Apology for the long review. I would also like to mention that I do not have any commercial connections with the brands named.
After a lot or searching and reading through forums and other sites, I decided to put together an Ultrasonic Record Cleaning device, which will help me getting my record collection in pristine condition.
Why using an Ultrasonic Cleaner?
According to many music lovers, it's a very effective cleaning process for removing the dirt from the record grooves using ultrasound to create caviation bubbles through an appropriate cleaning solvent . This process is used to clean many types of objects, including surgical, dental, industrial parts and electronic equipments.
Applied to record cleaning, it is said to be superior to traditional vacuum cleaners. I am unable to validate this as I have never used a traditional vacuum cleaning machine, however I have been using a Knosti Disco Antistat Record Cleaner and like the simplicity of use and results of this device!
There are many very expensive made for purpose Ultrasonic Record Cleaners on the market (Audio Desk Vinyl Cleaner Pro @ £2.5K; KLAudio KD-CLN-LP200 @ £4.4K; Amari RW-800; the new Degritter @ >£2K; ...). It therefore makes sense to go through the DIY route to get a cost effective system together.
THE DIY ROUTE ...
Many audiophiles have successfully done this. You need the following:
Ultrasonic Tank
Record Spin
Cleaning Solvent
Ultrasonic Tank: Lots of Ultrasonic Tanks on the market and can be cheaply sourced from amazon or eBay.
My selection process was:
A reliable manufacturer building professional machines
- I found the brand names GT Sonic or X-Tronic were making very good machines but there are many others. I went for the GT Sonic.
The frequency
- 40 kHz tanks are easier to find and less expensive. Audio Desk & KLAudio are using this frequency in their machine, hence this is the one I have selected.
- 60/80 or 120 kHz are more expensive and, from my research, do not seem to be more effective cleaning devices.
The Volume of the tank
- Many Capacities are on offer 3L/6L/10L/..., which represents more or less the amount of liquid you will need to fill the tank with.
The 6L tank I have selected takes about 4.5L of cleaning solvent
- The tank Size (L x W x H) is important.
L should be at least 300 mm for a record;
W will depend on the number of records you intend to clean at once. The wider the tank, the better for cleaning many records at once;
H or Depth should be at less 150 mm
Timer Settings available
- A timer is important as you want to manage the exact cleaning time for each batch. I use 10 mins per batch
Temperature Settings available
- Heating function is mandatory to bring the cleaning solution to the correct temperature. I use 40 degree celsius
My Ultrasonic Tank: Allows me to clean up to 3 records at once
Record Spin: Many Audiophiles have been very creative here by building their own solution from the ground up, using DC motors to reach around 2 rpm. There are also many out of the box/diy solutions which can be purchased online or through forums.
As I did not have the time, I found the VinylStack's 3 Record Ultra Sonic Spin Kit, which provides exactly what I needed: a simple and straight forward option. It allows me to clean up to 3 records at once and provide quick load/unload of the records using a strong magnet.
Cleaning Solvent: Here again, people are very creative but you could use:
Tap water alone: Tried it but not very effective, even with some wetting agent.
Distilled/De-Ionised Water alone: Better than Tap water but still not very effective
Distilled/De-ionised Water + IPA + Wetting agent: Best solution. Many options out there.
I am using De-Ionised Water + Isopropanol 99.9% + Ilford Ilfotol
MY ULTRASONIC RECORD CLEANER
After cleaning over 50 records, I am very happy with My US device. Records are very clean, even those from charity shops and car boots sales, and play without noises.
My cleaning process is simple ...
Fill tank with 4.5L of Cleaning Solvent
- I use the following mix: 3.6L of De-Ionised water; 800 ml of Isopropanol 99.9%; 2 tbsp of Ilfotol
Warm the Cleaning Solvent to 40 degree C
Degas the Cleaning Solvent for 5 mins (only once before the first batch)
My Ultrasonic Record Cleaner
Reply With Quote
