Finding compressed air?

Hi,

I just came back after visiting 4 computer/electronic stores in my city looking for compressed air cans. All 4 stores were out of stock!

Does anyone know somewhere i can buy some online that delivers to Australia, preferably with stock in Australia? If anyone has any suggestions for what else they use to clean their laptops that would be great too, then i won't need the compressed air after all.

Cheers

 

Bicycle pump?

 

I heard someone mention that somewhere else. But then someone responded saying something about bicycle pumps being plastic and therefore the air they pump out is charged, like static air, and that this is not a good idea to pump into electronics.

Here i found it for you: "remember gentlemen, they are made of plastic and/or rubber in places. this means that you will probably end up blowing staticly charged air onto your computer. this is not good. the canned air is discharged prior to canning."

 

lol... that is really stupid. Air cannot have static contained in it.

Trust me, I'm a computer engineer.

 

Only one i can find on Ebay Australia is not cheap "Item number: 120661811661"

Air Cleaning Duster for PC Laptop Computer 200ml BN | eBay

 

D1ck smith or Jaycar will have them. They cost alot, like $15 a can last time i bought one.

I just use my air compressor @ 50psi. Unlimited compressed air.

 

You have to be careful with air compressors as they can contain water, normally their is an drain tap to remove any water build-up.

 

Nearly all air compressors (except portable bike/tyre pumps) will have an air filter fitted on the regulator to get the moisture out.

 

Definitely be careful with the PSI settings, as those air compressors can be very powerful.

 

Thanks everyone i didn't expect so many responses. You were all very helpful.

I tried dicksmith already as well as jb hi fi, harvey norman and one other smaller store. They all have them but they are all out of stock. Jaycar sounds like my last option, i'll check it out.

As for the other comments thanks, i'll keep them all as options if jaycar fails.

Cheers.

 

I dont bother with canned air, not only does it cost money its never strong enough to do the job.

I use a compressor with an air gun. It gets all the dust out of every part of the computer every time and there is no way it will damage anything unless you blow it directly into a fan or something and let the fan spin.

I mean even with the straw on a canned air you can blow right on some dust that you can wipe off easy with your finger and it wont budge, plus they have that nasty habit of being super cold and if you tilt them can freeze stuff.

I clean my computer about once a month with the compressor and have been doing it for years with no ill effects and everything stays looking brand new. Any decent computer shop would also use a compressor to clean dust out of computers.

For attachments I use one like this:



Its good because you control how much air/air pressure you want by how far you pull the trigger.

I also have one like this:



No control on the amount of air but its a super focused jet really good for cleaning heatsinks and stuff where air pressure really matters.

 

Are they expensive? Are they really big? I am just wondering if whether I should invest in a compressor + attatchment. It seems there are differnent types of air compressors out there so could anyone recommend me one that is preferably smaller and light weight (although ultimately I am flexible to whatever works) and where I can buy them living in Australia?

You have definitely put me off buying canned air, and I haven't yet, so I might just use cotton buds for now while I think about getting a compressor.

 

Its good to have an air compressor around, 101 uses as long as you have the air tools/attachments. I have a small one in the office, which works great for dusting out components.

A medium sized compressor is about $100, nitto fittings and attachments are about another $30. You can get them all from supercheap auto:

2HP Air Compressor

Fittings and attachments

 

Are you working in a coal mine?

I am using the below canned air for my clean-up. It does not have any additives causing film coating.

http://www.amazon.com/Stoner-94203-...KIUA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1307779565&sr=8-2

--

 

I got my can of air at the local Superstore (places like walmart have it)

 

Yes I am in a mine right now. Found 5 blocks of iron, and a few redstone this last trip

Honest answer - I have a dusty house since its both old and pet filled. I also keep my stuff very clean usually. I guess I turn to compressed air less than once a month now that I have dust filters on the computer but I still blow those off once a month, its actually on my google calender so my phone reminds me.