Canned air alternative?

[neptronix]

Being a PC technician, living in the high desert, i go through a lot of canned air. This gets a bit expensive and i don't like constantly throwing away these cans, seems wasteful.

I know that lithium batteries are powerful enough to produce compressed air on demand at this point, the question is, is there a decent lithium powered unit i should consider? ( when going looking, i encounter tons of random no name stuff so far )

 

[RunForTheHills]

I have one of these. Works with my Makita batteries. I use it to clean dust out of my keyboard and computers.

 

[RunForTheHills]

Actually, this is the one I have:

https://makitatools.com/products/details/XSA01Z

 

[99t4]

Brushless motor! Lithium battery! 180 MPH! Gets rid of all my dust bunnies!

JK

But kind of remember Project Farm tested electric dusters a few months ago so take a look there if you haven't already.

 

[scianiac]

There are also a ton of smaller ones, I think many actually use rewound motors from dyson style hair driers and some use EDF blowers. Or if you want to go old fashion you can get a "poofer" as I call them, those little rubber bulbs used for cleaning camera parts, very handy for detail work.

Then when you need more power you switch over to the hand bellows. Come on you know if you're on a job working on some computers and you pull an old fashion bellows, first you're going to get some looks, then if somebody asks you say oh yeah this is the best way, the chemicals in those gas dusters damage the circuit boards. They are going to think you are some some crazy computer guy.

 

[Epithemeus]

Torque Test Channel also did a couple videos on battery powered dusters. Like project farm he does thorough testing. His schtick is testing exaggerated claims on Amazon but you get a lot of good value all the same. If I remember correctly some of the dusters are actually better than canned air in terms of air flow and more reliable cause they don't suffer the cooling down effect and loss of pressure that accompanies that.

 

[offGridDownUnder]

I acknowledge you didn't ask this, but you may already have a bicycle pump with a reservoir intended to provide a burst of pressure in order to seat tubeless tires. Could this do what you want?

Put an air chuck on the business end.

Reduce, Re-purpose, Re-use, Recycle.

 

[neptronix]

This one? i love this channel and didn't think to visit.

It's impressive that half the cheap chinese ones met or exceeded canned air

As much as i like the free physical activity part of the manual plow, you can never get the air concentrated and at high velocity with these kinds of devices to get into say, 2mm passages in a laptop.

Another thing i blow out is some 30lbs $500 filters. Each one requires an entire can of air to get the dust out & hopefully get another 3-6 months out of. That's a lot of manual work.

I acknowledge you didn't ask this, but you may already have a bicycle pump with a reservoir intended to provide a burst of pressure in order to seat tubeless tires. Could this do what you want?

Put an air chuck on the business end.

Reduce, Re-purpose, Re-use, Recycle.

Interesting idea but it'd be hard to simultaneously pump and also reach a particular nook/cranny of various things i need to blow out. Dusting certain things is a two handed operation, for example a PC fan ( ideally you block it from spinning so it doesn't ingest as much dust into the bearings )

The can of air and super narrow plastic straw is a good form factor for manipulability.


Okay, in terms of devices on the high power/quality end, it seems like it's:
- Makita at $200 without battery
- Wolf Box 200 at $100 ( best of the Chinese? )
- Milwaukee M18 at $180 without battery

Expensive, but considering that i easily go through 15 cans of air a year, if one of these lasts 2 years, it's paid for itself.

The Milwaukee is the only one with a dust filter in the air intake, which probably makes for better durability.
But if i buy into the battery and charger for the milwaukee, that's another $150 or $330 in total
That's a hard sell since i haven't invested in the power

On a power per dollar ratio, it's hard to resist that wolfbox:

Worx makes what looks like a powerful unit with a small battery, charger, and unit for $150 combined

20V 39 CFM 470 MPH brushless dust blower / inflator

No filter on the back of the unit. 3 year warranty though, that's 2x the wolfbox unit

Maybe this is the winner for me, any other suggestions?

 

[fechter]

You could probably DIY a filter for one that doesn't come with one.
I have a tire pump with a skinny nozzle that blows like canned air, but it's bigger and heavier than those handheld units.

 

[OlderGiantFan]

What a funny thread.
But most of these are far too powerful to use on an electronics workbench. You'd have crap flying everywhere. Even the little ones are hurricane makers.

 

[RunForTheHills]

The Makita has a filter on the intake also.

 

[lnanek]

I like to get DeWalt FlexVolt everything, since I dream of powering my ebike from the batteries once I have enough, so I'd probably go with:

DeWalt 60V MAX DCBL570Y2 170 mph 850 CFM 60 V Battery Backpack Blower Kit (Battery & Charger) Mfr# DCBL570Y2 - Ace Hardware

Clear tough debris quickly and comfortably with the DeWalt 60V MAX Brushless Backpack Blower. This tool provides the power needed to tackle big jobs without the noise, vibration, and hassle of gas. The digital speed control allows you to lock in the exact performance you need while the LED...

www.acehardware.com

If whatever I had to clean/dry wasn't in range of my corded shop vac/blower.

 

[scianiac]

Another thing i blow out is some 30lbs $500 filters. Each one requires an entire can of air to get the dust out & hopefully get another 3-6 months out of. That's a lot of manual work.

I think you mean a lot of free exercise.

What a funny thread.
But most of these are far too powerful to use on an electronics workbench. You'd have crap flying everywhere. Even the little ones are hurricane makers.

I don't think he's talking about cleaning a few specs off a board and more of a take a whole system that hasn't been cleaned, in ever, outside and blast out years of dust because the users of the equipment think it requires no maintenance at all.

 

[RunForTheHills]

DeWalt has a dust blower also. I would just get whatever you already have batteries for:

 

[Zambam]

If you have access to an air compressor, another option is a compressed air tank.

 

[neptronix]

If you have access to an air compressor, another option is a compressed air tank.

Interesting but i don't have a good place to operate an air compressor, noise wise.

The Makita has a filter on the intake also.

Oh my bad, i didn't see it.

What a funny thread.
But most of these are far too powerful to use on an electronics workbench. You'd have crap flying everywhere. Even the little ones are hurricane makers.

Easily remedied by either modulating the distance from the object or turning down the power level on the device.

Some things i need to dust need beyond canned air levels of power and get closer to an air compressor being more ideal:
- air conditioner radiator / internals, every other year
- 30lbs air filter, every quarter

In addition to:
- dozens of computers, in the field or at the office, with the occasional one that needs deep cleaning due to customer neglect

 

[Apartunis]

Interesting but i don't have a good place to operate an air compressor, noise wise.

California Air Tools makes surprisingly quiet compressors and some of them are very small. Cheap too. I use them in the bike shop so conversations don't get interrupted by noise.

California Air Tools Light & Quiet 1P1060SP Portable Air Compressor - California Air Tools

Not sold by California Air Tools. Available on Amazon.

californiaairtools.com

 

[Zambam]

Interesting but i don't have a good place to operate an air compressor, noise wise.

By access, I meant air compressors at a place that service automobiles or gas station, not your own. 5 gal tank at 120 psi will last a while compared to air in a can.

 

[jkrienert]

Actually, this is the one I have:

Holy horseradish Batman... I did not even know this was a power tool option.

I need to see if my brand batteries have an equivalent tool, or if I can find an adapter to that maker.

Thanks for sharing this @RunForTheHills !

Also, I have put a canvas style paint brush (dowel handle) in a handheld power drill chuck as if it were a drill bit to help remove surface dust and debris in tight spaces. That along side a small vacuum nozzel works rather well to clean in a relatively controlled way, that is the variable speed of the drill. It can be limited by access though, where strictly compressed or blown air is a bit superior.

 

[neptronix]

By access, I meant air compressors at a place that service automobiles or gas station, not your own. 5 gal tank at 120 psi will last a while compared to air in a can.

Interesting thought, this maybe the correct move for cost of operation reduction over all considerations.
I just find the form factor annoying even if i could construct some kind of ideal hose to make it work.

Ideally the device fits in a pocket.

 

[thebes]

My buddy has one of these https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256809807480983.html and its super handy. It was in the project farm video but I dont remember if it was reviewed favourably or not, but regardless it moves a lot of air and was relatively cheap at ~35 usd as well as being small enough to easily fit in your pocket.

I havent tried any of the ones from the large tool manufacturers but they seem pretty expensive and a bit unwieldy for what ultimately is an edf stuck on top of some cylindricals. You could probably also build one yourself with relative ease. Could some of the new tabless 5ah cells, 2s 40a drone esc and one of the ~100k rpm metal bladed edfs and slap them together with a 3d printed case.

 

[harrisonpatm]

I've used two of them and the were nice while they lasted, but eventually they both died. Both of them were tiny BLDCs with a small BLDC controller in the circuitry, and they both failed after a couple of years of normal use. Its possibly that it still beats the cost of purchasing the same amount of compressed air in disposable cans...

 

[lnanek]

I wonder how noisy the 60v cordless compressor is:

FLEXVOLT 2.5 Gal. 60-Volt MAX Brushless Cordless Electric Air Compressor Kit w/ Battery 2Ah, Charger and Bonus Battery

Conveniently portable, this FLEXVOLT 60-Volt MAX 2.5-gallon cordless air compressor allows you to use the tools you already have. It drives 1,220 nails with each battery charge and has the run time to complete a variety of other applications. This durable unit features a OneTurn regular to take...

superarbor.io

People say you can carry it with one hand and use an air gun with the other. Would be handy for drying bicycle chains before they rust and whatnot.

 

[mrmojorising]

In addition to:
- dozens of computers, in the field or at the office, with the occasional one that needs deep cleaning due to customer neglect

If some dusting is for work/customers, you may want to consider ESD safey. Some air dusters implement anti static, but it's probably more important to just be in a clean environment

From what I've read, it's generally a non-issue but the chance is not zero. Would be unfortunate and unlucky to kill sensitive electronics with some charged air

Also, air compressors usually have some moisture in their output unless removed so they're not usually the best option for electronics. The little AliExpress handhelds overall are good bang for buck

 

[fill]

Fit a shraeder valve to an expired aerosol tin ala u-tube vids and pump up to pressure with a tyre pump perhaps?