I suggest that blowing out the computer boxes, esp. with compressed air, might be a good thing to add to the monthly maintenance tasks. It only takes a couple minutes but might prolong the life of those computers.
Today after I cleaned the Fusion workstation (shocked at how grimy and dirty it was!), for a lark I blew out the tiny little computer box. I think that about 1/4 cup of sawdust/dirt came out of it.
Is it possible to also add better filtering on the intake areas? Would need to be cognizant of not reducing air flow too much, but seems better to proactively keep it out if possible/workable.
As a general rule, when blowing out computers try to ensure that the compressed air isnāt allowed to spin the fans. It is too easy to overspeed the fans and cause bearing damage. So either be careful, or hold the fans so they canāt spin.
For areas where this is a major issue a fanless unit is highly desirable.
Iād skip the compressed air and go with shop vac w/ crevice tool along w/ some kind of brush.
I just blew into it (i.e., using my lungs, although I admit that I then hacked and coughed for 10 minutes). I donāt think thereās any way to get a crevice tool in there, or to filter it. Itās in a small box with many large perforations. Iām still thinking compressed air - although I admit that holding the nozzle 3 feet away from the box would reduce the air pressure going into the box.
Iāve a request into @skyspook to procure either reusable compressed air dusters or something similar, i.e reusable. No disposable canned air.
I bought one of these dust blowers for home use.
Currently $4 on Amazon.
Itās not much, but it might work on the tiny computers.
I have one of those too! I think Iād like something more robust to blow out some of the PCās at the space. I was thinking either some kind of refillable compressed air can, though most if not all of those are labeled ānot for air dustingā, or something like this: https://www.amazon.com/electric-duster/s?k=electric+duster
One thing to be careful about; compressed air tends to have a lot of moisture. Iāve got pitting on sewing machine parts as a result of using compressed air before finding this out. I dunno what all is inside computer units, butā¦
I personally use a ESD safe datavac. They are electric air blowers. The important thing to note is that since they donāt compress, you donāt get moisture buildup. The ESD safe one also helps prevent statically charged air.
They are a tad bit on the pricy side, however they are really durable and last a long time, so in my opinion has always been worth it: DataVacĀ® ESD Safe Electric DusterĀ® ED-500-ESD
I think a small cordless āair blowerā like these would be the best solution. When I looked at refillable air containers all of them warned not for computer/electronic use. I assume because they have unregulated air pressure, so whatever you pump it up to: 90-120 psi (go to lower pressure no volume.)
I think we are overlooking the obvious here. We have argon at the lasers with nozzleās. No need to buy anything extra.
We have a need like this throughout the space though.
Stumbled across this item and figured it might be a good add. We have lots of Ryobi gear.
18V ONE+ High Volume Power Inflator - RYOBI Tools - seems to work well as a blower for cleanup purposes.
Good idea since DMS only needs the basic tool.
FWIW, I used this the last time I was there. Huge clouds of dust came out of the computers for Thunder, Donner, Blitzen. Fusion was in use ā¦
