Pressure Tanks from HF

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J

Jarheaded

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Harbor freight has the tanks on sale for $39.99 right now. I just ordered 3, but they won't cover them once I told them what I was using them for :(
The key number I used is RY7527 ;)
Good luck
 
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G

Glass Scratcher

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Do you mean their warranty? Why tell them anything they don't need to know? To them it either holds pressure or it doesn't. Anything more technical and you will just confuse them.

Not that I need anymore of these thangs, what does the Key number do?
 
J

Jarheaded

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The key code tells them what catalog or flyer I am using and that makes the price show up right on their computers to ease the price arguement. And the reason I told them what I was using them for was because the operator has gotten to know my name and voice and asked why I bought so many and didn't want the warranty. Besides, I like to confuse people.
Also, I have sold pens to people over the phone, so anytime I may have a chance to sell a pen, I take it.
 
stevers

stevers

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I still don't get your point. Once you cut off the tube and remove parts on the lid, you void the warranty anyway.
I never expected to use the warranty. I new it was shot as soon as I got the pot.
 
G

George7

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FWIW, I bought one of the tanks today. The clerk asked me if I wanted the extended warranty. I told her no, I was sure that the modifications I was going to make would render the warranty void. The clerk said that the warranty would cover anything that happened to the tank, even if it was modified. I still didn't spend the $9.99 on the extended (27 months) warranty.
 
G

Glass Scratcher

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Funny that we are talking about the warranty on the HF pressure tank. I just spent some time reading the archives in the Yahoo casting group I am also in, and they really rail against the HF tanks. Of course what they say happened, no one really witnessed, and there are no photos in the casting groups archives or such- no photos, it didn't happen.;) After working with pressure for so many years, and having fittings blow, hoses go..., within 2 feet of me, at greater pressure than the incident they claim, I just don't believe them. The ambiguous claim is that on the now discontinued black HF tank, the lid clamps were made of an "inferior" metal, and at least one clamp had a tendancy to crack and break, allowing the lid to blow off and fly like a frisbee, nearly injuring the person using it. Several people on that group had requested proof, but the answers were always in the order of my cousins, nephew's step-brothers great aunt(twice removed) had it happen...

I don't believe it can happen at the pressure we are using or the pressure the pot is rated at. Now that I have stated that watch something happen!
 
stevers

stevers

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Sorry Karl, not what we meant. I have had my system up to 80 plus pounds just to test. No problem. Alls we are saying is, once you take parts off and start adding diff parts, it's hard to see them honoring a warranty. I feel the pressure pot method is the safest way to accomplish pressure and vacuum casting. You are using the pot for exactly what it was meant to be used for, pressure. Use quality fittings and install the correctly and you wont have a problem.
 
G

Glass Scratcher

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Originally posted by stevers

Originally posted by Glass Scratcher

Hope you didn't use teflon tape on your fittings! [B)] [}:)]
Click to expand...


Why wouldn't I? Everyone does.
Click to expand...


Steve, sorry if you took the comment as aimed at you, it was <s>aimed</s> meant in jest for Karl re: his comment of taking a fitting in the forehead.

Not everyone uses Teflon Tape on their fittings. I don't, I stopped using it on air fittings 10-15 yrs ago as I had a Christmas tree arrangement on one of my sandblasting pressure pots. I bumped it just right and TIGHT fittings slipped in several places. Finished the job and after a break and a fair amount of cleaning I replumbed with gasket sealant and have continued to do so from then on.

Using gasket sealant (not pipe dope, not plumbers putty) you don't have to worry so much about slippage, cause Teflon tape is always slick and will lubricate the threads in your fittings. Using gasket sealant you don't have to torque fittings to get them lined up into place, adding to the possibilty of swelling the fitting. Using gasket sealant you apply your sealant, thread your fittings, tighten and allign fittings, then walk away the proscribed time for the cure, usually you can apply pressure/vacuum in about 1hr, 24hrs is best.

Also using the minimum number of "hanging" fittings is best... not that anyone wants my humble opine.;)
 
J

Jarheaded

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Steve,
If I put the pot in my shop, it would be lost in a second. I have had to put tape on the floor just so I know not to put anything in that area or I will be lost in there unless I bring my compass. Maybe one of the contests should be for the dirtiest, cluttered, and generally disorganized shop. I would win hands down.
I found that casting in my shop is not an option. I have a finished basemant and took over part of that for casting and assembly. I am starting to turn that into a copy of the conditions in my shop.
Does that mean I could win first and second place?

I will have all thepots set up soon and will clean both areas completely before the LOML decides to do it and I will never find anything again........LOL
I also promise to stop procrastinating tomorrow.
 
J

Jarheaded

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I just read the issues raised by Glass' and I tried my pot to see what it could do. I put my empty tank outside for this one. I brought the pressure up to 100# and held it for 10 minutes without any problem and have been using it since without a problem. Every now and then a bad product does get by QC and breaks, but most can hold up and that is good enough for me. Maybe one day I will actually test a pot and see what it can handle. Blast shields will be used. I will try to film it if I do it.
 
Firefyter-emt

Firefyter-emt

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Don't forget, the 80psi is the MAX working PSI. by law, it is "burst rated" much higher than the working psi. I can not remember the ratio, but I assure you that it's rater far more than the 80 psi. I "think" it's 3x the working psi, but don't hold me to it.

BTW, I tried to air up a flat tire with mine, had it at 90psi and in the back of the Jeep for a 5 mile ride! [}:)]
 
stevers

stevers

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You crazy Lee.
I know what you mean Johnnie. Personally, I try to keep my shop pretty clean. When I loose something, it's because the little people who live under the work bench came and took it. Or it just simply grew legs and walked out of my shop. Of course, no one is allowed in the shop without me or at least my permission. The wife knows better, and makes sure everyone else knows as well. That is my room and is off limits. It's basically the only room I have left. I guess the computer room is sort of mine. Out of ten rooms, I have one and a sort of. Sounds about right huh fellas????[:p]
 
rhahnfl

rhahnfl

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Johnnie, I'd bet that the pot takes pretty close to twice the rated pressure before it explodes. If you do something crazy like blowing one up... please do film it... from a safe distance and behind some sort of barrier. Better yet... submit it to myth busters and see if they will pay for and do it for you.
 
Firefyter-emt

Firefyter-emt

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Yea, what really makes me mad Steve is I have a 20lb Co2 tank with a regulator for compressed air useage. I used to use my "Power Tank" to air up the tires on my 4Runner after 4-Wheeling and I could not find it anywhere! A 20lb tank would refill all four of my 33's about ten times on one tank. I think if the tire was still good, the casing tank might of had at least enough air to get my wife to the gas station!

BTW, the big old rip in the tire did not help much anyway! But seeing I had a spare tire that was stock on my Jeep I finaly got a chance to use that tire machine my brother in law gave me! ;)
 
G

Glass Scratcher

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Originally posted by TBone

Charles,
What do you mean by "hanging" fittings?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Hanging fittings are fittings that have no other support than the threads of the fittings they are attached to. Sometimes they look like antlers of piping or as I have once or twice referred to them as Christmas trees.

We (that gestalt thing) tend to look at the pressure/vacuum pot as everything needs to be attached to it, placed on it. It is supposed to be portable, so it must be completely contained. Fah! I say. The only fittings you need on the pot lid for simplicity sake are the overpressure safety valve, pressure/vacuum guage, a shutoff valve and a female coupler, an elbow or 90deg fitting inside the lid, is useful, and will not effect safety. Everything else, ALL the other funky fittings, regulator, t-splitters, venturi assembly... should be secured on a manifold that can be bolted or attached to your casting station, use a coil or whip hose from it to your pressure pot. That way your fittings are supported and secure, your pressure pot isn't top heavy and you are safe.

I'm sorry if this came off as a rant. I had planned to write up and photograph an alternative pressure pot tutorial, but work, holidays and the city inspectors for my old house have been breathing down my neck. I will try to uncover my casting station this week, and photograph it and put it in this thread if anyone is interrested.
 
Firefyter-emt

Firefyter-emt

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Tommy, I think this is kind of what he was trying to show. My set up, to cast under psi only has a reducer bushing, an elbow, a valve and fitting. The other port just has a new gauge in the original T-connector.
For the vacuum pump, I added some more hardware, but this was just to keep the footprint small and centered, plus I can open the valve, watch the gauge and the air is forced out of the pump away from me. You could use a remote hose, but I think the plug in-line set up works perfect.

Here is the tank set up for psi:
tank-1.jpg


And my vac attachment:
tank-5.jpg


Just becasue, here is the fitting inside the tank to blow the air away from your blanks.
tank-3.jpg
 
Blind_Squirrel

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Originally posted by Glass Scratcher

The only fittings you need on the pot lid for simplicity sake are the overpressure safety valve, pressure/vacuum guage, a shutoff valve and a female coupler, an elbow or 90deg fitting inside the lid, is useful, and will not effect safety.
Click to expand...

It seems great minds think alike. ;)

My Pot:
TopFront1.jpg


Multiple pictures of my setup: http://www.blindsquirrel.us/Scott/PressurePot/
 
karlkuehn

karlkuehn

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Originally posted by TBone

Charles,
What do you mean by "hanging" fittings?
Thanks
Click to expand...

Heya T-bone, I meant to answer this way earlier, sorry, it slipped through in the course of my normal mayhem...:D

'hanging' fittings means any fittings that you attach to the tank that have a lot of joints and fittings supporting the hoses and connectors, resulting in the propensity to have things work themselves loose if you're not careful in handling the lid.

For good examples, look for pictures of stevers and my pots. I think we're way more 'hung' than anyone else.

*snorts*

I know, it's childish, but I couldn't pass that opportunity up. [:p]
 
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