Drying car?

I finally got a chance to try out the Griot's mini drying gun (which appears to be a rebranded Master Blaster "Sidekick" (not the full-size MB)). The good news is that it's super lightweight and small so that it's a thousand times (approximately) more maneuverable than the leaf blower. It's also pretty quiet. I never felt like the leaf blower dried the car as much as it just moved water around. I feel the same way about this mini blower. The best way to use it is dry the car lightly with a towel and then hit it with the air gun to get water out of crevices, wheels, behind license plates, etc. Used in this way, the drying gun is great.

I never pulled out my leaf blower because it was so awkward to use, but I will absolutely use the mini-gun every time I wash anything. You can use it on the interior too to blast junk from under the seats that you can't reach with a vacuum. I don't find that the it allows you to dry the car faster, or without using a towel, but it allows you to dry it a lot more thoroughly than you do with a towel. It doesn't put out as much air as a leaf blower, but seems to dry a bit better because the air comes out warmer. I am very happy with this purchase.

 

interesting that you are using the towels first and then the gun. i've had good results in the opposite order (leaf blower and then microfiber towel for any residual drops). of course it is important to not put pressure (e.g. rub) the towel on the car when doing this.

 

In thinking about it some more, a better way to think a better way to think about is as two different tools. The leaf blower moves enough air that it can help with drying while the gun is not as good at drying. However the gun is much better for detail work. The gun puts out a ton of air for its size, but its not overwhelming so I feel safe using it in the interior or under the hood where I would NOT feel safe doing that with my leaf blower.

Has anyone tried removing the snorkel from the leaf blower? That seems like it would make it much easier to maneuver and maybe would broaden the air flow so that it dries better. On my leaf blower, the air is such a concentrated stream that it just blows the water into crevices. It seems like it would work better without the snorkel. I'm not sure if my Toro leaf blower allows the snorkel to be removed, need to dig up the owners manual to see.

 

Leaf blowers... Really ?
Maybe... Maybe on engine. It's not filtered, meaning any crap will be blown and may scratch your expense paint.
If using gas blower it is heavy and if you remove the snorkel like someone suggest you will soon kill the motor c besides, the air displacement will drop a lot.
Electric are lighter but weak, still no filter.
I have the master blaster now.

 

My small leaf blower has a cage over the intake fan, flush with the bottom of the case. It is never lower than my knees. Unless the dust or dirt is air born, it's not going through my blower. Do NOT use a blower vac. There WILL be junk in the pipe in that case. I only use the small one for the car now these past several years.

 

Nobody is getting 4 horsepower drawing 20A @ 120V, let alone 8 horsepower. I don't know what the MB manufacturer is up to publishing claims like that.

 

Many, many years ago, I used to use a leaf blower on my M3 or on my 750iL. There's many ways to skin a cat in this case. Some are better, I use the Master Blaster dryer for all of my cars now as well. So, it's just a case of finding which tools get the job done, and which tools do the job a little bit better.

For instance, the MB is great at getting water out of the door jambs, especially at the front end where the door meets the front quarter panel (on my 360). This is mostly because it has a small nozzle connected to a flexible hose. Try getting the rigid pipe discharge from a leaf blower to do that without scratching the paint on the door!

I washed the 360 this weekend and used the Master Blaster to dry the car. Every time I use it, I'm reminded at how much better this tool is for the job at hand.

 

I use my air compressor.. 150 gal.. that I use for air tools as well. Its great..plus the air compressor always comes in handy..

R

 

Another damned EE in THE valley. ;>) I was going to point out that both MB advertising 8hp and Brand X advertising 2hp claim to draw 17 amps. Since I ordered my MB this morning, it'll be interesting to see which of my circuits will allow me to use close to 20 amps.

Three hours after I ordered it, my next door neighbor came up to me while I'm washing my car in the rain, and told me how he is using de-ionized water for the final rinse. No drying at all.

 

Well, I had mine plugged into a surge suppressor with a 15 "breaker" on it which would trip after ~10 minutes of use. It also, after I plugged it directly into the wall eventually made a GFCI in the basement trip -- this is a known odd GFCI though, so that may be unrelated.

I'm about to go on a trip, or I'd hook it up through an ammeter and see what it really draws, but it *does* have a serious power cord and the plug gets warm...

However, AFAICT, 8HP = ~ 6000W. At 110V that's ~55A, so, um... yeah...

W

 

Just ordered a MB on Amazon. Thanks guys.

 

I use my MB on a dedicated 20amp outlet I had installed in my garage. I quickly learned not to throw both switches on at the same time because it would trip every time. Start one motor and wait a few seconds and then throw the other one. There is some serious power in those machines.

 

... and Costco seems to have these on sale again (until the end of the year, or stocks run out) $350 - CR SPOTLESS De-Ionizing Spotless Water System?

Makes a nice gift if you need one

 

What about my F430 engine - it is covered with pollen - any cleaning suggestions ? Kelly

 

A simple solution for the engine bay might be to just to rinse the engine bay with a couple of gallons of distilled water (available for 99 cents or so at the local Piggly Wiggly). There should be no spots if you can't dry all the nooks and crannies.