I don't even want to think about how much money I have thrown away on canned air over the years. And, while I do have an air compressor in my garage, it's not the most convenient method of cleaning a computer (not to mention the dusty garage); I have to fill up, pull out the hose, clean the PC, drain the compressor, put away the hose. On top of that, you have to worry about things like moisture from the Air Compressor and ESD.
So, I have been looking at these "Electric Dusters" from DataVac. They have 2 different models under $100 that have piqued my interest, I'll drop links below.
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http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-...UTF8&qid=1460776492&sr=8-2&keywords=ED-500ESD
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http://www.amazon.com/DataVac®-Elec...UTF8&qid=1460776492&sr=8-1&keywords=ED-500ESD
Does anyone own one of these gadgets, or have you used one? Whats your thought on these? In the long run it's obviously more cost effective that canned air, but I am left to wonder how well they perform. Your thoughts/opinions?
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Moisture from an air compressor is less of a deal than people make it out to be. Its probably more damaging to the steel tanks which rust from the inside out, than to actual electronics itself.
I've personally found that you have to be awfully careful though with compressed air and how 'powerful' the nozzle is. I once ripped a number of surface mount soldered components off of a PCB by using a bit too powerful of a stream.InkDigger likes this. -
Have you ever used one of these DataVacs? I'm just wondering if they "really" work as well as they are touted. It's not like I go through $100 worth of canned air every year, but this seems like a useful gadget if it actually performs as well as canned air. -
John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator
Personally, I prefer to use a vacuum cleaner. The new generation of Lithium-powered hand-held vacuum cleaners are useful around the house and are are also good for cleaning computers.
John -
Buy it. Seriously buy it now and never buy another can of compressed air.InkDigger and tilleroftheearth like this. -
StormJumper Notebook Virtuoso
InkDigger likes this. -
Last edited: Apr 16, 2016
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Robbo99999 Notebook Prophet
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tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...
Everything creates static charge (even breathing). No matter what you use to clean components with; properly removing ALL power sources and grounding the equipment prior to the cleaning is vital.
Robbo99999 likes this. -
Robbo99999 Notebook Prophet
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tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...
You don't ground the equipment you're using to do the cleaning with.
You ground the equipment you're cleaning.
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Robbo99999 Notebook Prophet
EDIT: the way I try to do this currently is by:
1) unplugging laptop & removing battery, long press of power button of laptop to drain any residual electricity.
2) Grabbing tool which will be used for whatever I'm trying to achieve with the laptop (ie screwdriver) and then touching metal part of laptop chassis to ground myself & tool to laptop.
Is that about right? How would you do that if you were using a vacuum cleaner that might constantly generate it's own static as it's being used (I'm making an assumption)? (Based on the fact that I managed to fry my RAM with a vacuum clearner a couple of years ago and why I choose to use cans of compressed air instead now)
EDIT 2: I know there's anti static wrist straps & mats you can get if you want to do it properly, but I don't have those.Last edited: Apr 17, 2016 -
John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator
John -
Robbo99999 Notebook Prophet
EDIT: a quick Google search warns of vacuum cleaner woes:
http://www.howtogeek.com/57870/ask-...rolling-multiple-computers-with-one-keyboard/ -
tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...
It is the difference in potential that will make a discharge (towards one or the other); doesn't need a ground to make it jump.
But the more sensitive component will be the one that may be affected by it.
Robbo99999 likes this. -
Robbo99999 likes this.
Alternative To Canned Air.
Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by InkDigger, Apr 15, 2016.