Battery vs air

[Dinkbuster]

Outfitting shop with some new tools, thinking about getting a bigger air compressor for painting, but was curious what’s everyone’s thought in air tools? Don’t have any because never could run them. Use my Milwaukee m18 impacts. Do you have or need both air and battery tools and why?

 

[rrlund]

The only air tool I've used since I got two sizes if cordless impacts is my small air die grinder, and that's only because I don't have one of those in a cordless.

 

[joeysmith]

Air is still king for production type of work but for most small shops cordless is fine

 

[Steve in VA]

Outfitting shop with some new tools, thinking about getting a bigger air compressor for painting, but was curious what’s everyone’s thought in air tools? Don’t have any because never could run them. Use my Milwaukee m18 impacts. Do you have or need both air and battery tools and why?

I have a Quincy compressor for samdblaster and plasma cutter primarily. Still like the air impact as well.

 

[moresmoke]

I primarily use air for blowing stuff off, inflating tires, sandblasting, painting, and big impacts 3/4&1”. In that order. 5/8 and smaller bolts are all done with cordless.

 

[MM-TX]

I use air for nailers. I have big corded drills and angle grinders. But I am adding more battery tools all the time. I only pull out the heavy tools when the job requires them.

 

[Phill Tibbetts]

Battery definitely, you can take it anywhere and there are tons of tools you can use with the same battery. I even have a little battery air compressor that will easily blow up a pickup tire with one battery. Ryobi is what I got and at least a dozen tools.

 

[Jim.ME]

I use battery tools where I can. Sand blasting, painting, blowing things down, needle scaler, die grinders, tire repairs all use air. And I didn't throw my air impacts away; they still get used at times, so a bigger compressor is better as well.

 

[wh]

Still need and use 60 gallon air compressor But use battery tools more and more. Love my 1/2 inch impact. Heavy, but does the job with no effort. Have cordless work light, hand grinder, drill, impact drill, impact wrench, ratchet, grease gun and chainsaw.

 

[timcasbolt]

I dropped down from a 60 gallon to an 8 gallon a couple years ago. Between high-powered corded impact and battery tools, it just isn't necessary to drag hoses around all the time.

 

[Welding man]

We use both on a daily basis. The physical size of the battery tools causes me to use air most of the time. A 3/8 or 1/2 in air impact can get into a lot of places you cannot get to with the battery pack, plus they are lighter, We have a commercial compressor that will run 3 or 4 tools at a time, so air is not a problem, keeping the batteries charged is.

 

[johnnmr]

You will never regret having a big air compressor.

As far as buying new power tools goes if you're already committed to 18 volt milwaukee I'd stick with that. Once you have the batteries the tools themselves can be bought pretty reasonable if you shop around.

 

[Fred Werring]

Outfitting shop with some new tools, thinking about getting a bigger air compressor for painting, but was curious what’s everyone’s thought in air tools? Don’t have any because never could run them. Use my Milwaukee m18 impacts. Do you have or need both air and battery tools and why?

My air tools have pretty much sat unused since the more powerful battery tools came on the market.

And FWIW, I hooked up 2 smaller compressors together in parallel rather than buying 1 big compressor.
It was cheaper for me, and I can isolate and run just one compressor when all I need is to air up a tire or something similar.

 

[Fawteen]

I have a big Quincy 12CFM compressor and the only air powered tools I use are die grinders, a needle scaler and an air chisel. Also used for my cheapo plasma cutter and my HF sandblasting cabinet. So, useful enough that I wouldn't want to be without it, but MUCH prefer my battery-powered tools now that battery technology has advanced. Not dragging a hose or a cord around is a HUGE plus. Being able to grab an impact, drill and grinder and go where ever I need to and not worry about power is game-changing.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Since you've already got the battery tools, there's no sense in getting air tools, at least not right away. I hardly ever use my air impact anymore, only when I'm near the air compressor and my battery impact is back in the barn.

 

[Texgasser1]

Always keep a big good compressor around. Battery's can crap out, air tools still work well in extreme weather.

 

[m16ty]

I very seldom use my air tools anymore. I’ve got up to 3/4 cordless impacts and they are impressive. Still drag out the big 1” air impact for the really heavy stuff sometimes.

 

[GChief]

air tools still work well in extreme weather.

So will batteries, all we used doing maintenance on remote (as in get there by helo) navigation aids in Alaska. Small generator and battery powered tools.

To the OP. I still have all my air tools, the only thing I use since gonig battery are my die grinders, inline sanders and paint guns.

 

[Texasmark]

Outfitting shop with some new tools, thinking about getting a bigger air compressor for painting, but was curious what’s everyone’s thought in air tools? Don’t have any because never could run them. Use my Milwaukee m18 impacts. Do you have or need both air and battery tools and why?

I love my impact tool. It usually does the trick in a few seconds. Air loss from the tank is minimal even though it sucks hard on the air line. On things that rotate (otherwise) I find that it takes a lot of air to develop any kind of HP over time. Really, for jobs other than impact and air for tires I use other sources.

On painting, nothing wrong with air driven paint sprayer....doesn't use a lot of air....If I have to paint, the Rattle Can to the rescue for me.....I like my things to work...how they look is way down the list.

 

[sotxbill]

Still need to air up my 110lb 14 ply tires, run a couple of tire machines, and rarely the air tools. Also plasma cutter and dang hard to blow out carbs and fuel lines with an battery inflater. The new battery impacts are pretty dang impressive now and always my first choice. Especially when hauling tractors or hay!!!