HF pressure tank testing

[Proud_Poppa_of_2]

Johnnie -

Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. I agree with Andrew and Greg that the payoff from this experiment doesn't justify the obvious risk to you and my new friends. I hope everyone's injuries heal soon.

 

[TowMater]

I still think Detcord is the answer......[}]

 

[pbrinegar]

Sorry, a bit of physics here...

Taking a 2.5 gallon paint pot and pressurizing it to 180 psi stores about 11,000 joules of energy. If the pot fails catastrophically, all that energy is going to come out. For comparison, getting hit square in the chest with a 100 mile per hour baseball involves about 150 joules of energy. The pressurised paint pot is about 70 times more energetic if it goes boom.

For a more military-based comparison, the muzzle energy of a Browning .50 caliber machine gun round is about 17,000 joules... figure you'd get hit with around 10,000 joules somewhere down range. That's comparable to how much energy the pot is storing at 180 psi.

That's why scuba folks use water to test their tanks -- water under pressure doesn't store anywhere near as much energy as compressed air.

If you're going to continue testing, please consider using water or hydraulic fluid instead of air. It won't be a big bang if there's a bang at all, but you're far less likely to end up with folks needing stitches.

 

[Jarheaded]

This was a fun test and like I said, I will think about it and consider whether to continue with this when the weather is warmer. If everyone gave up due to a little set back, I don't think anyone would still be turning. This is a test that I am doing for fun. It is also something that has proven somewhat dangerous. My life has revolved around this type of choices and I have lived this long. Most likely, I will just retire this tank and maybe make a planter out of it. My other half isn't real happy about the whole deal anyways.
I appreciate the concern, but I like to do things differently than most and I just have to be me.

Now that Browning really has my mind racing. Maybe I will just go to the range tomorrow and blow off a couple hundred rounds and get my fix that way. Now I just need to find a BAR somewhere.[}]

Lee, To answer your question, We were only around 130-140# when the line blew. The lines were rated at 1000psi, but all the temperature changes must have effected the hoses. They are all scrapped.

 

[Firefyter-emt]

Well... at this point, might I suggest a Dillion mini gun? [}]

 

[goose]

i got a question what is the pressure suitable when pressureizing...

i have a coke tank like the one's you see at fair's that mix the content's.

have a in an out an a locking top.
it's rated at 150psi so i never go over 85psi,just chicken i quess..lol..

but now i'm wondering if this is a good psi to be at???

your thought's please

thank-you
steve

 

[Jarheaded]

If you are casting blanks, that is probably way more than you need. I cast at anywhere from 30# to 65# . Never neeeded to go any higher than that. What are you casting?

After rereading your post, are you casting something or just interested in safe pressure in your tank?

 

[goose]

i'm not casting,just pressureizeing wood to stabilize.
an safty issue also...just wondering what pressure's some use that's all

see-ya
steve

 

[gwilki]

I'm glad that nobody was seriously hurt, Jar. I've been around too many accidents involving scuba tanks to not cringe while I read your thread. The dead guy and the one with only one hand thought that they had taken all the safety precautions, too. Then, Murphy arrived. Sounds like he visited your test site, too.

 

[edstreet]

Everyone should lissen to qwikli on this. Look at scuba accidents they are horrible, nasty, brutal and down right ugly. For starter you do *NOT* have the proper equipment or setup to test in this manner.

Here I will help everyone out and SHOW you what you are in for here.

BTW this is a CAR.

tanks under pressure have a RATING for a reason. they are pressure tested at the FACTORY with professional equipment to come up with those numbers.

 

[Proud_Poppa_of_2]

Ouch!!! [:0]

 

[Firefyter-emt]

If I remember corectly though, SCUBA is at 4500psi though... I used to fill the 4.5 Scott-Pak's when I was still on the department. Those were also 4500psi with the old 2.2's being 2200 psi. Always fun to crawl into a burning building with a rocket strapped to your back!

Oh and Ed, you are wrong... That WAS a car!

 

[Mather323]

Lee, all she needs is a little bondo and some paint and she will be good as new[^]!

 

[edstreet]

OUCH is indeed correct!

I stand corrected. it *WAS* a car.

Scuba tanks are 3,000 psi (AL) steel tanks and o2 tanks are 2,600 psi.

80 psi is a large amount of pressure in any container. the HF tank I have is rated to 80psi which means it will probably fail around 150-200% of that or unless some darwin candidate does something to it like exposure to high temps (150F +) fire and abuse. This tank also has a drop warning label on it which tells me you drop it it will break.

I have to ask now, what constructive benefit(s) is there to gain in destructive testing on this again?

Ed

 

[loglugger]

Originally posted by edstreet

OUCH is indeed correct!

I stand corrected. it *WAS* a car.

Scuba tanks are 3,000 psi (AL) steel tanks and o2 tanks are 2,600 psi.

80 psi is a large amount of pressure in any container. the HF tank I have is rated to 80psi which means it will probably fail around 150-200% of that or unless some darwin candidate does something to it like exposure to high temps (150F +) fire and abuse. This tank also has a drop warning label on it which tells me you drop it it will break.

I have to ask now, what constructive benefit(s) is there to gain in destructive testing on this again?

Ed

Sounds like fun. [:I]
Bob

 

[Jarheaded]

Well Ed, I guess there really is no reason to continue testing the tank. But while we were doing this, the main goal was to check the tanks for my use, and to have FUN. And we did have fun and the ones that wanted to continue the testing or playing the most was the 2 guys that got injured. We don't care too much about anything sometimes and just want to blow off a little steam. Our lives are ours and we have been through the grinder a few times and are still here to talk about it. I have many tanks in my basement shop and I don't care about what a label says. I want to know for myself as to whether I am putting my family at risk by using these altered tanks in my house. I brought the pressure up as high as I had the ability to(which is higher than most can). If I had the pressure to blow that tank up and have shrapnel shooting by my head again, I would. I personally like an explosion every now and then, but safety is a factor and we did take more safety precautions than I detailed. I mentioned that some of the guys here were cops, but I left out that 1 was on the bomb squad and was looking after things for me. I kept the posts short and left out a lot of info, but the point was made. The tanks are safe to use in my opinion, even with the mods that were done to it. If I find something else fun to do, I will probably do that too. We all have different ideas of fun and this is mine. So have fun.

By the way, how do you know that we don't have the proper equipment to do this testing? Should I have put it in a car?[}] It was found that a 10 foot deep trench was plenty to keep this from causing any real harm. It is all done in fun , but it was also done so we could go and laugh about it later.

 

[titan2]

Go to HF.....they have the vacuum pump for around $12.

 

[B727phixer]

Johnnie,
You are too funny, I wish I could have been there too! You know just for alittle fun!