Rechargeable compressed air

[Fri]

Okay, I'd like a can of compressed air to clean up my PC's inside, but I always find it weird that compressed air can is of limited use. It's just air!

So, hyperbole joke aside, does rechargeable compressed air can exist?

Don't recommend me motorized air compressor though :smallwink:

[georgie_leech]

rechargeable compressed air can


Don't recommend me motorized air compressor

Pick one. Ultimately, to compress the air you need to do work on it, and some form of motor is probably your best bet for that.

[Fri]

Hm okay, don't recommend me huge motorized air compressor then? It's not like I need it for my garage, I need it to clean my pc's inside.

[factotum]

The smallest air compressors you're likely to find are the ones that you might use to pump up your bike or car tyres, but I'm really not sure you could use one for the purposes of cleaning out your PC!

[Khedrac]

I don't know how much pressure they got it up to (just a few atmospheres I think) but someone did work out a way of using a waterfall to compress air...

[Dodom]

How strong is a SuperSoaker's jet when it's full of air? If applicable, it might be a ridiculously simple solution!

(it's designed for liquids, so air might not be thrown any good, better ask someone who already has one to test it before buying one)

[Eldan]

Maybe it would be possible to rig something with a hand-powered bike pump filling up a pressure tank...

[Domochevsky]

Hm, I suspect in the long run air cans are the more cost efficient route, unfortunately. Compressors of sufficient strength are expensive.

[halfeye]

Okay, I'd like a can of compressed air to clean up my PC's inside, but I always find it weird that compressed air can is of limited use. It's just air!

No, if you read the can, you'll almost certainly find it's not air, it's probably propane or butane, or maybe a mixture, and it's inflammable. There are several up sides to it not being air, one of which is it doesn't contain water vapour.


So, hyperbole joke aside, does rechargeable compressed air can exist?

No more than any other aerosol product.

[Khedrac]

No more than any other aerosol product.
Actually compressed butane refills for butane "matches" are quite common (and I expect they also make them for cigarette lighters). My parents had a gas match that they refilled for their old gas cooker which did not have automatic ignition.
I have not seen anything similar for other aerosol products so I suppose it depends how you define 'aerosol'

As for the contents of a 'compressed air' can it had better be predominantly nitrogen or oxygen or the various 'truth in advertising' laws will clobber them, not to mention that most alternatives are either a lot more expensive to make or dangerous or both.
Also although a lot of uses for liquid nitrogen have been found (e.g. making decaffinated tea and coffee) it's still a byproduct from the production of liquid oxygen for which there is a huge demand so supply will probably always outstrip demand for N2. If they are producing the cans of 'compressed air' as a side product of liquid O2 then water int eh gas is unlikely to a be a problem - it gets removed much earlier in the production process.

[halfeye]

Actually compressed butane refills for butane "matches" are quite common (and I expect they also make them for cigarette lighters). My parents had a gas match that they refilled for their old gas cooker which did not have automatic ignition.
I have not seen anything similar for other aerosol products so I suppose it depends how you define 'aerosol'
I never heard of butane matches before so far as I remember. Lighters I just didn't think of when I was writing, some are certainly refilable.


As for the contents of a 'compressed air' can it had better be predominantly nitrogen or oxygen or the various 'truth in advertising' laws will clobber them, not to mention that most alternatives are either a lot more expensive to make or dangerous or both.
Which is why it will be there in the small print. I used to use it for painting plastic models, the paints are oil based, the gas is oil based, it works nicely.


Also although a lot of uses for liquid nitrogen have been found (e.g. making decaffinated tea and coffee) it's still a byproduct from the production of liquid oxygen for which there is a huge demand so supply will probably always outstrip demand for N2. If they are producing the cans of 'compressed air' as a side product of liquid O2 then water int eh gas is unlikely to a be a problem - it gets removed much earlier in the production process.
There are cases where you need air, scuba diving, operating theatres, rocketry. All involve big strong cylinders, because to liquify oxygen or nitrogen at room temperature requires really high pressures. Ammonia, butane and propane liquify at about 40 psi at room temperature, as do CFCs which eat holes in the ozone layer. CFCs were used before the ozone hole was discovered, because they were profitable and not smelly (ammonia) or flammable (butane and propane).

[Iruka]

Okay, I'd like a can of compressed air to clean up my PC's inside, but I always find it weird that compressed air can is of limited use. It's just air!
I guess you are talking about ons of those (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_duster)?

[The Random NPC]

I knew a guy that added a bike valve to his can after it ran out. After that he just had to carefully use a bike pump to fill it. If you go this route be careful, the can will heat up and (if you overfill it) explode.

[Avloren]

Hm okay, don't recommend me huge motorized air compressor then? It's not like I need it for my garage, I need it to clean my pc's inside.

You're looking for this:

http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001J4ZOAW

It's a small motorized compressor; you use it just like a compressed air can to clean pcs, except it plugs in and never runs out. I used to work in an IT department that used one of these, for probably the same reasons you want one: because cleaning of dusty pcs was a regular activity, and it pretty quickly pays for itself vs. buying replacement compressed air cans regularly. It's definitely heavier and larger than the expendable cans, but still manageable as a handheld device.

[Fri]

You're looking for this:

http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001J4ZOAW

It's a small motorized compressor; you use it just like a compressed air can to clean pcs, except it plugs in and never runs out. I used to work in an IT department that used one of these, for probably the same reasons you want one: because cleaning of dusty pcs was a regular activity, and it pretty quickly pays for itself vs. buying replacement compressed air cans regularly. It's definitely heavier and larger than the expendable cans, but still manageable as a handheld device.

Aha!

Yes, I think I'm looking for something like this.

Now I know that something like this exist, I can focus my search, thanks!

By the way, when we're at it. Does super soaker without water actually spray compressed air? I never tried it.

Also, does one of those... you know, can sprayer that gardener use, the one they use to spray high pressured fertilizer or pesticide, works without liquid? What I meant is something like this

http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/mOV4D-hxisgMCZzztMXE6YQ.jpg

I'm asking because I don't actually know how those things work.

[thubby]

canned air for PCs incorporates small amounts of other gasses to prevent static buildup (which is a common consequence of venting a gas). I have to imagine there are consumer products to do what you want, but for the love of all that is binary, don't go thinking you can just throw compressed air at a circuit board.

[Yora]

For a simple computer at home, there is this muscle powered solution.

http://uc3.co/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/bandwidth-straw.jpg

[georgie_leech]

By the way, when we're at it. Does super soaker without water actually spray compressed air? I never tried it.



It lets it all out at once in a quick burst, it doesn't pour out the way it does in a compressed air can. Mostly 'cause of the relatively wider nozzle and the pressure ranges are different.

[Fri]

canned air for PCs incorporates small amounts of other gasses to prevent static buildup (which is a common consequence of venting a gas). I have to imagine there are consumer products to do what you want, but for the love of all that is binary, don't go thinking you can just throw compressed air at a circuit board.

I read that generally just air is safe enough to clean your pc's inside, as long as it's not, well moist air or air mixed with oil, and such, and those gas duster that's marketed as "anti static" or such are basically just added value, like how some bread might be gluten free. I'm not saying that they lie and they didn't treat their gas duster to have less static or whatever, but I heard that it's unnecessary.

I won't object for some confirmation from you guys though.

[Flickerdart]

For a simple computer at home, there is this muscle powered solution.

http://uc3.co/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/bandwidth-straw.jpg
Which is a great option if you want saliva on your circuits.