Steel vs. Aluminum Air tanks?

[pitstain]

I am in the planning phase of a full AirRide suspension for my 2002 SVT Lightning and want to keep the weight to a minimum, to that effect I have seen ART has Aluminum tanks, but upon asking around I have heard they can be a saftey risk due to the fact they have no "GIVE" like a steel tank, and will simply explode in a gloriously destructive plume of shrapnel......

Any truth to this?

Thank you in advance for the input,

Ian

[wendell]

I don't see steel having more "give" than AL. That said, a pressure vessel is a pressure vessel. Its either rated and sold for that application or it's not. Seems like an odd place to try and save weight. What's the weight difference and why do you want to save it?

[pitstain]

I do not have specific numbers but the steel tank would be around 20 pounds vs. the aluminum tank at about 7, plus the added benefit of corrosion resistance.

It will be mounted in the bed and when dealing with making a 4700 pound truck work on the road course it helps to shave every pound possible, it does add up in the end.

For example I am saving nearly 100 pounds with the tubular front arms and power rack and pinion conversion.

[megaladon6]

i figure that if air ride is selling the aluminum then you're safe. if it's some no-name chinese tank i wouldn't trust it.

[Apogee]

SCUBA tanks are aluminum...so are the liquid CO2 tanks used by a lot of the off-road guys. Like stated above, just make sure that it's rated for the use by a reputable organization (like ASME for pressure vessels) and go for it. I wouldn't hesitate to run aluminum tanks as they don't ever see that much pressure in it in the grand scheme of things.

I have to believe that the "give" is a reference to how well steel handles fatigue versus aluminum. Aluminum will have a finite fatigue life, however that doesn't mean that it won't still outlast you if it was designed properly.

Tobin

[pitstain]

Thank you for the logical feedback guys, it only takes one naysayer to inject question into an otherwise "no brainer" decision, I do appreciate it.

Ian






"May the Schwartz be with you"

[LowBuckX]

IM not sure how much pressure the air ride tanks are required to hold but even if the tank split with 200 psi it wouldnt come apart in many peices just a split..... Now a Co2 tank and a 30/06 is another story but still stayed in one peice.... A crazy gnarly peice but one peice none the less.

[silver69camaro]

It's nothing to worry about. Wendell pretty much sumed it up.

Even corrosion resistance isn't an issue with air ride applications. These pumps and tanks don't see enough working time to build up lots of condensation like a shop air compressor.

[darren@ridetech]

5 gallon steel 20.5lbs
5 gallon aluminum 7.5lbs
3 gallon steel 11.5 lbs
3 gallon aluminum 4.5lbs

All of our air tanks are DOT approved for 150psi. Bursting pressure being much higher.

[pitstain]

Thanks Darren, why on earth would a company who only sells steel tanks tell me aluminum is unsafe? LOL

I'll take a mulligan on this one i suppose.

[1offwizard]

I wouldn't run aluminum on mine since my pressure regulator is set at 175lbs, but 12lbs of weight is still 12lbs I guess.

[Tony@AirRideTech]

thats scary.... think of all of those scuba divers with aluminum tanks

[jaybee]

Actually the aluminum is "springier" than steel, but if it's rated for the pressure it's rated for the pressure. As a real world illustration of the properties of the two materials watch flat bed trailers on the road around you. Steel trailers will be painted of course, aluminum trailers will rarely be painted and you can spot them quickly. The aluminum trailers will have much more "arch" along their length and will flex much more while driving with a load on.

[1offwizard]

I believe most scuba tanks are rated at 3000psi. I wouldn't run one rated at 2000psi if I knew I was constantly filling it with 3000psi. My tank in my truck (rated at 200psi) sits at the front of my bed. Since I know that it is rated at 200psi, although my compressors are rated at 200psi (4 Viair 380C's) I chose to use the 175psi pressure switches. Since my wife or kids sometimes ride with me I prefer to keep it on the safe side. Now my truck isn't set up PT style. It is my daily driver most of the year. I like the higher psi to get it off the ground quicker. I have thought about the aluminum tanks, but mostly for looks as I would have to lower my pressure cutoff to remain on the conservative side of the tanks psi rating.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2007/10/Camarowith18s002-1.jpg

[pitstain]

Damm nice lookin F-150 you got there Jason, I will not be slammin the Lightning near that low, but wow, just wow, nice truck.

I was thinkng of getting the aluminum tank hydrographic'd to look like carbon fiber to really screw with people....:)

[ScotI]

Even corrosion resistance isn't an issue with air ride applications. These pumps and tanks don't see enough working time to build up lots of condensation like a shop air compressor.
Those little compressors heat up in a hurry. I dare you to grab one immediately after it's filled a 3~5gal tank. With that heat comes condensation. Enough of it that after a year or so there will be rust. Not much of a problem w/pneumatic controllers but solenoids don't care for the little pieces of rust/debris.

I had my ART system in use for 4yrs. While revamping a few things, I decided to check the tank & found a lot of rust particles loose in the bottom of the tank.

I had some new tanks built to my specs & added a petcock valve even though the alum doesn't have the same corrosion concerns. The 2 alum tanks were the same weight as my original single steel tank.

[silver69camaro]

Those little compressors heat up in a hurry. I dare you to grab one immediately after it's filled a 3~5gal tank. With that heat comes condensation. Enough of it that after a year or so there will be rust. Not much of a problem w/pneumatic controllers but solenoids don't care for the little pieces of rust/debris.

I had my ART system in use for 4yrs. While revamping a few things, I decided to check the tank & found a lot of rust particles loose in the bottom of the tank.

I had some new tanks built to my specs & added a petcock valve even though the alum doesn't have the same corrosion concerns. The 2 alum tanks were the same weight as my original single steel tank.

I didn't say they didn't produce heat and condensation. I said "these pumps and tanks don't see enough working time to build up lots of condensation like a shop air compressor."

Some rust in the tank is normal and nothing to worry about. If you do have a problem with excessive particles getting into your solenoids I suggest a small inline filter.

[darren@ridetech]

Check out this air tank that we built a few years back for our 05 F150 SEMA project. We used cast acrylic tubes and milled out some billet end caps.

[1offwizard]

That is a very cool air tank Darren! I was going to make my own aluminum tanks for my truck since I am in the billet business, but I really don't have much time to work on my own stuff. I will probably do something cool on my chevelle since it will be in the trunk and in full view at shows.

[1offwizard]

Damm nice lookin F-150 you got there Jason, I will not be slammin the Lightning near that low, but wow, just wow, nice truck.

I was thinkng of getting the aluminum tank hydrographic'd to look like carbon fiber to really screw with people....:)

Thanks Ian! It's no show truck, it's my daily driver 9-10mths out of the year. It is extreamly fun to drive. We bagged it back in 2001 and I have put over 50k miles on it since then. Had it painted out in Arizona in January '02 and drove it back 1123 miles (to my painters dismay) 5 hrs after it rolled out of the paint booth. It does look better when I clean it up I promise!

I really like the carbon fiber look idea!!

[ScotI]

I didn't say they didn't produce heat and condensation. I said "these pumps and tanks don't see enough working time to build up lots of condensation like a shop air compressor."

Some rust in the tank is normal and nothing to worry about. If you do have a problem with excessive particles getting into your solenoids I suggest a small inline filter.
I wasn't challenging your statement & apologize if that's how it came across. I guess I was just clarifying the moisture potential. I interpeted "enough working time" to be enough time to cause moisture build-up within a tank (regardless of it's size). Even though it's not the same as a shop air-compressor, moisture & the resulting rust can & does cause problems.

I agree it's nothing to worry about (never effected my system during 5+yrs of use), but it's good to know about any potential problems.