Yes.
You can also use compressed air in conjunction with a vacuum to clean your PC.
Electric blower pays off pretty quickly compared to compressed air.
Buy a small 3 gallon air compressor from like harbor freight or your equivalent, add in a moisture capture and then go to town. Those hand held ones are fine but you can do a lot more with an air compressor than you can with the hand held ones.
Compressed air is good but there are a few things to consider.
Be aware that if you are using a tool shop compressor it may be too powerful and can tear components from the pcb.
Do it outside and wear a dust mask or stand down wind and try not to breath the dust.
Don’t allow the fans to spin on the compressed air, you may reverse the charge and short components.
I never thought about the fan spinning issue, is it still a problem if I’m just using a can of compressed air?
The fan spinning and causing a short out is a myth. It’s been tested and doesn’t generate enough electricity.
Any chance you’ve got a source for that test?
Gamers nexus, Linus tech tips, electroboom have all tested it on YouTube and shown it can’t do shit. Your goanna have to dig pretty far back as all of them did it as part of like bigger videos. But a shorter less formal, less well-tested less educated tester video should be pretty easy to find, though your mileage may vary on how reliable that video might be.
But otherwise yeah computer fans spinning backwards ain’t goanna hurt nothing realistically. It takes a seriously big fan and a strong ass compressor to even get like .30 mv smaller fans in weaker compressors let alone canned air isn’t even going to be able to manage that or even a fraction of that.
There’s also been protection on motherboards against it for like 15+ years.
It also can only be a problem with the fans that only have 3 cables. The ones with 4 have protection on the fan it self just due to what they are.
Hell nicer 3 cable fans also have protection on them.
So if you some how manage to have multiable points of failure, AND you have like a 140mm case fan, AND you spin it with a strong compressor for a long time.
You might do some damage if it’s a blue moon and you get unlucky.
You have a better chance of dying to a epileptic fit from reading what I just posted then spending a case van backwards causing permanent damage.
But the chance is not zero.
Realistically, you’re just going to hurt the bearings in the fan long before you do any electrical damage. And if you do have a compressor strong enough to actually generate enough electricity to do damage, you’re going to be f****** up the surface mounted components on the motherboard long before the actual fan causes problems
As every electric motor is also a generator, yes. Just put something between the blades before you blow it out.
Those cans suck ass, at least for my experience. As the content cools of through expansion, you have about 20secs of charge before you have to wait for the can to get warm again :-/ but results may vary
I personally own a DataVac Electric Duster (with attachments) that I got on sale for just under $100. It might seem like a lot to pay, but I did the math and figured via forums that people tend to dust their computers 2-4 times a year. I’ve had mine for over 7 years now and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to die anytime soon. And why would it? I’ve used it about 20 times. It should have a life of 180 - 300 uses, but that’s just a hunch. It’s also powerful enough to be used around the shop or workbench for other things besides dusting your electronics. Just use a bit of caution while using. I tend to gently hold my fan blades while I focus the duster on them. It does well, and I then just use several q-tips to carefully wipe the blades clean of any lingering dust.
Here’s a breakdown of the cost. $100 / used 2 times a year / for 10 years = $5 a year.
I got curious about what compressed air in a can is now days and it seems to be about $4.50 - 5.25 per can online, and this was in a bulk buy of 6-12 cans, with each can being 10-12oz. While a can could be saved after using what you need, it has a chance of leaking compressed air from the can while it’s in storage. Not an issue with an electric duster. You don’t have to reorder cans if you just get an electric duster. And another selling point that was important for me, it’s a heck of a lot better on the environment to just get an electric duster for your PC than it is to have a pack of cans shipped to you, use and toss the spent can. And because it’s a compressed item, even after being spent, it’s harder to find anyone willing to recycle them.
Moving onto an electric duster was one of the best things I’ve done to help take care of my electronics. Especially my PC.
Yeah. It won’t damage it with static electricity or physical contact. Unless you’re using some really powerful air pressure.
Assuming this is a desktop PC, prevention is much better. Get a case with dust filters (preferably removable) on the intake fans or just add some to your existing case. I would call this essential if you have pets.
