Hair Dryer or Rocket? I wonder what other users think about blowing dust particles with a cold-air hair dryer. I am talking about using a low setting so that one does not blow the...

bunuweld Loc: Arizona

I wonder what other users think about blowing dust particles with a cold-air hair dryer. I am talking about using a low setting so that one does not blow the whole camera away in the process.

pigpen

bunuweld wrote:

I wonder what other users think about blowing dust particles with a cold-air hair dryer. I am talking about using a low setting so that one does not blow the whole camera away in the process.

I got a rocket. it cost $10. I'd be concerned of a hair dryer adding more dust than it eliminates.

bunuweld Loc: Arizona

pigpen wrote:

I got a rocket. it cost $10. I'd be concerned of a hair dryer adding more dust than it eliminates.

That may be a good point. I was thinking that, even at a low setting, the air blow would be stronger than the Rocket's and perhaps more efficient, but I have no evidence for or against that.

Wall-E Loc: Phoenix, AZ

bunuweld wrote:

I wonder what other users think about blowing dust particles with a cold-air hair dryer. I am talking about using a low setting so that one does not blow the whole camera away in the process.

Never heard of a 'cold-air' hair dryer. The ones I've seen have 'cool shot' buttons to turn off the heat TEMPORARILY. And the heaters, whether they're on or off, are VERY dirty and throw off junk with no notice.

pigpen

bunuweld wrote:

That may be a good point. I was thinking that, even at a low setting, the air blow would be stronger than the Rocket's and perhaps more efficient, but I have no evidence for or against that.

My rocket, allegedly, has a filter at the other end at the air "intake" so it will only blow clean air.???

Db7423 Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Copied this from BH Photo:

The Giottos Rocket Air Blower is made from a silica gel, it is very powerful and refills quickly.

The Rocket Air has an air valve to prevent it from breathing in dust and blows out a powerful stream of air to blow dust away, to make cleaning lenses, cameras, filters a breeze.

It stands upon its own and can be set on its side upon a table without rolling around
Made of a nontoxic, environmentally friendly material, resistant to both high and low temperatures, tear-proof
It is easily cleaned and quite powerful, and its nozzle can be removed and stowed
Most importantly, you can take it on a commercial aircraft.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

I can imagine using a hair dryer on lenses and lens filters. But I would be reluctant to use it on the mirror or other parts of the interior. Dust and dirt can accumulate within hair dryers; I certainly would not want to blast that stuff into my camera's body.

bunuweld Loc: Arizona

rook2c4 wrote:

I can imagine using a hair dryer on lenses and lens filters. But I would be reluctant to use it on the mirror or other parts of the interior. Dust and dirt can accumulate within hair dryers; I certainly would not want to blast that stuff into my camera's body.

I have used one on my PC, whose insides are a notorious dust collector, and on the keyboard. It does a great job on those two, but I am hesitant to use it on the camera, and more so when it involves the interior of the camera body. Opinions about that aspect are welcome.

bunuweld Loc: Arizona

Wall-E wrote:

Never heard of a 'cold-air' hair dryer. The ones I've seen have 'cool shot' buttons to turn off the heat TEMPORARILY. And the heaters, whether they're on or off, are VERY dirty and throw off junk with no notice.

There are cold-air hair dryers. Here is a link:

http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/cold-air-hair-dryer.html

The one i use is an old one whose resistor gave up and it only blows cold air. Instead of its going to the garbage bin I found some unanticipated use for it.

bunuweld Loc: Arizona

pigpen wrote:

My rocket, allegedly, has a filter at the other end at the air "intake" so it will only blow clean air.???

I didn't know that and it makes sense. A good idea that perhaps could be applied to a hair dryer by covering the air intake opening on the back of the dryer with an appropriate tissue.

Db7423 Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

bunuweld wrote:

I didn't know that and it makes sense. A good idea that perhaps could be applied to a hair dryer by covering the air intake opening on the back of the dryer with an appropriate tissue.

Something clean and dust free you could try is a paper coffee filter though it maybe to restrictive? :)

Pepper Loc: Planet Earth Country USA

I use the Giottos Rocket Air Blower and find it very effective and would not recommend the use of a hair dryer as the hair dryer will pull dust in from the intake grill and the wire mesh filter will do little to nothing to filter out dust. Using a coffee filter will cause the hair dryer to over heat if used for any length of time. The thermals in the hair dryer will not allow it to run very long in an overheated condition not to mention it's hard on the hair dryer.

Db7423 Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Pepper wrote:

I use the Giottos Rocket Air Blower and find it very effective and would not recommend the use of a hair dryer as the hair dryer will pull dust in from the intake grill and the wire mesh filter will do little to nothing to filter out dust. Using a coffee filter will cause the hair dryer to over heat if used for any length of time. The thermals in the hair dryer will not allow it to run very long in an overheated condition not to mention it's hard on the hair dryer.

You are correct about the thermals but he is running the dryer cold. I too use the Gittos Rocket- see my post above. ;)

Pepper Loc: Planet Earth Country USA

Db7423 wrote:

You are correct about the thermals but he is running the dryer cold. I too use the Gittos Rocket- see my post above. ;)

Doesn't matter if he's running it cold or not the motor is what will overheat if you throw a filter beyond the wire mesh on it. The motors used in the typical hair dryers are not very robust.

Db7423 Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Pepper wrote:

Doesn't matter if he's running it cold or not the motor is what will overheat if you throw a filter beyond the wire mesh on it. The motors used in the typical hair dryer is not very robust.

I defer to your expertise. I thought the thermal protector was to assure the heating element was getting enough air so that it would not overheat.