“Turbo” Blas-Fix

 




I have tried just about every imaginable method of emptying eggs (many of which are described on the previous page), and find that my favorite is the Blas-Fix egg blower.  The Blas-Fix is a small plastic bellows attached to a curved tube and a blunt needle. A single hole is made in an egg, and air is pumped inside through it.  The air forces out the egg contents through the same hole.

The advantages of the Blas-Fix over other methods include:

  1. 1.Unlike water-based methods (Water Pik, aquarium pump, etc.), the egg contents can be saved.

  2. 2.There is no risk of accidentally ingesting raw egg (which, in the US, is at significant risk of being contaminated with salmonella) as can happen with traditional methods.

  3. 3.It only requires one hole for emptying, not two.

  4. 4.The drill included with the Blas-Fix simply, easily and without electricity, drills a small, perfect hole.
                                                   

  5. 5.It does not require the drilling of a large, conspicuous hole.

  6. 6.The bend in the tubing allows me to keep my hands clean while emptying.


The only disadvantage I have found is that the Blas-Fix, which is made of cheap, thin plastic, wears out quite quickly.  It develops cracks along its seams, usually near the vent hole (arrow), and then quits working. 





A fellow member of the Eggs-Pysanky Yahoo group suggested a fix–replacing the bellows with a more sturdy one–and posted this photo:




I took up his suggestion, and went to Lee Valley Tools to purchase a set of accordion bottles.  These are used by carpenters to apply glue, and the plastic is quite thick and sturdy.  I haven’t been able to find similar accordion bottles at any hardware stores locally; it’s possible specialty woodworking stores might carry them. The bottles come in sets of two, with small plastic Luer adapters and blunt needles included:




In recent years several sellers on Amazon have begun selling accordion bottles, too, in various numbers and with fewer needles.  I have tried using these and they work, too.  Some come with the Luer adapters, others have them built in.

To create the “turbo” Blas -Fix, take an old, broken Blas-Fix, and cut off the bellows along the blue line below:




Discard the yellow bellows. Insert the small plastic adapter into the accordion bottle, and then attach the “neck” piece from the Blas-Fix to it.  It should slip on easily, with a nice, tight seal.



 

If the seal is good, you need to make the attachment permanent by removing the yellow neck tube, applying some super glue gel to the adapter, and then slipping the tube back on.  If the seal is not right, you may have cut crookedly, and the tube may need to be trimmed.

It is important to glue the tube on; if there is no permanent seal, it will pop off when you are pumping air into an egg.

The final step is to create a vent hole on the bottom of the accordion bottle. (The hole is covered with your finger while pumping air into the egg, and uncovered to allow the bellows to refill.)  I have used a drop-pull stylus heated quite hot, and then touched to the plastic; this will melt a nice even hole right through. I’m sure that there must be other ways to create a simple hole in a piece of plastic, but this has worked well for me.


UPDATE: the German company which made the Blas-Fix for many, many years has stopped doing so.  While you may find an occasional store that still has one or two in stock, this blower has pretty much disappeared off the market.  If you still have one around, turning it into a “turbo” once the bellows wear out means you will still have a working model for many years to come........perhaps for life.

Various entrepreneurs and inventors are working on a good replacement, although I have yet to see anything even half as good.





  Emptying        Rinsing




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Supercharging your egg blower

“Bellows”

Luer adapters

Needles