Battery

umustb, Right off the top of the old head, I would think that a battery operated compressor would really suck the life out of a battery. I can just picture starting a paint job, wheather it be a base coat or a camo job and the battery has to be recharged...ugh! I'd stay with the electric compressor if it were me.

thats the first though that popped in2 my head!, but hey, at least ud be able to airbrush on da moon! hehe
is it the tamiya compressor that runs off rc batteries?

I can't see any benefit to using a battery-powered compressor unless you happened to be painting where there was no wall power available. As the others have pointed out, the disadvantages are numerous though. You can either plug your compressor into a wall outlet and paint as long as you want or plug your recharger into a wall outlet and wait for the batteries to recharge.

Yes tominator, someone gave me a tamiya compressor that runs on rechargable batteries. I can do spray work anywhere without power for not more than 20minutes. Oh well, as a gift, why not. Maybe I can get more batteries instead.

Agree that an electric run compressor would be better. Will lay my hands on one in future.

20min is ok i guess, u could get some painting done in that time, not a whole kit tho... dont rc cars have fast chargers?

Look on the compressor or in the instructions and see if shows a maximum rating for the input voltage. If it can handle 12 volts you can get a 12 volt power supply to drive it that will eliminate the need for batteries. Sub-C rechargeable cells are usually 1.2 volts per cell, so a 6-cell pack would be 7.2 volts, an 8-cell pack 9.6, etc. You'll have a tough time finding a power supply that will supply that, but generally (not always, but generally) devices that are designed for battery usage will handle a higher voltage. Check the specifications first to see what it will handle. If you do get an AC adapter make sure it will handle the current load of the compressor. Motors require a good bit of current when they start, and believe it or not batteries can provide a TON of current!

QUOTE: dont rc cars have fast chargers?

Yes, but even the "Fast" chargers require about 20 minutes to recharge a pack. I still have a couple of them from my R/C days around here somewhere.

Tamiya compressors run on 7.2V batteries. Amazingly, their compressors don't provide batteries and chargers (you'll have to get them seperately for another sum of money).

Pros
- You'll be able to do spray work anywhere without power source (batteries run no more than 20minutes, recommend to get more to save time)

Cons
- Trouble of recharging

QUOTE: You'll be able to do spray work anywhere without power source (batteries run no more than 20minutes, recommend to get more to save time)

I used to run 6-cell packs when I raced R/C cars. We would suck they dry in a 4-minute run and they would come out of the car so hot you could barely hold them :)

They do come in different mAh (milliamp per hour) ratings. Several years the "Standard" cells were 1200 mAh, but you could also get 1700 and 2000. The voltage was the same, but they lasted longer on a charge. If yours are just the 1200 you might check some of the R/C stores and see about a higher capacity pack.

I know my LHS does both model stuff and R/C stuff. I'd check with the owner, see if he has any recommendations. If you get two battery packs, you can use one and then fast charge one. So when one runs out you just swap em and keep going. Kept my R/C cars going all day, left my dads car battery dead(whoops).