chuck,
It's been 2 or 3 years since I looked it up. I don't remember prices, but it was cheaper than buying the new Craftsman Oil Free Air Compressor($260) that I bought for a replacement. I could have had a working quieter oil free compressor if I had called around first. Oh well. Just look under Compressors in your yellow pages. Here in Tulsa there are a few dozen listed. You will just need to get the id tag info off your compressor tank and the rough dimensions and start calling your local places to see what they can do for you.