Metro Air Dryers?

Dispatch

Dispatch

Member
I own and swear by my Metro 'Air Force Master Blaster Dryer".
I bought it a few years ago.
It makes drying a motorcycle or vehicle a breeze and insures every crack and crevice gets thoroughly dry, unlike with micro-fiber towels by hand.
Does anyone else here have and use one and what are your thoughts on it?
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Air Force Master Blaster Motorcycle Dryer | Metropolitan Vacuum Cleaner
 
I own the Master Blaster and honestly I could not imagine drying a car without it.
Blowing all of the water out of the places you could never reach with a towel and not having to rub the paint as much when drying makes owning this machine invaluable to me.

The air is filtered and it does a wonderful job drying engine compartments too!
 
BobbyG said:
Metro Master Blaster machines are nice but they are pricy...
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Yes, I paid about $350.00 for mine but I feel its worth every penny.
The carry handle on mine got broke a while back and Metro sent me a brand new one free of charge including shipping!
I have the biggest one they make, the 8 horse power model.
As Audi X2 says, there's no comparison with hand drying, the wear and tear put on the paint by hand drying is a detriment to the beauty of your vehicle.
It has two separate motors that blow heated air.
Air flow is 58,500 ft./min.
Although..... the one and only thing I do not like about it is it draws so much amperage (19 Amps/2,280 Watts), and it weighs in at 16 pounds.
I use a heavy duty orange indoor/outdoor extension cord and even it gets 'hot' after a while from use.
I may need to get a 20 Amp extension cord.
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:drool:
 
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i use my master blaster when my cars are freshly polished and i don't want to scratch them by toweling them dry. works wonders and they are worth the money spent indeed. they also do a helluva job of blowing out gutters.
 
Let me expand my answer

I've used a leaf blower for years. Recently I also have used a compressor to blow out areas that the leaf blower would not. In the past, I have also used the water blades when in a rush (carefully, I would rinse in water first).

BUT

Having used the metro blower at DetailFest, I was totally amazed at how fast and how efficient it was.
 
I have the metro sidekick and love it! Never dry a car without it. Best $75 ever spent and also has a filter and heats up the air. Love using it for all the crevices and especially my wheels and tires.
 
Have had the 8hp version for years. Use only 12awg extension cords. Wired myself up a 20amp circuit in the garage for this and my Steamer and Extractor, and life is good. It really works nice.
I put in on the top of a 2 shelf large cart and that makes it easier to move around and gives me a more hose to get to places easier.

Get the bracket they sell to hang it up and then it is out of the way. I hang my big longer canister Metrovac the same way and both are off the floor and out of the way.
Metro also sells nice hose brackets to get the hose up off the floor when not in use.

We are a Metro-Vac facility ! :)

The family that owns and runs this place are very nice, decent, people. They have always gone the extra mile for me when I call and do business or just ask a question.

Dan F
 
Ronkh said:
Let me expand my answer

I've used a leaf blower for years. Recently I also have used a compressor to blow out areas that the leaf blower would not. In the past, I have also used the water blades when in a rush (carefully, I would rinse in water first).

BUT

Having used the metro blower at DetailFest, I was totally amazed at how fast and how efficient it was.
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NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!!
No leaf blowers damn it! :D
They are the worst thing you can use on your vehicle to dry it, they pick up dirt, dust and most importantly sand.
They do not have catch filters like the Metro dryer does.
Notice the wording, blower and dryer.
Not to mention you can't get into those tight cracks and crevices with a gas operated rake (leaf blower).
Every time you use it to dry your vehicle you are blowing sand and small debris all over your nice clean paint!
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They also sometimes leak motor oil which gets blown out the sweep nozzle as well.
Compressor's leak oil too.
For god sake man, next time you want to dry something let me know, I'll lend you mine! :lol2:
 
Dispatch said:
NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!!
No leaf blowers damn it! :D
They are the worst thing you can use on your vehicle to dry it, they pick up dirt, dust and most importantly sand.
They do not have catch filters like the Metro dryer does.
Notice the wording, blower and dryer.
Not to mention you can't get into those tight cracks and crevices with a gas operated rake (leaf blower).
Every time you use it to dry your vehicle you are blowing sand and small debris all over your nice clean paint!
doh.gif

They also sometimes leak motor oil which gets blown out the sweep nozzle as well.
Compressor's leak oil too.
For god sake man, next time you want to dry something let me know, I'll lend you mine! :lol2:
Click to expand...

well, at least mines electric
 
I like my Master Blaster too and did not have success with a leaf blower. I have a newer blower (a Toro) that would probably do better.

I consider the Master Blaster to be a "precision" dryer. Unless you have a hose attached to the leaf blower (seen it done), it can more susceptible to blowing debris from the driveway. I see the risk of lacking a filter is not that significant given the MB filter is fairly coarse itself.

If you just want to blow off the excess and then do a wipe down (like a detail spray or spray wax user) then less precision drying can work since you are going to touch the paint anyway.
 

I have and love my MasterBlaster. It is great for a car with a coating or fresh coat of sealant / wax. I don't think it speeds up my drying time, but it keeps me from touching my paint as I dry a vehicle. And the less I touch the paint the less marring I induce.
 
I have the Metro Vac Pro and it is great at drying the car. I have two sections of hose dedicated for just the blowing function. It performs best of you take off the inlet cap and remove the bag. I cannot imagine how the MB performs if this small Vac n Blo does so well.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
 
I always wash and dry the car in the garage so there is little chance of my leaf blower picking up sand etc just after washing the car. While the Metro Blaster is a fine piece of equipment but it seems a little pricey for a weekend detailer.

I put together two different adapters to allow me to use a 2.5" vacum hose with my electric leaf blower and it does a great job--the vacum hose is never used on the vacum as it is dedicated to the blower.

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ski2 said:
I always wash and dry the car in the garage so there is little chance of my leaf blower picking up sand etc just after washing the car. While the Metro Blaster is a fine piece of equipment but it seems a little pricey for a weekend detailer.

I put together two different adapters to allow me to use a 2.5" vacum hose with my electric leaf blower and it does a great job--the vacum hose is never used on the vacum as it is dedicated to the blower.

tn_AssortedDIY007.jpg
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WOW, talk about being inventive!! :yourrock

Now add a shoulder / neck strap so that it's convenient to walk around and leaves your hands free!! :bigups

You my friend may have just started a trend!! :bow
 
Thanks Bobby!!! I do have a shoulder strap for the unit, but tend not to use it as I'm always nervous about the blower bumping the car if it's just hanging from my shoulder. The blower is light enough to just carry in my left hand and work the wand with my right.

Originally I did this conversion with a 1.5 inch hose, but the restriction caused a drop in air flow so it wasn't very effective. Fortunately the adapter I used also fit the vac end of a 2.5 in hose.

I feel there are allot of great products out there that cost an arm and a leg which in many cases doesn't make sense for the detailer just taking care of two or three cars so I've got this never ending quest to figure less expensive ways to get similar results.
 
ski2 said:
Originally I did this conversion with a 1.5 inch hose, but the restriction caused a drop in air flow so it wasn't very effective. Fortunately the adapter I used also fit the vac end of a 2.5 in hose.
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Can you post a picture of just the connection to see in more detail how you joined them. I see a lot of bolts.
 
Bunky--following are three close-ups of the adapter. The piece in the barrel of the blower is from the plumbing department at Lowes-a reducer to connect two different diameters of plastic pipe. I needed this piece to be large enough to fill the opening in the blower--as you can see I had to put a "gasket" (thick rubber band) around this part so it would fit tight in the blower. It extends into the second part about 1". The 2nd piece attached to the reducer with three 1/2" sheet metal screws is a 2.5" vacum hose connector from Sears that allows you to attach two sections of 2.5" vacum hose. As you can imagine most of the time was spent trying to find parts that could be adapted to the blower opening -- assembly took about 5 minutes once I had the parts. I did have to run a bead of silicon caulking inside where the two parts overlapped so that there were no air leaks. Trick is to find the parts that will work with your particular blower. Hope this helps!
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