Eliot Ness
02-13-2007, 01:16 AM
About a month or two back Autopia sponsor Danase started selling the Tornador (http://www.danase.com/toclto.html). You really need to click on that link and watch the short video to get a basic idea of what it is and how it works. When I first saw that little video clip I was fascinated by this tool and started thinking of uses I might be able to find for it.
After e-mailing Bob at Danase and asking several questions I decided to give one of these guys a try. I really didn’t want it as much for interior work as I did for some other areas such as keeping up with the engine compartment on my street rod. I really didn’t get a chance to try it out very much before the weather turned really cold, but here are my initial thoughts after using the Tornador for a short period of time.
First off you need an air compressor to run one of these. It will operate in the range of about 60 – 90 psi and at 90 psi requires 5.74 cfm. I used my 25 gallon 5.5 hp Craftsman air compressor with this and it had no problems keeping up with the light air demands of the Tornador.
The only thing I have used in it so far is the cleaning solution (Enzyme Super Concentrate Formula (http://www.danase.com/totucl2oz.html)) that is designed for it. I tried this out on a variety of things ranging from wheels, engine, interior (dash, etc.), and floor mats (just spot cleaning). The Tornador seems to atomize the cleaning solution very well so you`re not getting the surfaces as wet as you might think. Also, with higher PSI`s the spray is more forceful and I`ll assume a bit more is applied. I`d say that a lower PSI is useful If you`re working on a more delicate surface (or around electronic buttons/switches) and don`t want to force as much spray onto that area. One quart of the solution also seems like it will last quite some time.
The instructions that come with it are a bit sparse, but I get the impression that this was designed more for interiors than anything else, but I wanted to use it on a variety of areas so that is what I did. The cleaning solution is not the most powerful stuff I`ve used, but if you remember that it was made for interior work you can understand they didn`t want to supply something too harsh.
It was great to clean the dash area because it was both a cleaner and a duster. Used with a MF it can clean some dirtier surfaces just fine, but it won`t be able to blast away years worth of grime from a neglected door jamb w/o some assistance and wiping with a MF. After you spray the solution you need to develop a system of wiping with a MF and drying with the air only function. That is a system I haven`t mastered yet, but it isn`t difficult at all. I did clean around my power window/door lock buttons w/o having any problems. It was also great cleaning the air vents. I have noticed the areas of my dash that I cleaned have repelled dust a lot longer than usual.
I had some small spots of salt that got tracked onto my floor mats from the day before and this little guy made short work of them.
I also tried cleaning my wheels, but the brake dust was a bit more than this could handle on the front wheels. My front pads really dust up a lot so I wasn`t expecting this to blast it all away. On my rear wheels it did a pretty good job. I wound up just cleaning my front wheels with ONR and a wheel brush, but the air only function came in handy to help dry the wheels, tires, and blow out the water that gets trapped. I think a solution of ONR or QEW would work better on wheels, but I haven`t had time to try that yet.
I also tried it out on a few spots in the engine compartment of my street rod and since it wasn`t that grungy it worked pretty well. I basically did my chrome air cleaner, a valve cover, and a few other spots. The solution can get into areas you can`t normally reach and the air also helps to dry those places too. This is not a tool to use for cleaning a neglected engine compartment, but it can come in quite handy if you normally keep your engine clean and just need to do some light cleaning.
Just like the video you will notice some dirt gets inside the cleaning end of the tool, where I`m guessing the air/solution blows some dirt back into it during use. But also, just like in the video, just sticking it into a bucket (mine had ONR in it) and giving it a couple of trigger pulls cleans it right up.
I really need to use this more so I can do a better review, but since there is so little info out there on this tool I thought my first impressions might be helpful to someone. It didn’t really do anything that I couldn’t do by hand, but it did make some cleaning tasks faster and easier.
I don’t have any pictures but here is a web site that talks about it and also has some short videos of it in use:
Review: Tornador Gun Z-010 - Forodetalles (http://www.forodetalles.com/foro/discusion-sobre-productos/2274-review-tornador-gun-z-010-a.html?highlight=tornador)
That is a foreign site but you can use Google to translate it if you want.
After e-mailing Bob at Danase and asking several questions I decided to give one of these guys a try. I really didn’t want it as much for interior work as I did for some other areas such as keeping up with the engine compartment on my street rod. I really didn’t get a chance to try it out very much before the weather turned really cold, but here are my initial thoughts after using the Tornador for a short period of time.
First off you need an air compressor to run one of these. It will operate in the range of about 60 – 90 psi and at 90 psi requires 5.74 cfm. I used my 25 gallon 5.5 hp Craftsman air compressor with this and it had no problems keeping up with the light air demands of the Tornador.
The only thing I have used in it so far is the cleaning solution (Enzyme Super Concentrate Formula (http://www.danase.com/totucl2oz.html)) that is designed for it. I tried this out on a variety of things ranging from wheels, engine, interior (dash, etc.), and floor mats (just spot cleaning). The Tornador seems to atomize the cleaning solution very well so you`re not getting the surfaces as wet as you might think. Also, with higher PSI`s the spray is more forceful and I`ll assume a bit more is applied. I`d say that a lower PSI is useful If you`re working on a more delicate surface (or around electronic buttons/switches) and don`t want to force as much spray onto that area. One quart of the solution also seems like it will last quite some time.
The instructions that come with it are a bit sparse, but I get the impression that this was designed more for interiors than anything else, but I wanted to use it on a variety of areas so that is what I did. The cleaning solution is not the most powerful stuff I`ve used, but if you remember that it was made for interior work you can understand they didn`t want to supply something too harsh.
It was great to clean the dash area because it was both a cleaner and a duster. Used with a MF it can clean some dirtier surfaces just fine, but it won`t be able to blast away years worth of grime from a neglected door jamb w/o some assistance and wiping with a MF. After you spray the solution you need to develop a system of wiping with a MF and drying with the air only function. That is a system I haven`t mastered yet, but it isn`t difficult at all. I did clean around my power window/door lock buttons w/o having any problems. It was also great cleaning the air vents. I have noticed the areas of my dash that I cleaned have repelled dust a lot longer than usual.
I had some small spots of salt that got tracked onto my floor mats from the day before and this little guy made short work of them.
I also tried cleaning my wheels, but the brake dust was a bit more than this could handle on the front wheels. My front pads really dust up a lot so I wasn`t expecting this to blast it all away. On my rear wheels it did a pretty good job. I wound up just cleaning my front wheels with ONR and a wheel brush, but the air only function came in handy to help dry the wheels, tires, and blow out the water that gets trapped. I think a solution of ONR or QEW would work better on wheels, but I haven`t had time to try that yet.
I also tried it out on a few spots in the engine compartment of my street rod and since it wasn`t that grungy it worked pretty well. I basically did my chrome air cleaner, a valve cover, and a few other spots. The solution can get into areas you can`t normally reach and the air also helps to dry those places too. This is not a tool to use for cleaning a neglected engine compartment, but it can come in quite handy if you normally keep your engine clean and just need to do some light cleaning.
Just like the video you will notice some dirt gets inside the cleaning end of the tool, where I`m guessing the air/solution blows some dirt back into it during use. But also, just like in the video, just sticking it into a bucket (mine had ONR in it) and giving it a couple of trigger pulls cleans it right up.
I really need to use this more so I can do a better review, but since there is so little info out there on this tool I thought my first impressions might be helpful to someone. It didn’t really do anything that I couldn’t do by hand, but it did make some cleaning tasks faster and easier.
I don’t have any pictures but here is a web site that talks about it and also has some short videos of it in use:
Review: Tornador Gun Z-010 - Forodetalles (http://www.forodetalles.com/foro/discusion-sobre-productos/2274-review-tornador-gun-z-010-a.html?highlight=tornador)
That is a foreign site but you can use Google to translate it if you want.