Drying with a Leaf Blower Scares Me

Wow Bill you do seem to find the products (That means I want one). I think thats a great find and probably and excellent idea.
 
pocon1 said:
I don't understand, doesn't your car wash have blowers built into the roof to blow on your car as you pull out?
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Remind me to get a COUPLE of these for my driveway...:xyxthumbs
 
"Taking the car for a short drive is far more likely to pick up dirt and other debris than blowing off the car after a wash."



Actually, I never pick up any dirt on my drives.
 
SilverLexus said:
"Taking the car for a short drive is far more likely to pick up dirt and other debris than blowing off the car after a wash."



Actually, I never pick up any dirt on my drives.
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I have. That is why I stopped doing it. ;)
 
I used to use the CWB but you guys made me paranoid about it ( I was already uneasy about using it). My new method is remove the spray nozzle from the hose and let the water run out over the car. The water sheets off 80% of it. Then I just use a WW and finish it up. Try it once!
 
I think there's a bit of a misconception regarding the use of the leaf blower. A leaf blower is NOT going to completely dry the vehicle unless you spend a very long time with it. I have a pretty powerful gas powered model and it would take forever to completely dry my vehicle. What I do is I use it to blow large accumulations of water off from horizonal surfaces and tight areas. It works excellent for that. Then I use my WW towel to finish drying. If I didn't have my leaf blower, I would drench a WW towel in no time just moving water off horizontal areas.
 
Pondscum said:
I think there's a bit of a misconception regarding the use of the leaf blower. A leaf blower is NOT going to completely dry the vehicle unless you spend a very long time with it. I have a pretty powerful gas powered model and it would take forever to completely dry my vehicle. What I do is I use it to blow large accumulations of water off from horizonal surfaces and tight areas. It works excellent for that. Then I use my WW towel to finish drying. If I didn't have my leaf blower, I would drench a WW towel in no time just moving water off horizontal areas.
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I think you ought to try out a Toro 225mph blower. It WILL dry off the car and do it pretty quickly. I have a gas powered blower that I use for yard work. The electric Toro is way more powerful and the nozzle focuses the air.



Regards,



Dan.
 
BookemDano said:
I think you ought to try out a Toro 225mph blower. It WILL dry off the car and do it pretty quickly. I have a gas powered blower that I use for yard work. The electric Toro is way more powerful and the nozzle focuses the air.



Regards,



Dan.
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My echo gas blower does only 163 mph, but it does 410 cfm compared to the Toro electric's 275 cfm. The nozzle may be the difference because the Toro has a pointed one and my echo has a flatter nozzle. I'm not doubting what you say is true in that it does work better, but the numbers don't indicate it would work significantly better. I'd have to see it in action before I would want to invest in one. My expectation may be different in that I only spend less than 5 mins on the blower before I switch to the towel. It only takes me 10-15 mins to dry my large truck, so I'm pretty happy. It would be nice to have a blower that would dry it completely, but my water is medium in hardness so I don't know how that would work.
 
Pondscum said:
My echo gas blower does only 163 mph, but it does 410 cfm compared to the Toro electric's 275 cfm. The nozzle may be the difference because the Toro has a pointed one and my echo has a flatter nozzle. I'm not doubting what you say is true in that it does work better, but the numbers don't indicate it would work significantly better. I'd have to see it in action before I would want to invest in one. My expectation may be different in that I only spend less than 5 mins on the blower before I switch to the towel. It only takes me 10-15 mins to dry my large truck, so I'm pretty happy. It would be nice to have a blower that would dry it completely, but my water is medium in hardness so I don't know how that would work.
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I get almost all of the water off of my Audi in about 5-7 minutes, but that includes blowing out the cracks, grill, etc. Then I spend about one minute per wheel. The lugnut holes take most of the time.



It's pretty dry when I'm finished. Typically there are a few drops on the top and sides that I dab up with a large blue WW drying towel. That takes a couple of minutes. The drying towel is overkill. One small detailing towel would probably work fine, but I've already got the big ones so I just use them.



I think what is key is whether the process works for you. Some folks like towels, some like CWB's, some like blowers. Different strokes yada yada.
 
I use the leafblower all the time to try and never have any issues. I start at the top and work down., never turning it on until it is pointing at the car.



The ground is wet all around the car so dust/dirt is kep to a min.



I sheet the water off, blow out crevies and wheels with blower, then follow with a waffle weave.
 
I have the Toro electric blower. I don't see it as a faster way of drying. The only advantage to it is when drying a vehicle with a lot of nooks. But on flat surfaces, drying with the Absorber or WW is faster and just as gentle on the paint. The blower does help with side lights, side mirrors, wheels, body gaps.
 
beastie said:
I have the Toro electric blower. I don't see it as a faster way of drying. The only advantage to it is when drying a vehicle with a lot of nooks. But on flat surfaces, drying with the Absorber or WW is faster and just as gentle on the paint. The blower does help with side lights, side mirrors, wheels, body gaps.
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That's been my experience also with my blower. I have some hard plastic bed panels that hold a lot of water. The blower does a great job of getting the majority of water off there. If you had a small car, a blower would do a much better job of drying it faster, but there's too much area and large horizonal surfaces for my vehicle.
 
The leaf blower is huge with motorcycle dealerships! My dad is a harley fannatic and actually just recently bought another bike, a Harley Davidson Heritage Classis...1400. Anyway at the harley delers they blow all the motorcycles of with a leaf blower after they wash then and it works greeaat!
 
I emailed A.E.C. Engineering Systems asking about the Air Wand fitting a Toro Model 51591, sales tax (their form wants to charge it) and a discount for autopia members. Here is the reply.





Jeff,



1. The nozzle opening is 2 ½â€Â� round. The blower we use is weed eater 190MPH. Many people make their own adaptor. My advice is to purchase a complete system.



2. No sales tax for members who are outside the state.



3. I will give you 10% discount.







If you have account with UPS, I will not charge you the cost of shipment; just give me your account #. I do this with many customers.







Please give me a call if you have any question.







Thank you,

VR/Akram E. Chika P.E.

Phone: (619)448-6133

www.theairwand.com
 
I looked at the pic on that site and looked like it had a squegee attached :scared. I finally got the video to play, nope, it's not, you do not touch the paint. Looks like another $100 to burn on a detailing toy. I added it to the list :o
 
Just received my Air Wand and used it for the first time. I've very please. It works better then I was expecting, really puts out a curtain of air.:D
 
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