How to clean a dusty pc

[n30n]

Without air compressor or anything that normal people dont have....

can i use vacuum on it ?

[Azza ☠]

Avoid using a vacuum, it's not safe unless ESD safe, then can still cause the fans to spin for long periods causing damage.

Get a can of compressed air (or ESD safe electric duster).

Open one side of the case. Use short, quick bursts at multiple angles of compressed air, on the fans and heatsinks. The dust should easily bunny up together and jump out of the case. You can then use the vacuum on the floor (if you didn't take the case outside).

[Revelene]

Or buy a Datavac and never spend a cent on air cans again.

Save money and clean all the PCs in the neighborhood in minutes.

[tacoshy]

I dont know why people still believe spinning fans could cause damage... they are supposed to spin. And they dont produce electricity by spinning. the have a magnetic motor not a generator build in.

[Aliquis Freedom & Ethnopluralism]

https://youtu.be/SjUNNCh94Kk

tacoshy a écrit :

I dont know why people still believe spinning fans could cause damage... they are supposed to spin. And they dont produce electricity by spinning. the have a magnetic motor not a generator build in.

Because those two things is the same thing.
I've vaccumed without holding anything but it's likely stupid.

[Astro_80 (WASH YOUR HANDS!)]

tacoshy a écrit :

I dont know why people still believe spinning fans could cause damage... they are supposed to spin. And they dont produce electricity by spinning. the have a magnetic motor not a generator build in.

Bearings. If the fans are spinning faster than they are supposed to, the bearings will wear out faster. Get what I'm saying?

[upcoast]

Astro_80 a écrit :

tacoshy a écrit :

I dont know why people still believe spinning fans could cause damage... they are supposed to spin. And they dont produce electricity by spinning. the have a magnetic motor not a generator build in.

Bearings. If the fans are spinning faster than they are supposed to, the bearings will wear out faster. Get what I'm saying?

Exactly ^, common sense.

[rotNdude]

tacoshy a écrit :

I dont know why people still believe spinning fans could cause damage... they are supposed to spin. And they dont produce electricity by spinning. the have a magnetic motor not a generator build in.

Actually, any motor can be a generator and any generator can be a motor. It just depends on what drives each. When you provide electrical power to the motor, it spins. When you provide mechanical spin power to the motor, it outputs electricity.

Just one example explaining without getting into the detailed electrical engineering behind it.

https://study.com/academy/lesson/electric-motors-generators-converting-between-electrical-and-chemical-energy.html

[Jinn-Gon Qui]

rotNdude a écrit :

tacoshy a écrit :

I dont know why people still believe spinning fans could cause damage... they are supposed to spin. And they dont produce electricity by spinning. the have a magnetic motor not a generator build in.

Actually, any motor can be a generator and any generator can be a motor. It just depends on what drives each. When you provide electrical power to the motor, it spins. When you provide mechanical spin power to the motor, it outputs electricity.

Just one example explaining without getting into the detailed electrical engineering behind it.

https://study.com/academy/lesson/electric-motors-generators-converting-between-electrical-and-chemical-energy.html

Astro_80 a écrit :

tacoshy a écrit :

I dont know why people still believe spinning fans could cause damage... they are supposed to spin. And they dont produce electricity by spinning. the have a magnetic motor not a generator build in.

Bearings. If the fans are spinning faster than they are supposed to, the bearings will wear out faster. Get what I'm saying?

Well put! I should take notice the next time I clean PCs' case fans, CPU fan, GPU fan/s, and PSU fan.

[Revelene]

To be fair, you'd have to spin the fans rather fast to actually generate anything. So fast, that using a simple can-o-air would not be anything to worry about. If you are using something like an air compressor or electric blower, then you could possibly cause damage... but then again, the simple remedy is a finger to stop the blades from moving.

[Aliquis Freedom & Ethnopluralism]

Revelene a écrit :

To be fair, you'd have to spin the fans rather fast to actually generate anything. So fast, that using a simple can-o-air would not be anything to worry about. If you are using something like an air compressor or electric blower, then you could possibly cause damage... but then again, the simple remedy is a finger to stop the blades from moving.

I don't know but AFAIK electrical motors have a high efficency. I don't know if the motor can be of some fancier type which make it not work / not work as a generator with great efficiency. The blades however will of course unlikely have close to 100% efficiency but if 12 volt in generates 2500 rpm then it kinda would make sense if 2500 rpm generated 12 volt. No? My small 80 mm papst fans only spin at 1500 rpm plus I saw they was very expensive (I bought them originally because people said they was good for noise level but the machine made a lot of noise but the fans is like 10 dB or close to that fans so completely silent but .. for what purpose? I wouldn't have heard a 20 dB one either and it would had moved more air and cost less) and I guess it's fan that I've vaccumed them both for electricity generation but also because maybe they have delicate tolerances and then I treat them like that =P
The CPU fan has been harder to suck at-least because of the worse angle (tower cooler.)

Anyway I've accepted it was stupid for quite a long time but I've done it anyway. Like in the PSU I can't just get my finger in either though a piece of plastic strip would likely make the job just fine.

Wonder if one could charge people €5 without taxes / €10 with taxes and 50% household services tax discount to clean their macines with the ESD datavac unit. Not sure it's worth it for myself but if one cleaned out a bunch of machines for a company or some machines and before CRT TVs and such for people then sure.

[Revelene]

Aliquis Freedom & Ethnopluralism a écrit :

Revelene a écrit :

To be fair, you'd have to spin the fans rather fast to actually generate anything. So fast, that using a simple can-o-air would not be anything to worry about. If you are using something like an air compressor or electric blower, then you could possibly cause damage... but then again, the simple remedy is a finger to stop the blades from moving.

I don't know but AFAIK electrical motors have a high efficency. I don't know if the motor can be of some fancier type which make it not work / not work as a generator with great efficiency. The blades however will of course unlikely have close to 100% efficiency but if 12 volt in generates 2500 rpm then it kinda would make sense if 2500 rpm generated 12 volt. No? My small 80 mm papst fans only spin at 1500 rpm plus I saw they was very expensive (I bought them originally because people said they was good for noise level but the machine made a lot of noise but the fans is like 10 dB or close to that fans so completely silent but .. for what purpose? I wouldn't have heard a 20 dB one either and it would had moved more air and cost less) and I guess it's fan that I've vaccumed them both for electricity generation but also because maybe they have delicate tolerances and then I treat them like that =P
The CPU fan has been harder to suck at-least because of the worse angle (tower cooler.)

Anyway I've accepted it was stupid for quite a long time but I've done it anyway. Like in the PSU I can't just get my finger in either though a piece of plastic strip would likely make the job just fine.

It doesn't work that way. Even with an air compressor or electric blower, it still wouldn't generate enough power to damage anything.

Not only that, but there are protections in place that prevent current from flowing back like that.

[TheUnknown]

Compressed air cans

[Birdman Jr]

Be careful if you using something like a pancake air compressor. They can sometimes build up moisture and that will get on your components.

[TheUnknown]

OG Nasty Time a écrit :

Be careful if you using something like a pancake air compressor. They can sometimes build up moisture and that will get on your components.

Well I didn't know that, thanks

[Talby]

OG Nasty Time a écrit :

Be careful if you using something like a pancake air compressor. They can sometimes build up moisture and that will get on your components.

A painless solution for that is an inline air compressor filter[www.homedepot.com], comes with a handy drain valve.

I have one on my hotdog compressor similar to this one[www.homedepot.com]. Strangely it has never collected any water to drain, apparently it's not really a problem on smaller compressors just larger ones. Smaller ones are much easier to maintain and moving it indoors away from humidity is never a problem, unlike larger ones.