- All steel construction
- 120 volt .75 PHP, 4.5 amps, CFM 70, weight 3-Pound. vacuum/blower power unit.
- 19-Inch flexible hose, crevice tool, air pin-pointer, soft bristle brush, shoulder strap, 5 disposable paper bags, plus 4-Piece micro cleaning tool kit
- Green alternative to canned air
- Limited 2-Year motor guarantee; Made in USA
I was trying to decide between the Metro Vac ED-500 duster or this all-in-one duster / vacuum. I really wanted something that did both so I decided to give the DataVac Pro a try. I saw some great reviews, and some not-so-great reviews so I was a little worried. I have to say, I love this product! The vacuum part is what you would expect, and does as good of a job as a regular upright vacuum with a hose. The vacuum comes with a hose, regular sized brush, crevice tool, pinpoint cleaner, and a micro cleaning kit consisting of a micro bursh, crevice tool, and flexible (somewhat) straw attachment. Everything seems to be of good quality and is made in the U.S.A. the canister is metal and the vacuum comes with 5 extra bags + the one already installed. There is no set-up out of the box, just plug it in and go.
This product seems to be geared towards people in the computer or electronics repair field. As a computer technician here are my thoughts: First , the kind of dust you find in a computer cannot be easily vacuumed up by any vacuum cleaner (except for dust bunnies). the dust is so fine and almost seems electro-statically charged to the surfaces. That said, I like to vacuum up as much as I can before I blow the rest out. the blower works by attaching the hose to the opposite end of the vacuum. I would say the blower is probably more powerful than a can of air but maybe not as powerful as the ED-500 although I don't know for sure because I've never tried the ED-500. What I can say is that the blower is *MORE* than powerful enough to get the job done. I saw some impressive videos with the ED-500 blowing literally "clouds" of dust from computers. This blower does the same. I blew out a computer I thought was pretty clean and I got the same "clouds" of dust out of it (don't do this indoors)
One thing I wanted to mention: I see a lot of videos where people blow out power supplies CPU fans, etc. In these videos you can always hear the fan spinning as air is blown at it. Yes, it sounds really cool, but this is very bad for the fan. What happens is the air is strong enough to over-rev the bearings in the fan and it will lead to premature failure of the fan or even immediate failure (i.e. your fan will start making strange noises right after you are done cleaning it) The proper way to clean a cpu fan, power supply fan, or anything else with a fan is to stick a plastic zip-tie, straw, or any other straight piece of plastic in the blades to block them from spinning while you blow the fan clean. Just don't forget to remove the zip-tie when you are done and don't use any metal objects, especially in the power supply. Even with the computer unplugged there are still dangerous voltages in power supplies.
Buy Metro Vacuum MDV-1BA DataVac Pro 4.5-AMP Computer Vac/Blower Now
I bought this vacuum to keep the dust out of my two computers.
The vacuum gets hot quickly when using the smaller tip, but it doesn't vacuum that well without the smaller tip. Even with the smaller tip I found that it worked better as a blower than as a vacuum.
However, after using it to maintain only two computers for approximately five cleanings it is beginning to lose its power, and to heat up more quickly.
I would have chosen a different product had I known this previous to purchase, so I'm rating this to help others.
Read Best Reviews of Metro Vacuum MDV-1BA DataVac Pro 4.5-AMP Computer Vac/Blower Here
I've seen the other reviews here recently, and I'm not sure what folks are complaining about. Yes, there's an AC motor in here, so things will tend to get a little warm when moving that much air. We have a Hoover upright at home, and while the sucking power of this little thing doesn't approach that Vacuum, it does admirably enough that I no longer need to use the Hoover. The attachment you see in the photo representing the vacuum is great for getting those dust bunnies out from the bottom of the case, and even better for cleaning off exhaust grates and fan assemblies. If you've got a fine layer of dust on something, this, and my Hoover, aren't very good at this. To make this vacuum the one-two punch you need for dust, you need either compressed air, or a hose from a compressor to help loosen things up. That's how I did it with the upright, and that's how I do it with this thing.
As for the heat, I've had it on for extended periods of time, 5-7 minutes a stretch and while it does get warm, as long as you aren't blocking the exhaust port, you won't get any trouble. Every vacuum/blower I've ever used got as warm as this one does, so I don't see what people are complaining about. It's all online sensationalism as far as I can tell. Sorry guys.
The extra included filters are a nice touch, but I usually just empty mine out until I need to switch to another one no loss of sucking power or excess heat. It is a little unweildy though, I wish the hose was a little longer or the tube was shaped differently, but it sits in my lap just fine all the same.
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In order to get any results from this vacuum you must use the small straw attachments. Even then it is not very good. With the large attachments it will not pick up anything. It also does not work well as a dust blower. A can of compressed air has more power. I should have returned this item but I waited too long to do so. Save yourself some money and avoid this product.
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I got this vacuum cleaner for small and quick cleanups on my electric test bench, where I did not want to haul in a larger vacuum cleaner.
I was surprised to see that the vacuum is 'Made in the USA'; seems like not many things are anymore. On the other hand, it might have been a nicer unit in some ways if it came from China.
The body of the vacuum is actually metal with a black painted finish. The handle, hoses and accessories are plastic. But the whole thing seems rather crudely manufactured, with some hardware going in at odd angles and the paint job spotty and with runs.
The vacuum works well and produces a goodly amount of suction, quite respectable for its size (about 16" long not counting the hose, and about 4" diameter). I would guess that its vacuum is about the same as smaller shop vacs. It is not overly noisy, certainly a lot quieter than most full sized vacuums. It would not be too disruptive in an office environment, for example.
The vacuum comes with a short hose and the usual crevas tool and dusting brush, plus an adapter for much smaller fittings for work in small spaces and on equipment such as copiers, printers, computers, and such. I also got a micro vacuum attachment kit from Amazon (which is listed as a recommended accessory, but the kit is by a different manufacturer), in order to get a hose extension and even smaller fittings and brushes. Note that this vacuum's normal hose and basic fittings are sized to be compatible with most household type vacuum cleaners (and the smaller shop vacs), so their fittings would probably be interchangable.
Some others have complained about the vacuum getting hot. I ran it for a few minutes without a load and it got just a bit warm to the touch. With the hose partly blocked, it got rather warmer to the touch, but never hot. I suppose if you ran it under load for a long time it might even get low-level hot, but not uncomfortably or dangerously hot. But then, so do my shop vacs and Hoovers.
The vacuum comes with a generously long power cord.
The bags are proprietary for this vacuum, but they seem inexpensive and easy enough to obtain online. One end cap unscrews to access the bag compartment.
Both ends of the vacuum unit have the same kind of hose fitting, so it can be used as a vacuum and as a blower, with or without a hose.
