Dust Spray - Where?

[strongbad]

Where can I buy some of those canned compressed air online in bigger quantities for cheaper prices? I'm tired of going to Staples or some place like that spending 15-20 bucks for 2 cans.

[ozymango]

If you're gonna be using that much canned air, it might be worth it seriously to invest in a small air compressor. Really! For under $100 you can get a fairly portable tank compressor, buy yourself an assortment of nozzles and attachments, and you'll get a heck of a lot more use out of it than you would spending the same amount of money, even at rock-bottom rates, on canned air.

[Nelson37]

Yes, but the airtank is just not portable enough.

My local wholesale club has 4 or 5 cans for I think for $6.95.

[ozymango]

Yeah, I was thinking of this more for home/shop use than dragging around on house calls.

But I love my compressor!

[jsmithepa]

Costco? Walmart? Shouldn't have to spend more than usd$4 for a 16 oz can.

[BJ_M]

just get a compressed air tank and refill it once a month or so at the local gas station

[Scorpion King]

You should be careful using an air compressor or even an air storage tank because of the danger of water (moisture) being strayed on your electronics. If you would notice air compressors, and even that air tank, has a water drain valve in the bottom to let out the water. Draining out the water is still no guarantee no water will come out the hose with the air....

Canned air is a very dry air and is prefered when it is going to be used on electronics, gas station air is not dry air. Water filters can be installed on the discharge that will remove moisture but they must be cleaned on a regular basic to be that effective. Painters always use these filters because water (moisture) in the air will ruin a new paint job.

You can also get crankcase oil in the air from the larger air compressors in the form of blow-by around the piston rings and I don't think I would want dirty compressor oil being sprayed in my computer either.

I think I'll stick with the canned air myself. :P

Good luck.

[lordsmurf]

www.Outpost.com (Fry's Electronics).
I get 4-packs for like $12 every other month. Lasts me a while.
Full size cans too, not those squatty partial sized ones.

[TBoneit]

How big a quantitiy? We buy in 12 can case lots shiiped from florida. They have a selection of different types.

If case lot appeals to you let me know and I'll look up the URL when I go to work.

[redwudz]

It probably should be mentioned that those cans aren't normally air. One I have handy says it is: difluorethane. Don't breathe the vapor from it for one. And at least mine is marked 'Flammable'. Use good ventilation and no smoking during use. They used Freon in the past, but that's banned now. But this stuff is still in the fluorocarbon family and very similar. I use it a lot also. But try not to expose yourself to the stuff any more than necessary. Info from the California Department of Health Services: http://www.dhs.ca.gov/ohb/HESIS/freons.htm

It helps to know the material you are working with. Read the label and cautions and drop the name of it into Google and find out a little more about it if you plan to use it a lot.

[lordsmurf]

Yeah, I saw a lot of news articles this past spring, because kids were killing themselves by inhaling air cans. It made them "light-headed", so they thought it was cool. About on par with eating glue or sniffing bleach.

[Oscar wallace]

Thought this was going to be about some strange new filter somebody had created.

[ozymango]

You should be careful using an air compressor or even an air storage tank because of the danger of water (moisture) being strayed on your electronics. If you would notice air compressors, and even that air tank, has a water drain valve in the bottom to let out the water. Draining out the water is still no guarantee no water will come out the hose with the air....

True, but you can get a filter-regulator to go on your output, around $25, that'll filter out about 99% of particles, oil, water, etc., as there are lots of power tools (and paint sprayers!) that also seriously dislike moisture. And true, it's not as "dry" as some of your canned air, but it's extremely close. Yeah, you have to change and/or clean filters every once in a while, but I find it's just as easy as having to find a way to dispose of a bunch of empty air cans that aren't really supposed to go into the trash either.

And of course it depends on your needs -- I'm working with hundreds of machines, not just computers but electronics where what we're blowing out is great wads of dust from inside cases, around air inlets, that kinda thing, and canned air just is not economical at that scale.

And if you're using a compressor with enough horsepower to worry about oil from the intake getting into your outflow, you might have a bit more compressor than you really need for just blowing out cases! :P

[strongbad]

Thanks for the suggestions fellas. I'm just going to be dusting mainly my blanks and I guess the occasional furniture and TV equipment. 12 can pk's sounds good. Link please.

[strongbad]

www.Outpost.com (Fry's Electronics).
I get 4-packs for like $12 every other month. Lasts me a while.
Full size cans too, not those squatty partial sized ones.

What should I input in the search? I tried compressed air, canned air, air duster, nothing comes up.

[BJ_M]

http://shopping.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AgFwQVDmng_I7VXTWejCnyzYsr4F;_ylu=X3oDMTBtNTA5a3...anned+air&did=

[redwudz]

Just a add on, from experience. If you blow out a computer, be careful of the fans. I usually put a zip tie into the fan blades to keep them from spinning. If you overspeed the fan, especially in reverse, you can damage the bearings. It only takes a second to secure the fan blades with a piece of plastic and you will prevent damage to the bearings.

[TBoneit]

http://blowoff.com/ will let you look at their catalog etc.

As with anything that depends on a liquid boiling off to generate the pressure the can gets cold with use and if you tilt the can you can end up spraying the liquid and really cooling what the liquid hits as well as shortening the useful life of the can since the a certain amount of liquid = many times more in gas.

[Nelson37]

That was $6.95 for all four cans, BJ's club in Florida. Have seen similar at Sam's. These are not always in stock.

When the can gets fairly cold, stop using it for a few minutes.

[handyguy]

It depends on what kind of air you want.

If its for electronics, you want electronic air cause it doesn't drip.

"danger of water (moisture) being strayed on your electronics."