-=- originally posted by TJ_Jake -=-
You are correct--that 1.94 CFM is rated at 0 psi. The QA2 is rated at 2.18 at 0 psi. And they are rated at .81 and .85 CFM at 100 psi respectively. The differences aren't probably noticeable, yet the QA2 draws twice the amps as the Tornado. The specs that Sun Performance has for the QA2 filling a 33x12.50 tire from 15 to 30 psi is 2 min. 20 seconds, virtually identical to the Tornado 3. However, the QA2 is $150 more than the Tornado 3. The duty cycles are similar also based on the QA3's duty cycle (I couldn't find duty cycle information on the QA2). Oh, and also, the QA3's maximum pressure was rated at 70 psi. (Again, no information on the QA2).
I'm a little curious why there's much discussion about tank specifications in previous posts. Why would you use a portable unit with a tank? Seems to me that if you've mounted a tank, you would mount an OBA unit. If you have a portable tank and fill tires with the tank until it's spent, why fill the tank to then fill the tires? At the rate a portable compressor can fill a tank to a useable psi to fill a tire, you might as well fill the tire directly. In any case, to me, a portable unit would be used to fill tires directly without a tank involved.
Bottom-line is that I don't think there is a better value on a portable unit that is actually useful on the trail.
