Drying your car...leaf blower style!

builthatch said:
you know i always thought that too, for years actually - that's why i ended up getting this electric Toro four years ago haha - but i couldn't find proof that they are doing that (routing exhaust through the outlet).


you don't need a powerful blower to properly blow the water off of a car. my Toro is supposedly rated at 235mph or whatever...doesn't matter, it's still overkill and it's only a basic electric blower. anything more powerful would probably be more apt to stirring up sediment around the vehicle as opposed to simply blowing things off of it.

for those who use a blower for all the uses a blower has, i can see worrying about how powerful it is versus electric blowers, but for anyone who just wants one to dry their car and blow grass clippings off of their sidewalk...a good e-blower will take care of that without any issue, they are cheap, durable and you don't have to mix fuel ; )
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Ahhh....no I dont know of any blowers that route the exhaust through the tubes any more. This is a rear exhaust blower.


Its not about MPH, means absolutely nothing, its CFM with the tubes on, thats the only number that matters.


Nothing wrong with electric blowers, I just prefer not to drag a cord around with me is all. I can also dethatch my lawn with same machine. :)
 
I actually have this:

Amazon.com: Metropolitan Vac 'N' Blo Compact Vacuum: Home Improvement

Found it too difficult to use and it's too tiny. I use it more for vacuuming the interior of the vehicles than blowing air.

Just went to Lowes and saw the $30 electric troy built leaf blower.. .I think for drying cars this is the way to go.

Shop Troy-Bilt 7.5-Amp Sweeper Corded Electric Blower at Lowes.com

I own an Echo gas powered one but being in the garage I'd rather not smell the fumes every time I dry the vehicle. I normally use a California blade and that has always worked well until I saw someone using a blower and it took them 30 seconds to dry their car... plus I guess most of all... LESS touching of the paint to do anything...

Thanks for the tips!

-Nigel
 
I have a Husqvarna gas. I never knew they used to route exhause through the tube. i have been using gas blowers since the 80's to do yards and have used back pack and hand held, always exhause from the rear. I just think its a bit heavy and awkward to use. I never did get why not to use a gas blower till now. but I dont think a rear exhause blower is going to effect to much of a problem. I just want an electric one that is smaller and lighter.
 
I have an electric one I bought off Craigslist for the campsite to blow leaves off the carpet outside the camper, plus this one I use around the house and for drying the car. This thing is a beast..
leaf-blower-dallas-echo-pb755st.jpg
 
dont get why people use leaf blowers or even towels. Properly polished paint with a coating on top of it you just use water to dry your car! It's so easy. Not my car but exactly what I do.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtoWk9thSEI]Dry your car with Water! - YouTube[/video]
 
Zapa said:
dont get why people use leaf blowers or even towels. Properly polished paint with a coating on top of it you just use water to dry your car! It's so easy. Not my car but exactly what I do.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtoWk9thSEI]Dry your car with Water! - YouTube[/video]
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Sheeting is effective but doesn't get the car completely dry and free of water, I don't care what anyone says. And not all cars are filled with big flat panels that enabled them to be sheeted. My trans am has so many curves and spots like the spoiler, hood, and front bumper which are impossible to sheet. Leaf blower makes drying it a breeze.
 
My blower is a cordless Black and Decker. When down washing I use the sheeting method then blower for around mirrors, trim and wheels. Then a sprits of a spraydetailer and adams driying towel to make it shine. When done pull car out to blow out garage and entrance to house and patio :)
 
Glad to read this thread.... I've been using an electric leaf blower for a while. Someone told me I was nuts for using it and said I was basically sand-blasting my car.
This person also paid $350 for a dryer for their car. It's not a MasterBlaster, but something like it.

I'll take the $50 leaf blower.... It cleans my yard, too :xyxthumbs:
 
I use an electric blower with a little adapter I put together with plumbing supplies--

tn_AssortedDIY007.jpg
 
ski2 said:
I use an electric blower with a little adapter I put together with plumbing supplies-
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Hey, great idea. A hose and attachment from a shop vacuum can be used. :dblthumb2:

Why didn't I think of that................
 
ski2 said:
I use an electric blower with a little adapter I put together with plumbing supplies--

tn_AssortedDIY007.jpg
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Could you give some specifics and closer shots? what is that end piece and what did you use for the mating fitting?

If your wet vac is clean enough you could reverse the hose and use it as a blower also.
 
beamerstrumpet said:
Could you give some specifics and closer shots? what is that end piece and what did you use for the mating fitting?
If your wet vac is clean enough you could reverse the hose and use it as a blower also.
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I thought about using the vac in reverse as a blower, but you'd have to wash out the vac and hose everytime you wanted to use it to blow dry the car.

The hose is a standard Sears 2 1/2" vac hose that is dedicated to this blower so it's never used for vacuming. The end piece is a standard Sears 2 1/2" Concentrator vac attachment. Eventually I plan to get an Air Wand The New Air Wand Originally I tried this with a 1 1/2" hose, but it reduced the airflow too much so went to the larger hose.

I just went to Home Depot with my blower and started playing around with all the different fittings in the plumbing department until I found the right combination for my blower--each blower will be different ofcourse.

The first piece (that is inserted in the blower) is a 2" to 1 3/4" reducer (if I remember correctly) note that I used a 1/2" wide rubber band as a gasket--you can see the biege color in the photo below. The second piece is a vac hose attachment for connecting 2 vac hoses. It's fixed to the reducer with 3 short, small sheet metal screws and then inside a bead of silicon caulking to seal the unit.

tn_bloweradaper003.jpg


tn_bloweradaper002.jpg
 
ski2 said:
I use an electric blower with a little adapter I put together with plumbing supplies--

tn_AssortedDIY007.jpg
Click to expand...

Quite an ingenious idea! I'll have to look into something like that with mine. :xyxthumbs:


I have the Troy-Bilt 180B that's pictured on the first page. I feel it works reasonably well. It's a bit lacking at times in the amount of water it moves off the car, but for the price I paid, it's not the end of the world. I'm very particular with it though. It gets stored inside in a closet to keep it clean, and I made a custom filter over the bottom intake to further ensure debris stays out of it. One added plus is that the air it blows is actually quite warm, aiding in drying.

I've thought about using my gas-powered Echo backpack blower, but I'm reluctant because it may not blow perfectly clean air since it's a little dirty inside the tube, and it may be so powerful it'll start kicking rocks and debris up on the car.
 
So I got the little homelite $32 electric leaf blower from lowes... dried the car so AWESOME!!!!!

Beyond expectations honestly. I didn't have to touch the paint at all as far as drying anything off. Not even the glass. I wish I would have done this years ago. I'm now trying to limit as much as I touch the car..lol Other than walking by it and feeling how smooth as glass the paint feels I am trying not to use anything to touch it like what I used to do...lol

-Nigel
 
Do you guys think a cordless blower would work just as well as the corded ones? I live in an apartment and don't have readily access to power outlets :(
 
tnecniv said:
Do you guys think a cordless blower would work just as well as the corded ones? I live in an apartment and don't have readily access to power outlets :(
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For this purpose I'm sure it would do just fine. Doesn't take much to get water gliding off waxed panels.
 
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