Blowing Out The Dust - Alternatives

J

Jsalpha2

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 19, 2011
Messages
209
Canned air is expensive and some brands are not environmentally friendly.
A leaf blower is too loud, can over spin your fans, and gets dusk everywhere.
I think I've seen re-usable canned air that can be pumped back to full with a bike pump or small compressor.
or very expensive ones that include a rechargeable battery and internal pump.

Anyone have a good solution in the twenty dollar or under price range?
Thanks
 
A small/low-end 1.5 gallon Shop Vac is what I use. Think I spent maybe $30 at Lowes, but that was like 8 years ago. I'm sure Amazon would have something decent around the same price.
 
the snake said:
$60 but worth it, i use mine for PC cleaning, blowing water off my truck after i wash it, ect. all kinds of uses

https://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500P-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001U899HQ
Click to expand...
These things pay for themselves rather quickly. I use it to dust everything: behind TV, inside a cabinet when I'm lazy, dust inside my PC, getting crumbs out of keyboards (especially my father's, gross).

They are built in the USA (if you even care about that) and have that old steel appliance feel to them. Damn thing weighs about 5 pounds as it is. I'm fairly certain it has a metal impeller too, so if you do take the air filter off it will likely eat your finger and still run.

It's also pretty durable. I put it into a bag full of heavy tools with the attachments still on it and haven't broken it yet. I've also dropped it a few times.

Words of warning:
1. rather loud, pets hate it
2. It gets rather hot to touch after several minutes of use, but you likely won't be using it for more than a few seconds
3. It has a foam air filter on the bottom. It is so powerful, it will literally suck up the dust bunnies you just blew out. Pinch the filter slightly, take it out and run it through the faucet quickly.
4. Most of the attachments are useless. The simple plastic one that comes to a tip is really all you need anyways and it actually clips to the metal part. Its powerful enough to blow off all the other attachments.
 
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Save up for a metro vac. I got the Pro version for keeping the PCs dust free, but I use it for everything. Very handy to have around.
 
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ncjoe said:
I bought it six months ago and don't like it...
too loud, to hot, to heavy ...

went back to canned air...
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I don't know what to tell you then. Any machine meant to blow air at that kind of pressure is going to require a heavy duty motor and make a lot of noise. Canned air is already pre-charged with chemical so obviously it doesn't make noise. The other suggestions are a shop vac that has a reverse setting or blower attachment (which will still be loud and heavy), or some sort of air compressor.

I've seen a lot of people use air compressors, but they still require a loud pump to fill a tank. Fortunately, that means the pump doesn't have to run all the time and you usually get a hose that's lightweight to carry around while leaving the tank on the ground. However, compressors are not as portable as the metrovac because they have an airtank and motor.

As far as the heat of the metrovac, it does get really hot if you use it for a minute or more. But you shouldn't have to use it that long. For the few times I have to use it a lot, I turn it on and off constantly trying to not leave it on for long. Blast it for 30 seconds, let it cool for 10 seconds and check your work, blast it for another 30 seconds, repeat. AFAIK, even though the casing does get as hot as a hair dryer, it still runs within spec and doesn't harm it. Just hope that you don't have massive knuckles that touch the casing when using the hand grip. If you have that problem, I imagine it would be a 5 minute modification to unscrew the handle and put washers on it to extend it out.

I do still keep a few cans of air around, but I only do that for very specific things due to the little straws can get air in places the metrovac can't.

The metrovac is probably the highest recommended due to how well it's built, portability, and it does the job almost as well as a full blown compressor without paying for the price of one. It's expensive at first, but it's got that old school power tool build to it and should last a long time. I've had mine for almost 5 years now. The MetroVac has been kind of the defacto recommendation on tech forums for a while. Proof of that is the thousands of rave reviews it has on Amazon.

Here's another device like the metrovac. Supposedly just as powerful. But it's still 5 pounds on the end of a handle, so weight is still a factor. Supposedly it too can run hot. Unlike the MetroVac, it's not made of steel, so I'm not sure how well it keeps itself cool to keep from burning out.
 
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^Plus compressors can spit a lot of moisture and sometimes oil residue depending on the quality.
 
First I was thinking about making my own, but googling suggests it is a bad idea. It can explode shooting shrapnel into you. Found one on E-Bay, but only in the UK. The Metro Vac sounds good, but is a little out of my price range.
If only I could find someone who bought one and does not like it...maybe they would sell it at half price.
sDvleiA.jpg
 
Jsalpha2 said:
First I was thinking about making my own, but googling suggests it is a bad idea. It can explode shooting shrapnel into you. Found one on E-Bay, but only in the UK. The Metro Vac sounds good, but is a little out of my price range.
If only I could find someone who bought one and does not like it...maybe they would sell it at half price.
sDvleiA.jpg
Click to expand...

Roflmao.
 
Jsalpha2 said:
First I was thinking about making my own, but googling suggests it is a bad idea. It can explode shooting shrapnel into you. Found one on E-Bay, but only in the UK. The Metro Vac sounds good, but is a little out of my price range.
If only I could find someone who bought one and does not like it...maybe they would sell it at half price.
Click to expand...

Why can't you just have it shipped from the UK?
 
I can not find the same item I was looking at before. They said they would not ship to the U.S. I should have mentioned that. Sorry. Did see a hack about cleaning and re-using a small fire extinguisher. (smile)
I think I'll just wait to see what else might turn up. Thanks
 
I use a Giotto Lens blower. Gives more than enough to get the dust out and saves a fortune on air cans.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Giottos-GTAA1900-Rocket-Air-Blower/dp/B00017LSPI

For more extreme situations (customers machines who smoke) I simply strip out the ram, BIOS battery, CPU, DVD and HDD and blast the sucker in the shower with hot water.

Leave it for two days+ with a room fan on it and put it all back together. Super clean. Looks like new. Works a charm.
 
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