The AirWand: Critique, Recommended Improvements, and Usage

[Accumulator]

A few people here have asked me to post about the AirWand, beyond my usual "I love it, buy one."

The AirWand is used to dry objects--including vehicles. It`s basically a hose-and-nozzle combination and a shoulder strap, both of which can be attached to a variety of electric leaf blowers.

For general information on the AirWand, do an Internet search on The New AirWand or go to the eponymous dot com. The following will assume a basic knowledge of the AirWand, which is readily gleaned from the website.

My AirWand came complete with a leaf blower (Weedeater 2595, rated at 12amp, 195mph) as a "Complete System"; it is now apparently sold without one. As best I can tell, it now includes only the AirWand nozzle, a flexible hose with plastic fittings, and a shoulder strap with "D"-rings. Compatible leaf blowers are listed at the website.

Short Version: Highly recommended but with certain caveats, some of critical importance.

I do not recommend using the AirWand before addressing the most serious of its shortcomings, which are described below. Fortunately, the fixes are easy.


Shortcomings and Solutions:

- The AirWand Nozzle

This is a minor problem.

The nozzle is two pieces of plastic joined together. The two halves fit together imprecisely, with one side or the other standing proud of the seam at various points. Some of the raised areas are sharp enough to be uncomfortable to hold.

I filed the seam flat and followed up with some sandpaper. Quick, easy, ugly, and comfortable. I recommend smoothing the entire seam, even the small area on the bottom of the nozzle upstream of the air outlet, as I seldom hold the AirWand by the nozzle`s handle in the seemingly obvious manner.

Also, note that the protective fabric surrounding the air output is coarse enough to mar automotive paint and should not be allowed to touch the vehicle being dried. There is no need to get too close to the vehicle, as an appropriately powerful leaf blower will get the water off from a few inches away.

The remaining shortcomings are of far greater significance but can be easily rectified through the use of self-amalgamating tape. I`m currently using F4 Tape, which performs better than the others I have tried.

- D-Rings for Shoulder Strap

The D-Rings can easily be deformed in the course of normal use. This can result in their detaching from the leaf blower, allowing it to fall free.

After struggling with rebending the rings a few times, I wrapped each of them with the F4 Tape, using a figure-8 pattern, at the points where they enter the handle of the leaf blower. Although the tape prevents the rings from pivoting, I have not found that to be a problem.

- Hose`s Connections to its Fittings

The hose attaches to a swiveling fitting at the nozzle and a fixed fitting that attaches to the leaf blower.

These fittings attach to the leaf blower and the AirWand nozzle quite securely, through friction and molded ridges that enhance the security of the connection. To maintain this secure connection, I do not recommend frequent removal of the nozzle from the hose`s swivel fitting nor of the fixed fitting from the leaf blower. I do recommend checking these connections regularly just to be on the safe side.

Unfortunately, the hose itself can detach from these fittings, posing a potentially critical threat as the uncontrolled hose could strike whatever`s being dried.

The hose attaches to its fittings by being threaded into them. Although seemingly secure, with the rigors of use these connections, especially at the nozzle, can fail and/or the hose itself can wear out in the areas where it is frequently flexed.

I found that once the hose detaches from its fittings, it will not reliably reattach; I was never able to reattach the hose, or a attach new one, to those fittings in a secure manner (which certainly surprised me). A worn hose can sometimes be patched with the F4 Tape, but I`d try that only if the worn-through areas are small, and at that time I would purchase a replacement hose, keeping the original one as a spare.

(Note that replacement hoses, with the fittings in place, are available as spare parts from the AirWand website. In a pinch, a short-term fix can be effected by using an appropriately sized hose from a Shop Vacuum, but this should be considered a very temporary solution.)

I secured the hose at both connection points by wrapping the junction points with the F4 Tape. Since doing so, I have experienced no more detachments, and I expect this to have permanently solved the problem, although the hose will undoubtedly wear out at some point and require another replacement. Wrapped properly, the plastic fitting at the nozzle end will still swivel to allow easy manipulation.

If desired, removing the tape from the hose fittings is readily accomplished since the self-amalgamating tape adheres to itself rather than the equipment.


Usage:

While how to hold and use it might seem intuitively obvious, I found that there is a learning curve for developing the optimal technique. I refined my technique over the course of numerous washes, and I do many minor things differently depending on what vehicle I`m drying.

I seldom hold the nozzle by the handle like a suitcase, preferring to either hold the body of the nozzle directly or to hook my thumb around one of the handle`s uprights, as I find this is more comfortable and gives me greater control. I adjust my grip almost constantly when drying some vehicles.

To concentrate the flow of air for sideview mirrors, seams, wheels, and other areas that require stronger airflow, or when I wish to limit where the air goes, I cover a portion of the output slot with my free hand and forearm.

The AirWand is excellent for drying large panels, but even when covering the nozzle as described, I still find I need to use the air compressor to thoroughly dry certain areas.

I do not try to blow all the water off, merely about 85%. I found that it`s easy to waste time trying to blow more off as opposed to using a drying towel to get what`s left, which will be required anyway if complete drying is desired.

I find the AirWand works best on a hydrophobic (e.g., LSPed) surface where it will remove most of the water through displacement, i.e., blowing it off the panel being dried onto an adjacent panel or, preferably, completely off the vehicle. On a less hydrophobic surface it seems that a greater portion of the drying is accomplished through evaporation, which could pose problems depending on the nature of the surface and the quality of the water. I would be especially careful when drying tap water on surfaces that are hydrophilic, textured, or matte-finished, lest the evaporation result in waterspots.


Noise:

Some leaf blowers are quite loud, and hearing protection is probably advisable although I don`t use it.


Customer Service:

Akram is a good, honest person, but he isn`t always prompt about checking either his website`s orders or his email. I have twice required that the payment service I used contact him to get a response, so I recommend using a payment service that can assist with such matters.

Once he realizes that the order has been placed, he does promptly ship the products, accompanied by such profuse apologies that I found it easy to forgive him.


Final Thoughts:

Modified as described, and used properly, I find the AirWand to be a wonderful tool, and I never dry a vehicle without using it as the first step. I wish that the Autopia Store or some affiliated vendor would sell them, or that somebody would offer a truly optimal version of the basic design.

[Bill D]

This is another thing Accumulator can get you to buy LOL. I have an Air Wand but haven`t used it since the introduction of Griot`s PFM towels. Nevertheless, I would still recommend one. Accumulator is very right about there being a learning curve to use one most effectively.

[PA DETAILER]

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[SWETM]

Thanks for the review!

Seems like a great tool to get the leafblower more effective and safer to use. I got a Ryobi electric leafblower for this season. It`s a bit heavy for me to use on the roof and down the windows. The Airwand would have made this parts easier to do. Then the drying towels gets more effective too with PFM nap kind of mf drying towels. Have had some thoughts to DIY a hose attachement and a nozzle to the leafblower. This was since you mentioned this Airwand some time ago.

/Tony

[Accumulator]

So did you guys who have an AirWand have to do the Improvements?

PA DETAILER- Ah, so you *DO* regularly hold it by the handle?!? See how different people are different

Bill D- Ah, interesting that you`ve quit using it since the PFMs...much as I love my Dry Me Crazy MFs, I bet I still spend the vast majority of my drying time using either the AirWand or the Compressor.

SWETM- Yeah, for the roofs of tall vehicles (well, any vehicles that aren`t really small) it`s a big help. With the blower hanging off your shoulder and (just) one hand on the lightweight nozzle, it`s a whole different ballgame.

[Older]

Thanks for the insightful review. I`m on the fence on it.

It would be an excellent accessory if someone like Shop-Vac perfected it.

[Accumulator]

It would be an excellent accessory if someone like Shop-Vac perfected it.

Or maybe somebody like Griot`s. IMO it`d work out best for everybody if they built a cost-no-object model and marketed it to, uhm...the demographic that "always buys the best" from [their fave vendors].

IMO whether this would be a worthwhile purchase will come down to all sorts of subjective factors, with different subjects having utterly different, but equally valid, takes on it. Only problem is that you won`t really know which side of that fence you`re on until you buy one (trying one for a few, or a dozen, washes might not tell you enough)...when I hear that Bill D isn`t using his regularly...well, I wonder if it was money down the drain.

[Bill D]

I`m just too lazy to set mine up. It`s still a good tool and with the right tweaks it would be great. Maybe Griots really ought to consider taking it under its wing. I still have to use a motorcycle style blower to get water out of the seams and crevices.

[Older]

Or maybe somebody like Griot`s. IMO it`d work out best for everybody if they built a cost-no-object model and marketed it to, uhm...the demographic that "always buys the best" from [their fave vendors].

IMO whether this would be a worthwhile purchase will come down to all sorts of subjective factors, with different subjects having utterly different, but equally valid, takes on it. Only problem is that you won`t really know which side of that fence you`re on until you buy one (trying one for a few, or a dozen, washes might not tell you enough)...when I hear that Bill D isn`t using his regularly...well, I wonder if it was money down the drain.

I agree. I’d pay more for a product that I could just bolt on and works right out of the box.

[Accumulator]

Bill D- Ah, that explains it Sorta like how many quit using their CRS or pressure washer over the set up/take down. I sidestep all that by leaving the washbay basically set up all the time, but yeah I`m spoiled.

Heh heh, if Griot`s *does* come out with an improved version of the thing, I`ll, uhm....maybe think "from my mouth to Richard`s ear" or somesuch. Hey, they`ve already gone big on chemical decontamination, and foam

Next up, maybe they`ll go back to selling (full size) BHBs I find acceptable!

How do you like the small blower? I recently cranked up the air compressor to "gee, don`t do damage!" psi and it`s drying the nooks and crannies a lot better now.

And I recently started unreeling the hose on the other side of the shop so I can have redundant systems with one on each side of the washbay, wonder why I never did that before?!? Well, it does get into that "setup/etc." issue...but I think it`s worth it.

[Bill D]

I quit using my CRS too! My little $30 blower works like a charm in getting all those nooks and crannies dried. Just plug it in and blow away. I still don`t have compressed air. :-(

[Accumulator]

Heh heh, I don`t know how anybody gets by without an air compressor...or two. Or even three, though I haven`t used the third one for ages (dedicated to the airbrush, which I never use any more).

And yeah...I bet a lot of people have a CRS that they don`t use any more. What gets me is changing the resin, but with my water I don`t have to do that very often.

[Oneheadlite]

Accumulator - Thanks for taking the time to do such a thorough write up!

Interesting looking product. Has me wanting to get an extra discharge chute for my Greenworks cordless blower and see if I could cheat something similar. It would be thoroughly unscientific, but could be fun. It uses a rectangular chute, I`d look at blocking the end and cutting a groove to replicate the idea. I`ve got a mechanical-engineer friend that went through fluid dynamics, so I could always spitball ideas with him for generating optimal flow.

[Accumulator]

Oneheadlite- Yeah! I`d wondered about how a cordless would work, never used one so wasn`t sure about the balance/weight/etc.

See what your pal says, I`d think you`d need a protruding flange for the output slot lest the output be too diffused/not concentrated enough.

[Oneheadlite]

See what your pal says, I`d think you`d need a protruding flange for the output slot lest the output be too diffused/not concentrated enough.

I was thinking the same thing. I`ll run it by him when I get a chance. He always likes to help think through stuff.

When I made a cargo organizer for the back of my wife`s Q5 out of 80/20 aluminum parts, he helped me work through logistics of worst-case scenario: if there was an accident. Wanted to be sure there was no way I`d be creating an aluminum spear that could go rouge towards my 3yo in the seat in front of it.