6l ultrasonic cleaner

[Nickfna]

Hi all
Does any know the right size
tapered hose fitting for the drain valve on this cleaner.
Thanks
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190614/54b6833775343536df8b99aac40f0048.jpg

[Nickfna]

HaHa, sussed it guys just having a bit of a senior moment:rolleyes:

[Firebottle]

I've had a few of those recently :doh:
Glad you've got it sorted.

[Cas]

I've had a few of those recently :doh:
Glad you've got it sorted.

Yup they creep on ya.

[glenann]

Hi all
Does any know the right size
tapered hose fitting for the drain valve on this cleaner.
Thanks
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190614/54b6833775343536df8b99aac40f0048.jpg
I’m thinking of building one of these in the future. Any thoughts, feelings, advice please? Do they clean records better than a standard record vacuum cleaner?

[alphaGT]

I’m thinking of building one of these in the future. Any thoughts, feelings, advice please? Do they clean records better than a standard record vacuum cleaner?

Before I bought my RCM, I did a lot of reading on the subject. At the time, ultrasonic cleaners were ultra expensive. But of the many reviews I’ve read, it seems the biggest issue with ultrasonic cleaners is that they do not dry the records, and they must rest in a rack until drip dried.

I thought to myself, a lot of people who do buy the ultra expensive ultrasonic, probably already own a regular vacuum unit. So why not just wash them ultrasonic and the dry them with the vacuum?

Of course now that there are more affordable alternatives, it’s more likely that new ultrasonic owners will not have owned a vacuum unit. And just like this unit you’re looking at, the vacuum unit can actually cost more!

But it does seem to be the consensus that the ultrasonic units do a superior job. If you don’t mind the wait for records to dry.

And I also imagine it depends on just how dirty an album is? An album that’s a bit dusty, the vacuum can do a proper job. But if you’ve got records that are extremely soiled, the needle has been packing that dust and nicotine down in the grooves for decades, it only makes sense that the ultrasonic can do a better job of knocking that crud loose. I’ve cleaned old albums that took several cleanings to get most of the crud out, but I’ve not heard that any album got better from subsequent cleanings in an ultrasonic machine? As I said, this was all gathered from a lot of reading, I’ve never used an ultrasonic machine myself. However I’m very pleased with the results from my Pro-Ject vacuum machine. If the ultrasonic is better, then it must be great!

Russell

[Nickfna]

I’m thinking of building one of these in the future. Any thoughts, feelings, advice please? Do they clean records better than a standard record vacuum cleaner?

I have both the ultrasonic set up and a Pro-Ject vacuum machine so i don't have the drying issues, but what i will say is that the ultrasonic cleans the records
miles better than the vacuum does.

Also a good idea is to put together a filter system to clean the solution as you will be topping up a lot.https://i.ibb.co/dmckf4p/IMG-20190723-204420493.jpg


https://i.ibb.co/ZBJc1JL/IMG-20190723-204451646.jpg

with this setup i can clean 20 records in about an hour which is plenty cos after an that ive more than had enough of the noise.

Total cost for ultrasonic tank,drive module,filtering system and extra axle type thing less than £250:)

[glenann]

Thanks for the replies, that's good to know. I have access to pure water (as I'm a window cleaner) so have 1000ltr's all the time. Appreciate the feedback..

[lovejoy]

I had a Moth MKII RCM for a few years and apart from the horrendous amount of noise it made, I can't say I ever really got satisfactory results out of it and generally ended up with noisier records than I started out with. Got to a point where I was cleaning certain records 3-4 times and they still never came out perfect. I never worked out whether it was my technique, the liquid I was using (I tried a few well regarded commercially available liquids) or the Moth just didn't work very well, but I took a house move as an opportunity to sell it on.
It wasn't until a few years later that I decided to give an ultrasonic cleaner a try, so I bought one of the kits from Ebay for about £300 and haven't looked back. Yes, the noise the cleaner makes is quite unpleasant, so I do it in the garage which means that I'm limited to cleaning on mild/warm days so that records aren't sat around for hours drying, but the results are fantastic. I've even managed to recover the albums I thought ruined by the Moth RCM. I'm currently about 10% of the way through cleaning the entire collection but it WILL all get cleaned because the difference, even with new records, is abundantly clear.
I tend not to bother with filtering the liquid, just do a batch and replace. I get Pure Water from the local Spotless Water dispenser which is pennies (and I still have a key fob with most of the £20 free credit I got when I signed up, so I've not actually paid for any water yet), so then it's a mixture of 5 litres of that with around 0.5l of BioEthanol and a capful of photoflow. That mixture does a great job. Haven't felt the need to try anything else.

[glenann]

The combination of liquid was my next question. Thanks Rich, most informative!

[alphaGT]

I have both the ultrasonic set up and a Pro-Ject vacuum machine so i don't have the drying issues, but what i will say is that the ultrasonic cleans the records
miles better than the vacuum does.

Also a good idea is to put together a filter system to clean the solution as you will be topping up a lot.https://i.ibb.co/dmckf4p/IMG-20190723-204420493.jpg


https://i.ibb.co/ZBJc1JL/IMG-20190723-204451646.jpg

with this setup i can clean 20 records in about an hour which is plenty cos after an that ive more than had enough of the noise.

Total cost for ultrasonic tank,drive module,filtering system and extra axle type thing less than £250:)

That’s a good looking setup! The filter is a nice touch, to keep on cleaning without having to change batches of fluid. Strange how the price of ultrasonic has gotten to be the most affordable solution.

Russell

[Nickfna]

That’s a good looking setup! The filter is a nice touch, to keep on cleaning without having to change batches of fluid. Strange how the price of ultrasonic has gotten to be the most affordable solution.

Russell

Thanks Russel
The filtering is in my opinion a must if your buying vinyl thats at least 35 years old, The solution gets dirty very quickly.

Nick.

[alphaGT]

Thanks Russel
The filtering is in my opinion a must if your buying vinyl thats at least 35 years old, The solution gets dirty very quickly.

Nick.

When I first got my RCM, I cleaned about 3 records. Nothing special, just from my own collection. And I drained the waste water into a plastic bottle, and it was as dark as tea! So cleaning lots of very soiled records could make a mess of the fluid in short order! Nothing wrong with changing out the fluid every batch, but keeping that much clean water on hand could be troublesome. Filtering really seems like the way to go.

Russell

[davidismynaim]

I have both the ultrasonic set up and a Pro-Ject vacuum machine so i don't have the drying issues, but what i will say is that the ultrasonic cleans the records
miles better than the vacuum does.

Also a good idea is to put together a filter system to clean the solution as you will be topping up a lot.https://i.ibb.co/dmckf4p/IMG-20190723-204420493.jpg


https://i.ibb.co/ZBJc1JL/IMG-20190723-204451646.jpg

with this setup i can clean 20 records in about an hour which is plenty cos after an that ive more than had enough of the noise.

Total cost for the ultrasonic tank, drive module, filtering system and extra axle type thing less than £250:)

Hi there, hope you don't mind me resurrecting this post. I am planning on putting together an ultrasonic cleaning machine. I am very attracted to continuous filtration, as per your solution. Would you mind pointing me to the supplier you used to source the filter module/case, plus the pump details and any other info you are able to share? I have found a good 6L tank and a 6 disk motor-driven caddy. so this would be the cherry on the cake....thanks...I've pm'ed too, in case you don't see this post, but thought it better to public post so others can see the dialogue.

[Nickfna]

Hi,
Here is some links to the stuff i bought, it's all from a certain site.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/302365492886?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/292031137713?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253208365445?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-12V-Submersible-Brushless-Water-Pump-Aquarium-Fountain-Pond-Pump-Upto-300cm-/372739361149?var=&hash=item56c8ff497d

Good luck.

[davidismynaim]

Great, thanks, really helpful. A couple of clarifying questions if I may:-

Do you operate the pump in the tank or outside of the tank? I've (possibly incorrectly) assumed submersible water pumps needed to be in water?

Do you run this filtration continuously while cleaning the records?

How long do the filters last before you have to replace them?

Do you do any other filtering when you store the used cleaning liquid or is the continuous filtration enough?

Can you give some idea of how long and how many cleaning sessions you get from a batch of made-up cleaning fluid?

Sorry for all the questions, trying to learn before I plunge in.

Thanks

[davidismynaim]

closer examination of your photos, looks like the little pump is outside, so I guess that must work, which is good, as I would worry about it snagging with the revolving records.

[Nickfna]

hi David

Do you operate the pump in the tank or outside of the tank? I've (possibly incorrectly) assumed submersible water pumps needed to be in water?
outside the tank,the info sheet of the pump shows the different ways it can be run.

Do you run this filtration continuously while cleaning the records?
No.

How long do the filters last before you have to replace them?
Iv'e changed the filter once since I started using this system over two years ago.

Do you do any other filtering when you store the used cleaning liquid or is the continuous filtration enough?
the cleaning solution is left in the tank, if it's not been used for a week or so I will filter the
solution then run the tank for five minutes empty before cleaning the records.

Can you give some idea of how long and how many cleaning sessions you get from a batch of made-up cleaning fluid?
Dunno really, but you will need to have some solution made up as the tank will need topping up regulary..

I use this recipe for making the solution.

https://londonjazzcollector.wordpress.com/for-audiophiles/home-brew-cleaner-for-vacuum-rcms/

Regards
Nick.

[Nickfna]

You will also need these. don't ask the fitting size tho as i can't remember two weeks ago let alone two years:)


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121360796379?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tefen-Nylon-Pipe-Fittings-Plastic-Barbed-Pipe-Joiner-Connectors-14-Bar-Pressure-/123571153158?var=&hash=item1cc56a2906

Nick.

[steveharman]

As it happens I'm just finishing designing & printing the parts for one of these. Assembled, the motor-turning device & its PSU should run to around £34. That excludes the ultrasonic tank of course!

Steve

[MisterMoseley]

As it happens I'm just finishing designing & printing the parts for one of these. Assembled, the motor-turning device & its PSU should run to around £34. That excludes the ultrasonic tank of course!

Steve

Would be interested to know how this is progressing.
Any photos of the finished items, fitted to the tank?