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| I was thinking of the 20# and 100# LP tanks, that are about 12 or 14 gauge material.
Granted, 500 gal tanks are 1/4 thick, but they are that thick because (pressure x area = force) and the area is so much bigger (area is diameter squared, goes up fast). The basic math is the same. In the thicker tanks, they would be more likely to pinhole out before developing a crack, so that's a good thing. I'd be more comfrtable using the 500 gal. than the 100#
And correct there is no assurance that the $19 portable tank is coated at all inside. Very unlikely even.
No assurance the higher buck tank is treated either, but the odds are better. The old saying 'you get what you pay for' is not really true, but the more accurate version is 'you don't get what you don't pay for'
The amount of stored energy in compressed gas is enormous. The 500 gallon tank filled with oil to 5000 psi might run a hydraulic motor a couple seconds. Because liquid is (basically) incompressible, a few cubic inches removed and the pressure is gone. Think of it as the work required to build up the pressure: a portapower and a few strokes, the tank would be at 5000 psi. Yet, if using air, you would pump on a tire pump all day to get that tank up to 100 psi. The amount of energy stored is a function of pressure and compressed volume. And all of that energy that goes into storage comes out again somehow.
re: grandpa compressor: I can totally relate to that! The reason I put all the work into the salvage tank on the half hp compressor (long ago) was family memories. It's 40 years old. Last month I put $25 rings, and two hours of time, into it when I could have bought a new one. I have the portable framing compressors to actually do work with, this is more of a history and family connnection.
kcj
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Air Tank Repair
