My compressor tank cracked last Thursday afternoon

I was in the middle of trimming out a house in Springfield. Air nailer died mid shot. Walked over to the compressor and saw a thin stream of oil coming from the bottom of the tank. The whole thing was rusted from the inside out. That compressor was only 6 years old. I always drained the water after every job too. Now I gotta buy a new one before Monday's job starts. Anyone ever had a tank fail that fast?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_wyatt15d ago

I picked up a DeWalt 20-gallon from Home Depot after my Craftsman rusted out at 4 years. Drained it every single time, same as you. The oil leak was the first sign for me too, but I caught mine when the tank started pitting on the bottom. I started putting a desiccant filter between the pump and the tank after that, and it's been 2 years now with no rust issues. Those thin steel tanks just don't hold up if there's any moisture left in the air.

chen.adam15d ago

Desiccant filter before the tank, that's clever. Never seen that setup.

bennett.mason15d ago

The oil leak was the first sign for me too, but I caught mine when the tank started pitting on the bottom. That's pretty much word for word what happened with my old Husky. I was out in the garage trying to fill up a tire and heard this weird hissing. Looked under the tank and there was this patch of rust bubbles the size of my palm. Thing was maybe 5 years old and I drained it religiously every time I used it. Makes you wonder if they're even trying to build stuff to last anymore.