Dust Off

[mitchafi]

You know, comes in little cans, usually has a straw that you can attach to the end of it to get into hard-to-get spots, gets really cold when you use it. Well, is it safe to use on say, your cpu heatsink, to get dust out of the fan? I already did, and my PC still works, just wondering if it's a wise thing to do

 

[RussianSoldier]

It should work. You'll probably want to unplug the system as an obvious precaution, and be sure not to tilt the can too much, or it will spray out freezing liquid and cause condensation to form.

 

[Algere]

If "Dust Off" is a can of compressed air then it should be fine.

 

[RussianSoldier]

I myself have always used an air compressor...

Another thing you may want to be wary of is ruining the fans. I don't know exactly how fast those cans of air can spin a fan, but an industrial air compressor is enough to ruin the bearings...

 

[drag]

Things you have to watch out for is stuff like the fans. Compressed air would be enough to ruin some fans. Usually you stick like a pen or something into the fan to stop it from spinning.

Take the fan off of the heatsink if you can. I've had mats of dust form underfans and it nearly ruined a CPU.

Not all dust is just "dirt" some of it is conductive electrically. So be carefull, if you blow a bunch of dust and it gets crammed into places like your PCI ports it can cause weird issues. Dust also attracts moisture, which promotes corrosion. So be carefull what your blowing were.

Also try to clean out the grills for powersupplies and get big hunks of dust out first by hand. Don't want to blow that into the power supply.

Wear a mask/goggles, or at least be carefull. It sucks to open up a case and blow into it with a air can only to come out spitting dust and in tears.

Umm...

Pretty simple, common sense stuff.

Since the CPU heatsink problem (the dust came out in a compressed mat, looked like a nasty little rug for a mouse or something) I use intake fans and use a filter on it. As long as you do that and have positive pressure in your case, dust should never be a issue. Exhaust fans can creative negative pressure and you end up with things like air being sucked thru your cdrom or something, and then after a couple years it gets dust bunnies (although it shouldn't be a problem if your case is well ventalated).

 

[imported_Nacelle]

I wound never use an air compressor. A small amount of oil comes out along with the air. You know, the compressor's lubricant.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: RussianSoldier
I myself have always used an air compressor...

Another thing you may want to be wary of is ruining the fans. I don't know exactly how fast those cans of air can spin a fan, but an industrial air compressor is enough to ruin the bearings...

Interesting. I occasionally (6-12 months) clean out my PSU and case fans, etc., usually with one of those cheap compressed-air cans. I usually clean out the fans too, and "spin them up" using the compressed air on the blades. I'm sure that an industrial compressor is probably more powerful, but it is likely that one of those cans of compressed air could actually damage anything? That being said, I've never lost a fan, some of my case fans have been running for 5+ years. I figure that allowing dirt to build up on the fans is actually a lot more harmful than spinning them around with some air. I also only use ball-bearing fans, never sleeve. I figure that probably has a lot to do with it as well.

Something that people probably should know, though - those cans of "air", are actually bottled surplus industrial "gas" that is captured and compressed. It is not "air", at least in the sense of whatever is floating around that you breath. In fact, most of those cans, if you read the label carefully, are supposed to only be used in well-ventilated areas. Many people do not realize this. (I don't think that the gas that they use is dangerous, it's probably mostly inert, but if used in enclosed areas, could displace the oxygen in the air that you breath.)