Can you upgrade air compressor tank?

Bought a nice little 6 gal compressor.

Can I modify a 40 water heater (150 PSI working pressure 350 PSI before it explodes) as my new tank?

Update:

40 gallon*

Comments

  • Are you asking if you can pressurize a 150 psi working pressure tank safely to 350 psi? If that is the case, the answer is no. I can tell you from personal experience if the tank ruptures you will not like the results.

    Hot water tanks are not designed to contain that much pressure when they are new. After they have been in service and begin to corrode you can not predict at what pressure they will fail.

    I am a bit confused by your comment. Do you know if the tank is good for 150 psi or are you just assuming that? The tank may or may not be adequate for 150 psi. The only safe way to find out is to pressurize it using water, not air. With water if there is a failure it will not explode but simply spring a big leak. The general rule in pressure vessel design is to test to 1.5 times the design pressure. In your case that would be 225 psi. I personally would not operate the tank at 150 psi unless I had tested it to the 225 psi pressure level. As I said before I have personal experience with a ruptured air tank. I had to take a very good friend to the hospital for emergency surgery as the result of such an event.

  • Your water heater tank is neither designed for nor safe for that pressure and your motor isn't designed for that volume so the answer is no no no.

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