PC Cleaning Station

[Markverhyden]

Looks like the last one I cleaned out... still cleaning up the mess that made

That's why I was thinking furnace blower... with that much suction, I can't imagine any dust making it out of the enclosure!

And it's not just the fan. You need to make sure and have a enough openings opposite the suction duct to generate air flow. Like they had in their example.

One of the contraptions for cleaning a tech came up with when I was at CompUSA was a large cardboard box. He had hooked up the shop vac for the vacuum side but had almost no inlets to create air stream. So a lot of the dust just settled back onto/into the computer.

 

[DocGreen]

And it's not just the fan. You need to make sure and have a enough openings opposite the suction duct to generate air flow. Like they had in their example.

One of the contraptions for cleaning a tech came up with when I was at CompUSA was a large cardboard box. He had hooked up the shop vac for the vacuum side but had almost no inlets to create air stream. So a lot of the dust just settled back onto/into the computer.

Agreed. Could even go so far as to have the exhaust dump back into the box, basically making it one big loop.

 

[bertie40]

Ok, fair point.

 

[Driven1787]

Thanks. They do have a nice setup but I would have wanted to see how it works with something like this. A bit more realistic on what a dirty computer looks like.

EXACTLY!

Personally, I just use my compressor and blow it out into the garage. Or if it is nice I just pull my compressor hose outside and blow it out into the street/yard. If I park my car there, then there is already dirt. I just clean that out later.

As far as the contraption shown in the video, I don't think that it could handle a dirty computer like the one you have shown here. It would more than likely blow a ton of the dust and gunk back out through the opening.

If I were going to make something of this sort I would just buy one of the sandblasting boxes from harbor freight and modify it for your needs. You have an open and shut door for the item, hand holes to do the work, etc.

Coincidentally, I get more like this one than the one in the YouTube video. Combine that with smokers and you have one stinky mess.

 

[DocGreen]

Sandblasting box, huh? I'll check that out!

 

[gikstar]

Well I do understand and sympathize with you and your weather situation.

I too was thinking what would you need something like that for since you only have to step outside, place the computer on a sturdy box and use your air compressor, but then I live in southern California and only put on a light jacket when outside at night.

 

[frederick]

Air compressor, outside, 2 minutes of work...its done. This guy over complicated the process I think.

 

[scott00049]

That's an awesome station, but.... the computer he 'cleaned' wasn't really that dirty. I mean I'm sure it could've used a cleaning, but for demonstration purposes, I would have liked to have seen a computer where I could actually see that the dust was being removed and sucked into the outlet vent. That would have been visually effective. All I got was the sound of air hitting the inside of the case.

Just saying. It's a really nice looking setup though. Great looking shop too.

-Scott

 

[Krynn72]

Air compressor, outside, 2 minutes of work...its done. This guy over complicated the process I think.

Not always possible though. Where I work for instance, has a busy Subway restaurant and starbucks right next door in the same building, and out back is Starbuck's drive through. Blowing dust in people's faces while they try to order their frappuccinos is bad publicity

We *had* a sort of cloth "dust cabinet" in the shop which had a wood stool inside which we sat the computer on, zipped up the front of the cabinet about halfway and blew out the dust there. It'd settle on the floor of the cabinet, and could just be vacuumed every now and then.

Unfortunately, the boss cut a "hand-hole" in one side of the front flaps. It was a good idea, because then we could close up the front entirely and just stick our hand with the air gun in through the hole. The downsize was that this was not an intended function and the cloth was way too fragile for it and the whole front is literally in tatters now after a few months of use.

 

[frederick]

Not always possible though. Where I work for instance, has a busy Subway restaurant and starbucks right next door in the same building, and out back is Starbuck's drive through. Blowing dust in people's faces while they try to order their frappuccinos is bad publicity

Now that I see your point, this would make sense then.

 

[ComputerPro]

A while back I remember seeing pictures someone had posted of their PC cleaning station, but now I can't seem to find it.

Basically they built an enclosed station w/ a compressed air gun inside, and the dusty air was sucked out of the station and filtered.

I'm wanting to build one of my own and was hoping to reference that post for design ideas. Has anyone else built anything like this?

I saw this a year too late Doc sorry lol. We use the same setup but a different dust collector unit attached to it is all due to fact that is is now located next to the station. If your still interested I can post some photos or videos of it working on a much dirtier system when I get to the office this week.

It's very handy for the weather up here (Michigan) especially when its snowing outside. The cheaper alternative that works well, especially for on-site visits is a standard leaf blower. Doesn't pin point the airstream like a compressor but makes very quick work of a dirty system and gets it pretty cleaned in the process. We bought a cheap electric one just for on-sites. Nowadays they have really nice battery units but they are a bit more expensive.

 

[DocGreen]

I saw this a year too late Doc sorry lol. We use the same setup but a different dust collector unit attached to it is all due to fact that is is now located next to the station. If your still interested I can post some photos or videos of it working on a much dirtier system when I get to the office this week.

It's very handy for the weather up here (Michigan) especially when its snowing outside. The cheaper alternative that works well, especially for on-site visits is a standard leaf blower. Doesn't pin point the airstream like a compressor but makes very quick work of a dirty system and gets it pretty cleaned in the process. We bought a cheap electric one just for on-sites. Nowadays they have really nice battery units but they are a bit more expensive.

Yeah, I'd love to see it. I'm right there with ya on the weather... the windchill is like 1° outside right now!

 

[brandonkick]

Sometimes it would be nice to have a space for something like that indoors.

Weather can prevent you from doing something like this, be it either raining or
very cold... you don't want to be spraying out a computer with an air compressor
in either situation. I guess you can in the cold, but I wouldn't want to drag the whole
setup outside when it's freezing out!

My own workstation was pretty bad the last time I cleaned it out, the heat sink was caked
with "fur" and the case itself was pretty dusty. I always use my fathers air system at his
auto mechanic garage. Last time I did so, I had a close call. For whatever reason I decided
to hit the air release and it was spraying water! His compressed gathers moisture in the bottom
of the unit and I guess it's been a long time since he's let it drain off. Normally you'd have some sort
of line dryer or filtering system. He had one, but he claimed it kept leaking and he couldn't get it sorted
out so he just left it off. If you use a compressor, make sure you have a line dryer.

 

[DataMedics]

Agreed. Could even go so far as to have the exhaust dump back into the box, basically making it one big loop.

I don't think I would exhaust it back into the hood after filtering. If you do this you'll lose the negative pressure which will keep the dust from drifting out of the box and into your nostrils. It's the same reason why the clean hoods we use here are positive pressure, to keep dust from drifting in.

Also while HEPA filters are really good, they won't last long against that level of dust as they filter on a really small particle level, and they are wicked expensive. The true HEPA filters we use here are $400 each, but we aren't filtering air that dirty either. If you are going for HEPA I'd strongly recommend you use some good pre filter materials, possibly even washable ones, to catch the bulk of the dirt before it reaches the HEPA.

If you want to buy something pre-built I'd recommend these: http://www.sentryair.com/specs/340-Paint-Spray-Booth.htm This should do fine for what you need.

We buy clean hoods from them and they are really solid. Only difference really is which way the fan spins.

 

[DocGreen]

I don't think I would exhaust it back into the hood after filtering. If you do this you'll lose the negative pressure which will keep the dust from drifting out of the box and into your nostrils. It's the same reason why the clean hoods we use here are positive pressure, to keep dust from drifting in.

Good point

If you want to buy something pre-built I'd recommend these: http://www.sentryair.com/specs/340-Paint-Spray-Booth.htm This should do fine for what you need.

We buy clean hoods from them and they are really solid. Only difference really is which way the fan spins.

That's about perfect... I wonder how the filtration on that would hold up to computer dust.

 

[Calx]

EXACTLY!

Coincidentally, I get more like this one than the one in the YouTube video. Combine that with smokers and you have one stinky mess.

That reminds me how does one tackle the dusty tar build up inside a machine. my compressor doesn't touch it and I am not keen on getting my hand dirty!?

 

[DataMedics]

If you have anyone in your family you don't like, just use their toothbrush.

 

[ComputerPro]

I've been tied up with service calls all day but I had one of the techs snap this pic for me. It's the same station that you saw in the video other than the blue cabinet painted over with green to match our new color scheme. In our old shop we had a hole in the wall directly behind the unit and the dust collector was in that room so it was less noisy. For this shop we would have had to locate the station in the other area away from the benches or run PVC vacuum pipe to it. We opted to just place the unit in the back of the main service area as its pretty big and we got a new / improved dust collector which is quieter and easier to empty ( it has a bottom bin on wheels that can unlatch quickly ). Also has a cartridge filter system since it exhausts closer to us. We are however going to pipe in our big air compressor instead of using the smaller one shown here. Both have inline water/condensation filters. It's a project that I've been procrastinating on unfortunately.

Here is a pic of the one you saw a few years ago in our old shop before it the cabinet was repainted. Much nicer with the doors closed and the air hose wired thru and with the compressor and dust collector in the room behind it.

Here is a close up of how its built. It was basically this:
Cheap home depot bathroom cabinet base (unfinished).
Piece of leftover counter top from our shop counters.
Square cutout in countertop and metal grid fastened as base to put PC's on.
(Metal grid was a shelf from a standard metal commercial shelving unit)

We went down to a local heating company and had them custom make an adapter with sheet metal that would bolt underneath the grid and then funnel down to a standard 4" hole to which dust collector tubing could attach. If memory serves me right it was around $30.

The top part is a cheap 'garage storage cabinet' from Menards with which we just took the doors off of it. We just basically looked for one that was the right dimensions and as low cost as possible since we were really only using its shell. We cut a thin piece of flexible plastic (I forgot where we got it) to act as a small dust shield and to help keep dust inside the unit from escaping.
Lastly we put a hinged door with a long piano hinge on it too help keep dust in also. The door folds down and forward to help load larger systems and folds up as a dust barrier. Small magnets were installed on each side to keep door attached when it's up.

As far as operation it works very well, especially with the newer dust collector.
They do sell regular factory made 'downdraft tables' made for this purpose. Some have removable slide out dust filters and are awesome but are very, very expensive which is why we built ours.

I know in my old YouTube video the example system I used wasn't very dusty and that's my fault lol.
As soon as we have a super dirty, dusty computer come in the shop I'll try to grab a video of it working. Our guys have a habit (which is a good thing) of dusting them out as soon as they come in.

 

[mikemcg]

Terry,

Is this the model of dust collector you use?

http://www.lagunatools.com/accessories/dustcollectors/dustcollector-cyclone2_4#

I have been looking for something to use with our clean out station as we are using a shop vac at the moment and it does not cut it [and it is LOUD]. Work well?

Thanks,

Mike

I've been tied up with service calls all day but I had one of the techs snap this pic for me. It's the same station that you saw in the video other than the blue cabinet painted over with green to match our new color scheme. In our old shop we had a hole in the wall directly behind the unit and the dust collector was in that room so it was less noisy. For this shop we would have had to locate the station in the other area away from the benches or run PVC vacuum pipe to it. We opted to just place the unit in the back of the main service area as its pretty big and we got a new / improved dust collector which is quieter and easier to empty ( it has a bottom bin on wheels that can unlatch quickly ). Also has a cartridge filter system since it exhausts closer to us. We are however going to pipe in our big air compressor instead of using the smaller one shown here. Both have inline water/condensation filters. It's a project that I've been procrastinating on unfortunately.

Here is a pic of the one you saw a few years ago in our old shop before it the cabinet was repainted. Much nicer with the doors closed and the air hose wired thru and with the compressor and dust collector in the room behind it.

Here is a close up of how its built. It was basically this:
Cheap home depot bathroom cabinet base (unfinished).
Piece of leftover counter top from our shop counters.
Square cutout in countertop and metal grid fastened as base to put PC's on.
(Metal grid was a shelf from a standard metal commercial shelving unit)

We went down to a local heating company and had them custom make an adapter with sheet metal that would bolt underneath the grid and then funnel down to a standard 4" hole to which dust collector tubing could attach. If memory serves me right it was around $30.

The top part is a cheap 'garage storage cabinet' from Menards with which we just took the doors off of it. We just basically looked for one that was the right dimensions and as low cost as possible since we were really only using its shell. We cut a thin piece of flexible plastic (I forgot where we got it) to act as a small dust shield and to help keep dust inside the unit from escaping.
Lastly we put a hinged door with a long piano hinge on it too help keep dust in also. The door folds down and forward to help load larger systems and folds up as a dust barrier. Small magnets were installed on each side to keep door attached when it's up.

As far as operation it works very well, especially with the newer dust collector.
They do sell regular factory made 'downdraft tables' made for this purpose. Some have removable slide out dust filters and are awesome but are very, very expensive which is why we built ours.

I know in my old YouTube video the example system I used wasn't very dusty and that's my fault lol.
As soon as we have a super dirty, dusty computer come in the shop I'll try to grab a video of it working. Our guys have a habit (which is a good thing) of dusting them out as soon as they come in.

 

[ComputerPro]

Terry,

Is this the model of dust collector you use?

http://www.lagunatools.com/accessories/dustcollectors/dustcollector-cyclone2_4#

I have been looking for something to use with our clean out station as we are using a shop vac at the moment and it does not cut it [and it is LOUD]. Work well?

Thanks,

Mike

Hi Mike

Yes that's the one we have. It does work well for our setup. It's still loud but not as high pitch as a shop vac, and not as loud as the Delta bag unit we had. Has much better air pull though. We got it at a local Woodcraft store, I think it was on sale if I remember correctly, maybe $100 off or something like that. It does empty much easier also.

The biggest difference between a shop vac is the air flow for sure. The dust collector will pull much more volume