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A great alaternative to compressed air/vacuum to clean PC’s

For many years I have used a portable vacuum to clean out my customer’s computers when I make house calls. While I still sometimes use a portable Vacuum with plastic attachments to clean out PC’s, I have switched to mainly using the Metro DataVac Electric Duster.

This nifty electric duster is basically one of Metro’s powerful vacuum motors enclosed in a small can. It comes with many attachments and outputs a very powerful and consistent stream of air. Unlike expensive air cans which become cold and loose their power after a few minutes of use, the Electric Duster blows hard as long as you need it to.

Some of the cons to using this instead of a vacuum is the fact you will need to take the PC outside to blow it out otherwise dust will go everywhere. It runs on standard 120v AC so you will need to have a plug available within range of the (ample) 15ft or so foot cord. If you use it continuously for more than 5 minutes or so the air and can becomes very hot but not so hot that it will burn you or cause problems for the PC. It is also VERY loud, louder than most Vacuums.

The positives vs vacuuming the PC, or using a standard compressed air can, outweigh the negatives. The risk of accidentally damaging a component or creating a static discharge when using a vacuum is higher (although I have never had this happen). A vacuum will do a good job at cleaning the PC, but the force of the air stream from the Electric Duster is very powerful and reaches cracks and crevasses to blow out dust in places which the vacuum will not get to. Aside from the massive savings compared to compressed air cans, you also have no problem turning the Electric Duster upside down or at any angle to position it - compressed air cans will blow ice out if you turn them upside down. The Electric Duster is also much smaller and easier to carry around than my portable vacuum. Finally, the Electric Duster is environmentally friendly compared to compressed air cans or even Vacuums which you have to throw away the bags etc.

While the Electric Duster is a bit pricey, for those of you who buy a lot of compressed air this is a must have replacement.

EDIT: Almost a year later this blower is still working strong! The complaints about the black nozzle shooting off seen in other reviews were listened to by Metro and the newer versions have a button/release mechanism. I still stand behind this 5-star review!

Update (5/19/2012): I also found some auctions for this item here.

The featured review for this product, Metro Vacuum ED500 DataVac 500-Watt, 0.75-HP Electric Duster Tools & Hardware, was written by GuruGuys.

The average rating for this item is 5 out of 5 stars, according to 3 reviews.