Hi all,
I figure people here will know the relevant technical details …
I understand that using a vacuum cleaner to clean ESD-sensitive items, like the inside of a computer case, risks static damage.
I’m not so sure where/how/why that happens. Something to do with the moving air, I think? I saw a comment somewhere about static buildup on the plastic nozzle; is that what I’m worried about? Is the air itself charged, and is that a problem?
My thought was to perhaps make an extension nozzle, using a piece of copper pipe (as in plumbing), and ground it (either connect to mains ground, or just to the PC case?), maybe with a length of wire, jubilee clip for the pipe and a crocodile clip for the case on the other end. Does that sound reasonable?
I know there are commercial vacuum cleaners available, but they’re outside my current budget. I’m in New Zealand, and have a dislike of Amazon, btw 
I also know there are different electrical systems around the world, and I’m not sure what imact that has on how to safely ground such an ESD-safe tool.
Cheers,
Richard
You have the basic idea right - there are + and - charged ions floating around, and the air quickly moving across the surface of the plastic can generate a build-up of these charges
And you idea to remedy might work…it’s also the right idea - you just need something electrically conductive at the tip to make contact with the metal bits in the PC to be grounded to the PC, and it should discharge the potential static…as for design advice, it’d mostly be up to trial and error/experimenting until you find something that seems to function well…maybe copper used to scrub pans connected to wires (something thinner would be better)
Thanks - to clarify, is it the air that’s charged? And is it then the air that needs grounding, somehow? I can see that wire wool or similar might be useful for that, but not so practical for getting the dust through …
Or is the moving air just building up a charge on the plastic nozzle, meaning that using a grounded conductive nozzle should be enough?
Regarding experimenting - I’m not sure how to go about testing for static charges, or where to look for them (as above), so it might be hard to figure out if it’s working …
Cheers,
Richard