Welcome to my review of the "Canless Air System O2 Hurricane Computer Dust." It's a long name, one I had to look up for this review.
We men and women have fought over dust for many years. It covers our computers, gaming systems (
NES), haze our monitors and reminds us that everything turns to dust. There is a much more dire need to clear dust and it all boils down to Heat and Static. It's so bad manufacturers try to one-up this problem by having fans that power up to full to try to knock dust out. Sadly, it's never enough. The fans themselves become victims of dust and their power becomes drained. That coupled with the insulation by dust that hinders heatsinks and you get a snow ball effect of heat and destruction. Enter Canned Air.
Canned air allows us to knock those dust bunnies around like Elmer Fud. If you've ever worked on a computer that looks like...
You'll know what I'm talking about. Dust so thick you can peel, and with other unliving things... Disgusting. This, folks, is where we sometimes do our work. Not to mention if you cut your hand inside of there, I hope you aren't afraid of shots!
My work area has 200 or so computers; all buzzing along happily as well as a building that spits out dust "poo." - Small bits of dust and dirt that like to find their way into my tea cup when I'm not looking. Moving computers for clients gives me a wonderful opportunity to clear out dust and try to get things prepared. 1 Canned air for 3 computers. That's it. Not to mention that I'm worried that it'll start spraying liquid from the nozzle... or that it starts to freeze and drip from the moisture on the can. There has got to be a better way, a safer way.
This is is clean computer before dusting:
After: (Not too shabby for being cordless
)
Now, there are many alternatives. Most of them all include a cord, wiring and a lot of noise. I've use small vacum cleaners (Small on power, not on noise), Air compressors (Small on noise, until the compressor kicks in). I'm trying to get away from wires. So many darned wires! I trip over wires, and air compressors aren't exactly the most "mobile" things! So I seen this little guy on Think Geek, did some research. I was skeptical, but I was unable to find any real evidence other than a small video with no real audio.
Here's the Marketing hype:
1.
MPH: 150 - 200
2.
No Chemicals: No warnings.
3. Doesn't Freeze.
4.
Reusable: 1 Charge = 25 Cans of Canned Air. 500 Charges.
5.
Cordless.
6.
Can be used in any position
7.
Hand-Made in USA.
8.
10 Min constant.
-- Box Opening & Product Shot --
I pick up my packages at the post office, so having a White package, instead a tan-yellow package helped! Made from recycled.
Everything, all beside a canned air:
Charging:
The Canless Air System beside it's competitor - 8oz Canned Air:
2 Straws.
1 Canless Air
1 Power Adapter:
Model: FY1600300.
Input: AC 100-240V 50/60Hz 8W
Output: 16v 0.3A
-- Deconstruction --
This will probably void your warranty...
It's built tough, and the case didn't want to budge.
10 AA batteries are inside. Not sure of the type of battery as they were covered with a rubber coating as well as unlabeled. However going off the AC adapter... they're
NiMH.
-- Thoughts --
1. Lack of high power.1a. With canned air, you could pull the can away a bit and still get decent strength.
1b. You'll need to put this device closer to the dust.
1c. It
will still clean off the dust in the computer. I've tested some dusty computers in the office, ones I've been wanting to clear off for a while. It's nice to see all the dust fly around.
- For the heavier stuff. Ya know, peeling is always a good option. Canned Air has trouble with these globs.
2. The straw:2a. You don't get a
I]much[/I stronger stream of air with it on. It's main use - to get into tight spots. You just make the motor work a little harder.
2b. Taking a thinner straw (
Duct tape) doesn't make a stronger stream, either. The motor will scream at you to the point I didn't want to to any real testing with it.
2d. The power is consistant. There's no rotating, it doesn't get hot (
or cold)
2e. It's not secure to the the rest of the body. I've had the straw fly because I've moved it around too much.
Bottom line: The straw is
completely optional. If I choose to use it, I would need to tape it to the opening. If you want the most power, than having the straw is definitly key. Make sure to glue it inside!
3. Trigger:
It's a light-weight trigger. No effort to use.
4. Weight:
It doesn't feel overly heavy for the size. I'd say a little more than a normal, full canned air.
5. Noise: 
It's office-acceptable.
Will I keep this?
That's a tough choice. At one hand I could easily use the 87 dollars for other things. But I'm also aware that 87 dollars roughly is just the up-front ticket to potentially never needing to get carded for canned air again. Yeah... I had to explain to the local computer shop "I'm not a drug addict". It's the
only time I've had to whip out my A+ and Network+ cards to prove I work on computers! (
Who says these little cards are worthless?)
I like the compact nature. It's safe, from what I can tell. It's works on heavy-dusted computers. I've tested a customer's computer and... yeah... Definitely works.
While I'm not a fan of the batteries and not being able to replace them easily... The cost savings still outweighs buying packs of canned air.
Summary: Keeping.
Before anyone screams "I was paid". I wasn't. I shelled $87+16 for this review. I'm hoping that people can make an informed choice using my review as it is unbiased.
