# BigBoi mini or new kid on the block dryer?



## pacemaker1000 (Aug 2, 2010)

Want to buy one of these but can't decide. Stick with tried and tested or take chance on new one?

https://blocardryer.com/collections/models/products/air-rs

Product Specs

5.5HP via a Single Motor
43,500 CFM/FPM
Long 16?/ 5M Hose
Variable Air Speed Control
Warm Filtered Air
Long 16?/ 5M Power Cord
2 Year Warranty

Can't find any reviews or full spec like MPH or wattage although a foreign site had it at 2200 watts compared to 3000

doesnt look as well made as bigboi but i do like the long hose as could wall mount it

Thoughts guys or any more info?


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## TonyHill (Jul 28, 2015)

That link not working for me :tumbleweed:


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## pacemaker1000 (Aug 2, 2010)

TonyHill said:


> That link not working for me :tumbleweed:


Try now I changed to manufacture webpage

They are exactly the same price in U.K. at £149.99


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## Doctor D (Oct 24, 2018)

Hi pacemaker1000

I've been using a BigBoi BlowR Mini for a while now which I've been pretty happy with but the std. hose supplied is a bit on the short side and a longer mains cable would be a great help too so the BLO might be worth a punt. 

I've had one BlowR Mini go wrong on me (speed control failure) not long after I had it but it was swapped out under warranty really quickly once Ultimate Finish had more stock available so no complaints with their customer after care but a longer hose wouldn't go amiss and I'm certainly not paying another £59 to overcome that issue. 

One thing I did notice looking on the BLO website was that the RS would appear (from the photo anyway) to have a slightly denser foam filter that may keep more unwanted elements from finding their way to your paintwork.

It's hard to choose but I'd be interested to see which way you go

I must confess I waited for 10% off Bank Holiday promo at Ultimate Finish for mailing list subscribers which might swing it if you sign up and can wait for the next one...

Shine on...


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## pacemaker1000 (Aug 2, 2010)

Decided to stick with the BigBoi and got 10% off and free next day delivery. 
First thing I'll be doing is extending the mains cord though. 2m is ridiculously short for an outside tool.
The Blo doesn't look as well made to me, even plastic? And the hose although long could be cheap. Plus I would wait for reviews
Would be great to wall mount and only have to use a hose.

This will solve the short lead problem without having to drag out an extension. Especially in a wet area and avoid cutting off original lead. Bad design BigBoi if you're reading this.

Masterplug Rewireable Weatherproof Outdoor Inline Socket, 13 Amp, 17 x 6.5 cm https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006X09WDW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_fcwBDbKBH1AXS


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## Doctor D (Oct 24, 2018)

I don't think you'll be disappointed with the BigBoi especially with your cable mod. The hose on the BlowR Mini is a bit short but nice and flexible and quite soft too... 

I'd still be interested to see if the BLO RS has better filtration but I've not had any issues with my BigBoi to be fair.

Enjoy...


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## BruceVolvo (Oct 31, 2016)

Just ordered the blo air from clean your car, hopefully it will arrive before the weekend so will let you know how it performs etc.

I only want it for the crevices, door shuts, wheels etc.

https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/blo-air-rs-car-blower


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## pacemaker1000 (Aug 2, 2010)

BruceVolvo said:


> Just ordered the blo air from clean your car, hopefully it will arrive before the weekend so will let you know how it performs etc.
> 
> I only want it for the crevices, door shuts, wheels etc.
> 
> https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/blo-air-rs-car-blower


I'll do the same and be interested in your opinion as can always return ...lol


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## pacemaker1000 (Aug 2, 2010)

BruceVolvo said:


> Just ordered the blo air from clean your car, hopefully it will arrive before the weekend so will let you know how it performs etc.
> 
> I only want it for the crevices, door shuts, wheels etc.
> 
> https://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/blo-air-rs-car-blower


Just for your information

Just had response for manufacturer who say blo-air is only 1400 watt.
This is at odds with its claimed hp, as that wattage translates to only 1.8hp!
Also concerning is they say it's 1400 at 15amp which is 2amps more than a U.K. plug fuse.


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## BruceVolvo (Oct 31, 2016)

Well the Blo Air arrived yesterday










Appears well made and good quality, the hose is nice and flexible/robust with a latexish sort of coating, you wouldn't want to be dragging it over your paint work though so to do the whole car you/I will have to move the unit once.

Reasonably quite, filters about 15mm thick (not measured) two nozzles the flat fan one was closed up in the middle though (currently wedged open with some cardboard to see if it will open up)

Haven't used it on the car yet and nothing to compare it against but it's nice and powerful (no trouble sliding the empty box from one end of the living room to the other and disturbing a load of dust webs from behind the curtains that we didn't no we had )

All in all impressed, I'll give it a go on the car tomorrow.


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## Doctor D (Oct 24, 2018)

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts once you've had a proper play BruceVolvo. 

Sorry to hear one of the nozzles got 'squashed'. A soak in a bowl of warm water might help with the re-shaping attempt.

Shine on...


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## BruceVolvo (Oct 31, 2016)

Umm it's a not sure and baring in mind I've got nothing to compare the Blo Air against and my LSP is in it's death throws I don't think you can effectively dry a car, by the time I would have got round my car it would have dried itself (overcast this morning and perfect car washing weather) so I reverted to the drying towel, it is great for the water traps however and especially wheels tyres which it made short work of, the wheels have raceglaze nano sealant on though so maybe it would be a different storey if the rest of the LSP had been up to scratch.

But as my intended use is for the water traps, wheels etc it's good apart from the hose, it gets in the way due to my available space the big green thing gets in the way










Think I would have been better off with the Big Boi Buddi or the metro Vac Side kick.

I'll give it another go when my LSP is up to scratch until then it's wheels, tyres and water traps only.

Oh and apologies for butting in on the Op's thread.


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## Doctor D (Oct 24, 2018)

I've not as yet tried a full blow-dry BruceVolvo but have found a dedicated blower to be great for chasing water out of all the usual traps, nooks and crannies. 

It also means you can get straight on with tyre and wheel treatments once all those annoying drips and water dribbles have been banished. 

My BlowR Mini does give me great results on my gloss black grille in particular which used to be a nightmare thanks to the very hard water here but in my experience you do need to keep a microfibre cloth in hand to catch the runs as you blow...

It's definitely worth another go all over one you've addressed you tired LSP

I'm about to experiment with a DI vessel so I'll see how I get on with that in an attempt to reduce unnecessary towelling off...

It's all a fun learning curve for sure :thumb:

Shine on...


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## pacemaker1000 (Aug 2, 2010)

Having good success with the BigBoi.
Love the magic hose which doubles in size when turned on. Find the slatted nozzles a waste of time and sticking with just small blow hole. Deliberately did only half of daughters car and left rest dry naturally and big difference. Very ear piercing on alloys . 
Don’t think could get much better but performance reflected in cars lsp finish.
Have a DI filter setup using resin and bought this to replace it as resin costs £8 and only lasts a few washes with quick deterioration in quality of water. Ppm meter for me went down from just over a hundred to 25. But as said doesn’t last long.

As said my main use was to use on quick Touchless wash where I jet wash after a dosing of Surfex HD and now blow water off. Gives a 90% clean, ample in winter, without touching car at all.

Recommend BigBoi wholeheartedly


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## Doctor D (Oct 24, 2018)

Glad your enjoying the BigBoi pacemaker1000.

I use the middle size nozzle that came with my BlowR Mini but might try the smaller one to see what difference it makes. 

It does take a bit of practice to shove the water in the right direction and I generally use a small, super soft, edge-less microfibre cloth to mop up wayward water droplets as I work my way around the car.

You're right about the noise on the alloys! It's the same on my honeycomb grille too so I wear ear defenders while drying off now. I'm sure I look like a bit of a loon to the neighbours but I don't care and at least my hearing's not gonna pay the price for having a nice shiny car...

Re the DI vessel. I've just invested and it's taken my water from 222ppm down to 0ppm with impressive results during the rinse. I then go round with the BlowR to dry out all the nooks and crannies. 

I'm keen to see what sort of lifespan I get from a fill of resin and will fit an in-line flow meter this week and follow up in my DI vessel thread at some point.

Shine on...


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## Meirion658 (Feb 11, 2012)

Following with interest as I'm looking to get one of these in the new year and really cant decide between them both


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## budgetplan1 (Aug 10, 2016)

I guess at the end of the day, it's a question of how much you're willing to invest for convenience and effectiveness.

I've got a compressor, back pack and handheld leaf blowers, have tried them all at one time or another. Nothing *for me* is easier, quicker and more complete than a dedicated air dryer with a long, solid hose.

The compressor was maneuverable enough to get to things like the seams between targa top and windshield/rear arch and other hard to reach areas. Unfortunately, without adding filters, separators and such the air coming out the nozzles wasn't the purest. It was also a relatively narrow stream of high pressure whereas the blower has both pressure and volume, so you can quickly sweep larger panels clear.

The leaf blowers were kinda awkward to get those top seams and quarter panel/other vents though they did have the volume to sweep large panels. I can be kinda lazy and inattentive at times so I'd occasionally hit a panel with the blower tube. Oops.

For me, it's just easier and quicker to have the blower near the garage, throw the hose over my shoulder and easily blow out tight areas, wheels, seams, etc with minimal effort (and risk) while walking around the car. End up with no streaks on the black paint the next day when some hidden water finds it's way onto a panel.

It's just the easiest, quickest and most complete way to dry our cars.

With 2 black cars and a somewhat OCD-ish desire to keep them reasonably clean w/ as little wash-induced marring as possible (and as little effort as possible), I've long thought about moving to some type of air dryer. Many times I've had such a unit in various carts from various vendors but was never able to pull the trigger due to concerns about the quality of available units. Some looked like kludged-together, re-purposed leaf blowers, but mostly many looked like the hoses would be inferior, cheaply constructed and inevitably kinky messes.

Although I`ve never used a competing product, I have seen and held one of the more popular choices. The hose alone on the BigBoi would make me choose it. I hate troublesome hoses and the BigBoi is much more substantial and useable in that area.

Probably a personal thing cuz I work for a swimming pool service company and hoses are a particular thorn in my side...I gave the BigBoi Mini a quick try last fall and the minute I saw and felt the hose, I was in. Yeah, hoses bug me that much.

In the pool biz, best analogy is Professional Grade vs. Consumer Grade. When I first saw BigBoi hose I immediately thought of the Professional Grade 50ft vac hoses we use at work. To us, they`re known as `double helix` hoses and when not stretched out, have a flatter texture, no prominent ridges between the coils. A bit heavier but far, far easier to deal with when coiling, un-coiling.

The consumer grade are thinner walled, stiffer, more prone to tangling and harder to coil and un-coil, with a prominent ridged texture whether stretched out or at rest. They`re a bit lighter but who cares when it`s a kinky, tangled mess?

See, I`m getting all worked up about stupid hoses. Anyway, the hose in particular was the reason I never jumped into the whole air-drying thing before...all of `em just seemed irritating to me. While the 30ft hose on the BlowrPro is a bit heavier, it`s just so much more enjoyable to use, stretched out to 30ft or in compressed to a shorter length. Like anything, all a personal preference but for me, the hose on all the other units I either saw in pictures or actually held was a deal killer.

I've used my backpack and handheld leaf blowers before and always had the risk of banging into the car which I'm an unfortunately prone to doing. "Know thyself..." and all. Additionally, I grew weary of my air compressor, wanted more volume and w/ no filters/separators who really know what was coming outta the end of that thing?

After giving the Mini a short trial run, it was apparent (to me anyways) that the construction, fit and finish and overall adjustability and performance of the BigBoi units was befitting of a purpose-built machine, one which could be easily used with no compromises. In fact, I was so enamored with the look and feel (quality) of the Mini that I picked up the BigBoi Buddi until the BlowrPro units came back in stock in late Spring 2019. A Mini woulda done me just fine but, as I am prone to do, nothing exceeds like excess so the BlowrPRO was a very welcome sight when delivered.

While I went with the longer hose, the wall mount and the hose hanger I have actually not mounted to the wall yet (I'll get there…). The BlowrPro is just so light and compact and takes up so little floor space, I'm currently quite happy to just pick it up and move it to the edge of the garage opening, at which point the hose will easily allow me to get all away around whatever car I have just washed in the driveway. The hose extends and retracts into itself w/ very little effort, making coming around the back of the car very easy. The locking casters on the front of the unit keep it in place so it's not following me around when locked, a nice feature so I don't end up pulling the unit into anything when I'm on the other side of the car….'cuz things like that tend to happen in my driveway. The controls are solid and have a satisfying feel when using the switch work and it's nice they have a tiny little 'shifter boot' to keep dirt and debris (and water…oops!) from getting into the internals of the switches…nice touch. The filters are a breeze to change and overall, the thing is just a joy to use. Quiet too, which is nice as my window for washing cars on the weekend is 7-10am before the sun comes over the trees and puts the driveway in 'full sun' mode…not good for washing.

Lots of things blow air and some obviously do it better and easier than others and this, IMO, is where the BigBoi truly excels. Drying our cars has never been easier and more effective with less chance for user mishap than with these units…and safer to boot. No more trailing streaks of water when ya drive the car the next day, no chance for catching some falling nature debris in a towel when drying and a quality, enjoyable experience all around. As I thought when giving the Mini and the Buddi a try, it's rare sometimes to find things that exceed expectations, usually if an item just meets my expectations I'm pretty happy. But when I find stuff like the BigBoi units that far exceed my expectations, it just makes using it that much more fun. Glad I never pulled the trigger before these became available stateside as while something else mighta done the job, I doubt it would have done it as well for me as the BigBoi's.

As for hose length, the optional 30ft hose is really kinda cool; shrinks down to less than 1/2 it's length at rest, extends when powered up.

Obviously anything that pushes air out the nozzle is gonna be reasonably effective but I'm willing to pay for a purpose-designed machine that makes the whole process significantly easier than air compressors, leaf blowers or other units with kinky, stiff hoses. I'm inherently lazy and sometimes that laziness has a cost so no regrets on this purchase whatsoever. Everyone is different, though so YMMV, no harm, no foul.

Actually had a chance to meet and talk with the husband and wife team from BigBoi who flew in from Australia for a recent Open House, really cool folks. Doesn't really make a difference regarding the functionality of a chosen unit but a nice bonus to support folks you find nice. They are coming out with a cordless, battery operated version of the smaller Buddi unit and will also be coming out with an attachment for the Mini that will let it double as a vacuum.


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