[Shop-talk] air compressor

[David C.]

Antique boilers were made of iron, probably, and were riveted together. 
  The also have a lot more volume and surface area than a shop air 
compressor tank, which would contribute to the force of any explosion.

As a side note, a lot of the "boiler" explosions in the 19th century 
were actually flywheel explosions.  The steam engines of the day used 
huge 10+ foot iron flywheels and when one of those let go, it had a lot 
of metal flying around.

BJNoSHOV8 wrote:
> I always wondered about this.  When I worked in my dad's shop he had an
> air tank that we used for tires. It was a short cylinder and had rounded
> ends, about the diameter of a basketball. We would fill it from our shop
> air source then we could carry it away from the shop and use it to fill
> up tires. It was very light, probably pretty thin aluminum. I always
> wondered how it could hold the air pressure like it did.
>
> I've seen TV documentaries about steam boilers and how they would
> explode with bomb-like force. I don't know much about steam power but I
> wondered if the average steam boiler of that era worked with higher
> pressure than our compressed air tanks do. Higher pressures might
> explain the increased explosive force. Other factors- boilers seem to
> have a real problem if their water level drops too far- they can
> increase pressure very fast if the hot parts of the boiler aren't
> covered by water. And antique boilers probably were built with steel
> with low fracture toughness meaning they could burst more suddenly than
> tanks built with more modern steels. Modern steels would be more liable
> to spring a leak somewhere rather than fracturing into lots of pieces
> like a bomb.
>
>
>> Um, dissagree. Dont loose sleep worrying about it but dont think
>> compreesed
>> air tanks cant go boom. Some years ago a dear friend of mine was doing a
>> brake job and a tank he had under a work bench next to where he was
>> working
>> blew the end cap off hitting him in the face. The force pretty much
>> caved in
>> the side of his head. Obviously there was something wrong with the
>> compressor
>> but be aware there is potential for malfunction. Probably a one and a
>> million
>> chance but after that I am always aware of placement.
> _______________________________________________
>
> Shop-talk at autox.team.net
> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
> Suggested annual donation $12.96
> Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
> Forums: http://www.team.net/forums
> Unsubscribe/Manage:
> http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/shop-talk/cavanadd@frontier.com