Auto Parts: battery charger/air compressor, lead acid battery, pressure gauge


Question
I want to get my husband a battery charger/air compressor for Christmas.  He has one that works fine, but he would like one that can charge from the cigarette lighter.  His parameters are:  a charger/jumper battery, an air compressor, fairly cheap price, and something that stops by itself (I think that refers to the air compressor.  He wants to be able to set a stop point when he fills his tires.).  He has a '94 Prius, but the charger doesn't have to charge his battery.  It's more for my battery, I think!
The one he has does all these things except charge from the lighter.  Do they make such a thing?
Thanks!

Answer
    The problem with charging from the lighter is that the battery in these things is a lead-acid battery very similar in size and construction to the battery in the car.  If it is discharged, it will take a lot of juice from the car to charge it back up.  That would be fine if it was only connected when the engine is running, or if it is in the Prius with its ginormous battery pack.  For this reason, I don't know of anyone who makes a battery pack that charges from the car--they are designed to charge the car, not vice versa.  So far as the compressor cutting itself off at the right pressure: it's a bad idea.  No one has ever come up with a rig, even in shops, that can accurately cut off at a pre-set pressure.  But, let's face it, if you're already down there tending to the tire, it's not a big deal to use a pressure gauge to check the tire.  Correct pressure is important to proper tire wear and performance, it needs to be accurate to within a pound or two.  The best rig I've ever seen that cut itself off was frequently off by more than five pounds.  I had one of those jumper/compressors once, and it worked OK.  But, I ended up getting a proper charger that plugs into the wall and doesn't use a battery.  Then I got an air tank which I would fill at the local station's air hose; it would inflate two or three tires.  These were two things that will never wear out and always do their job, a quality I value.