Free from electrical facility requirements

[EliteAirbrushTattoo]

I would like to share my solution. I wanted to be free from electrical facility requirements at events, I needed something portable. I looked at possibly using a CO2 tank, but didn't want the additional one-time expense and ongoing expense of tank refills. Having a tank still does not solve the requirement to run a radio or lighting. The idea of a gas generator I thought would be too loud, require fuel, costly for an ultra quiet unit and for some venues may not be allowed. So after some research, I chose to run a Deep Cycle Marine Battery and DC to AC inverter. I put it all into a small basket to power my compressor and radio. I plan to also add some lighting soon. Works like a charm.

Here is my setup:

I purchased the marine battery at an auto parts store called AutoZone. The battery is a Duralast Marine Deep Cycle Battery (34MD-DL, 85A, 685 CCA, 150 RC). $85 w/core charge.

I purchased a PowerBright PW1100-12 1100 Watt AC from 12V DC Car Power Inverter for $86
http://www.powerbrixx.com/powerbright-pw110012-1100-watt-ac-from-12v-dc-car-power-inverter-new-p-1377.html

I also purchased a Schumacher Marie Battery SC-1500A charger at Walmart for $53.
http://store.schumachermart.com/ssc-1500a.html

The deep cycle marine battery drops about 15-20% each day. I heard that some people can run compressors, radios, lights, etc for 10 hrs without any problems. See attached photo.

What kind of setup do you run to make your Airbrush Temporary Tattoo business truly mobile?

[Get Inked]

We also ran into the problem at an event that the power went out and shut us down. We did invest in a Co2 tank and are glad we did. It does cost around $200 for the tank(20lb) and the regulator, but I would not go back to the air compressor. The tank provides constant pressure and lasts about 20 hours at continuious spraying. It costs about $20 to get the tank refilled and a fillup lasts us from about a week if we do a major fair to about a month if we are doing only private parties. We don't have to worry about being without electricity! The other option you can do is rent a co2 tank and check it out first. If you like it look at the Co2 tanks on EBA the have several great colors to choose from!

[ebaatlanta]

Paul, Thank you so much for sharing this. I think that for those who do not have easy access to a location which offers air supply; this battery is a fantastic option. I also really like that the battery is completely silent unlike generators. For fairs/ festivals, I think that the battery is the perfect option. It lasts a really long time and IF you run out before the next day, you can always take it with you and recharge it at night.

Austin, CO2 also works great as it is completely silent and has a nice smooth air flow. It is the better option for private events as you will only need to bring one piece with you and 20 hours of tank is plenty for a few hour event.  Just be careful to strap it so it doesn’t fall over!

Stacy

[Runic]

Great post Paul!

[quentin]

Very cool, we will also invest it a simular system, we have a generater, a Honeywell invertor, it was a third of the price of a Honda ( $350.00) and seems just as quiet and does the trick, though I would like to get rid of the pollution spewing noise machine and go with batteries.

Quentin
WestCoast Airbrush

[quentin]

you can see the cheap little generator we use, just as quiet as the Honda, but at a few hundred bucks is a fraction of the cost, though I am sure it will not last as long.
Get what ya pay for I guess. We ran this thing hard this past summer and it still runs like new.

[peppysdoc]

Where did you find the Honeywell gen?

[quentin]

Got it online at Costco, they had a sale for $100.00 off .

Q

[Lisa - Unreal Aribrush Tattoo]

Thanks for the info about the deep sea battery! I was looking into that as well but couldn't find much information about how it works, and what other accessories -like the power converter- I would need to make it work, and how long you could run your airbrushes with it. I really appreciate your post! I went with the CO2 tank and regulator which works well. I bought the tank locally though because most places want to trade out your empty CO2 tank for a filled one, and I obviously wouldn't want to trade my fancy EBA one! I would highly recommend buying the regulator from EBA though because I bought mine from a shop that sold them for home beer brewing, and I had to go to 4 more places to find the right fitting to connect to airbrush hoses! I am able to get a 10 lb. CO2 tank for $13 (after buing the first one for about $100) at a local welding supply shop and I can do approx. 2 festivals or 4 parties on 10 lbs of air.

[Porkchopusn]

I purchased a 5 lb C02 bottle for $40.  This bottle is idea.  It's great as a backup if I lose electricity and it fit's in a backpack for those difficult to get to events (San Francisco).  I am purchasing a larger tank and the fittings for making a fill station.  I can fill from the larger cylinders to the smaller.  The cost of filling the 5 lb bottle in Sacrament is $20.  I can fill a 20 lb bottle for $28 and a 50 lb cylinder for about $40.  If I rent the 50 lb bottle from AirGas, the cost is only the price of the gas plus $13/month.  If all goes well I will be purchasing a used 50 lb cylinder for $50 (still negotiating) and using this bottle to keep the 5 lb bottle full.

I considered the battery and compressor option, but one small bottle is easier to handle.  Let me know if you would like additional information on my setup.

Jim...

[quentin]

It has finally happened, we have an event which does not allow generators, have to go out and get an invertor and batteries.

[blamericanbuty]

that is my main question is how long does the marine deep cycle battery last?  I have a festival coming up and it will be about 10 hours and I don't want my battery to go dead.  if anyone has a marine deep cycle battery and can answer this question I would appreciate it and also what kind they have would be helpful as well as type of inverter.

[Get Inked]

To answer your question, is that a deep cycle marine battery will last aprox 4-5 hours depending on how much you are using it and what you are powering. (lights, register, comressor, etc). The most important thing is to have a good invertor. You will want one that is at least 900+ watts. We bought a 750 and it was constantly shutting off because it wasn't able to produce enough electricity. We were powering 3 lamps, and a register, we were using CO2 at that point. My suggestion would to rent a quiet running generator from a local rental company. We bought a interstate deep cycle marine battery for $45 and a power invertor for $45, pluse we has to by battery cables to hook it up because the invertordid not come with any. we spent about $100. To rent a generator it was going to run us $40.

[quentin]

I think one should stack a set of three or four in conjuntion on a dolly. That is what we intend on doing.

[patriciorip]

Wow Elite, that's a really nice piece of info. And it's so nice of you to share it with all of us! I like that attitude in people. Even when I'm not using it at all (I'm not in the bussiness) I appreciate and thank you for your advice...