Cleaning using compressed air in cans

they work great but are rather expensive. Has anyone used one of the electric "canned air" blowers for cleaning? If so, is it any good.

Various reviews on Amazon of many of them, some good some bad. I am wondering if they move enough air to blow solvent and excess lubricant from the innards of a handgun.

Before anyone suggests it, yes I do have a compressor but it is in the garage and I do my gun cleaning in the basement, I have used it when blowing the water out of an unmentionable after shooting surplus corrosive primed ammo...I do not want to do so as general cleaning practice.

Here is a link to one on Amazon that looks promising: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B77L5HN...aWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&th=1

It sounds like a better idea than the cans of air and would be cheaper but I would want to have one in hand before I passed judgment. Harbor Freight has a 3 gallon pancake air compressor for $70 and I would probably go with that as being more versatile. It also has a built in pressure regulator.

https://www.harborfreight.com/air-t...si-oil-free-pancake-air-compressor-57567.html

Looks like a cool toy. I would need to find it somewhere other than Amazon. I try not to do business with them.

Old-Duckman said:

they work great but are rather expensive. Has anyone used one of the electric "canned air" blowers for cleaning? If so, is it any good.

Various reviews on Amazon of many of them, some good some bad. I am wondering if they move enough air to blow solvent and excess lubricant from the innards of a handgun.

Before anyone suggests it, yes I do have a compressor but it is in the garage and I do my gun cleaning in the basement, I have used it when blowing the water out of an unmentionable after shooting surplus corrosive primed ammo...I do not want to do so as general cleaning practice.

Here is a link to one on Amazon that looks promising: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B77L5HN...aWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&th=1

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Yes, I've been taking my wife's compressed air cans for blowing chips when milling steel and for blowing out guns when cleaning. I have a good compressor but it takes time for it to fill the large tank then dry it out after words. One does not want to leave a compressor on all the time as the water in the tank bottom will eventually corrode the tank to failure.

Since you already have an air compressor why don't you go to Harbor Freight and buy a portable air tank then you could just fill up the portable air tank with your air compressor and take it inside when you are doing your gun cleaning.

ZUG said:

Since you already have an air compressor why don't you go to Harbor Freight and buy a portable air tank then you could just fill up the portable air tank with your air compressor and take it inside when you are doing your gun cleaning.

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Well I have a portable air tank too but mine has a hose that is permanently attached and it has a fitting that goes on a tire valve. Does the harbor freight allow attachment of other air fittings?

Fittings can be changed easily though you might have to cut the existing one off and put on a quick connect. Lowes or Ace have everything you need and it isn't too costly plus you gain a lot of versatility.

hawkeye2 said:

Fittings can be changed easily though you might have to cut the existing one off and put on a quick connect. Lowes or Ace have everything you need and it isn't too costly plus you gain a lot of versatility.

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Probably not a bad idea. I might do that but I wonder just how much use I would get out of it when using a typical air nozzle attachment. Using a typical attachment I don’t think you would get much time from a full tank (I think mine is a 5 gallon). Not sure that I want to go cutting the air hose on my tank. But thanks for the ideas.

I do have a small air compressor that I use for an airbrush. Maybe I could use that…I never gave that a thought.

Interesting tool. I've used an air compressor for years for gun cleaning. Keep any water that may accumulate in the tank blown out, sometimes turn down the dial that controls the force of the air coming out of the nozzle. Fast removal of solvent socked debris hiding in crevices and hard to get areas. Ya need to make sure ya have a firm grip on parts so they don't fly off and/or get damaged. Have a long enough hose that I can take out of my shop door if needed. Also keep a can of pressurized 'canned air' handy for real delicate blowing.

Probably ten years ago or so I started using the air tank to blow out any oil that may be present for corrosion purposes in the cylinders of my stable of percussion revolvers. A quick shot into each nipple cleans out any oil that I used after cleaning the revolvers from any previous shooting. Always follow it up with a quick go around with a large size Q-tip to remove any preservative oil/fluid that may be on the cylinder walls. Many times I'll dip the Q-tip in some denatured alcohol. A quick look from the front of each cylinder while holding the nipple end to light while turning the cylinder to see if cleared finishes the process. Saves firing six percussion caps like used to be done when caps were cheap and readily available. Ah those days of $2-3 per hundred of #10's. I've "never" had a plugged nipple or a cylinder fail to fire using this method.

I have a small Harbor Freight compressor and I hate it. It works but it's terribly loud and takes forever to build pressure. I use it so seldom I will probably just put up with it.

I pretty much live in a swamp……
I wax my barrels then anytime I shoot them I coat the inside and outside of the barrel with bear grease

I bought a small ultra quiet compressor for just this purpose. Got tired of paying for cans of air. Very happy with it.

ADK Bigfoot

A suggestion would be to run a line from the garage into the basement.

I have a good compressor but it takes time for it to fill the large tank then dry it out after words. One does not want to leave a compressor on all the time as the water in the tank bottom will eventually corrode the tank to failure.

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One of my jobs was repair and maint on not just air compressors but also the entire air supply system. I built two compressor plants up when I was doing that work. My plants ran from 1.5 hp to the big Quincy 25 hp duplex units.

If you have an oversized tank, then yes to moisture if it takes a lot of time to fill it up, the whole system heats up and when it cools in the tank it does condense.

I have a small (5 gallon tank) with compressor and I have never had any issues with that and water. Draining water is not that hard and you can change the drain to a ball valve or even an auto drain (the electronic types are the only way to go)

You can even run a line from the tank drain to a convenient location and get any water out that way. Yes the slope will drain back a bit of moisture but a couple of pulses will clear it.

I have had my compressor since around 88. I never have gotten any water out of it. It only runs when I am using it (flip it on). It builds to 40 psi quick if its not still charged, that is enough for blowing purposes.

If you want really dry air then you can buy a desiccant filter from Grainger that has silica in it and those last a really long time.

I never found the need but some get wigged out that there is moisture in air, no an issue as long as it does not condense.

You do not want your compressor outside (inside air is a lot dryer)

Another aspect of too big a compressor is they run and leave a bit of moisture in the head. Its not a short term issue but one of my duplex 25 hp plants should have been 10 hp. Compressors ran such a short time as the demand was low and filled up fast, never got hot.

After a couple of years that tad of moisture built up in the valves and seized them up. Had to pull the heads and clean the valves. Stupid people, would not listen to the experience they paid me for (well I guess they paid me to ignore my experience more like it)

ZUG said:

Since you already have an air compressor why don't you go to Harbor Freight and buy a portable air tank then you could just fill up the portable air tank with your air compressor and take it inside when you are doing your gun cleaning.

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I have an auxiliary tank already but one has to fire up the main compressor any way to fill it so you may as well use the compressor to begin with.
The type writer compressed air cans are small and fast, easy to use and handy plus I don't have to wait for the large compressor tank to fill with air then drain it each time I need a little squirt of air.

You don't need to drain the tank every time (or if its big enough and or the compressor is shot and its not putting out what it should and it runs far more than it should)

You can spend a fortune on canned air. I would get a small compressor and it would pay for itself. Of fill an aux tank and valve it off. As noted those pancake compressors are cheap and you will never wear one out for that kind of service. Maint free as well.

But then I don't use bottled water either, I get it from the tap and put it in any number of handy jugs I have been given or a good juice jug.

Equally anything I buy that needs batteries I try to get a chargeable setup. The saving is huge.

The "canned" air cans contain air that has a very high moisture content, and while I do use them for their convenience, I'm careful to avoid using them where the moisture the air contains may be retained on some metal parts and be conducive to rusting.

Another option is to get an air carry tank, think those are 5 gallon, fill off a main tank. As long as you have 15 psi you will get decent blowing action with a narrow tip air nozzle.

If you have an Amish community in your area you have access to more air compressor knowledge than you will ever need. No electricity but they can have an IC engine. A large Amish property may have an air tank that looks like a railroad tank car. A typical kitchen will be "plumbed" with air lines and fittings along the counters. Food mixers with air motors are common. Well pumps run off the compressor also.
If they need more muscle than air can handle there will be a skid mounted hydraulic system.

I find really cheap compressed air cans at discount stores like Gabe's, Ollie's, etc.

I had a HF cheap pancake compressor. Used it once and returned it. Had to be 100 decibels, maybe more. I now have a small Craftsman cast iron compressor that is fairly quiet and luggable.