Any experience of one of these of very similar?

[AJSki2fly]

I should be coming into some funds soon and as I am a dedicated vinyl fan I am considering getting an ultrasonic record cleaner, I want to get my collection as clean as is possible. I have read quite a lot on the topic of record cleaning and set up my own manual cleaning TT with vacuuming as part of the process, and use a 3 stage process. This works reasonably well but I have found and realise that there are some records which have been probably exposed to fire/cigarette smoke, greasy fingers and heavens know what else are very, very difficult to clean with this process.

I have read a bit about ultrasonic record cleaning and it seems this is probably the way to go, I do not want to spend £1-2.5K on a "Hifi manufactured" unit which at the end of the day is most likely to be made from something similar as below but repackaged and given some good advertising guff.

So firstly has or does anyone use one of these or very similar?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CGOLDENWALL...rkle_td_asin_0

Secondly can anyone advise on cleaning fluids for use in the above? From what I have read a mixture of 10% Isopropyl Alchohol, 90% pure or distilled water, with the appropriate amount of Ilford Ittol realise agent is quite liked. Others opt for enzyme based cleaners, like L'Art du Son, it seems they are more effective at 35 degrees and a 5-10 minute record clean in the ultrasonic unit. Whichever I try I will not drip dry/air dry, but will rinse with pure water and vacuum dry, primarily to avoid leaving any form of residue behind, with either solution.


Before I invest in the above, any advice or anecdotal experience will be greatly appreciated to help me decide.

Thanks

Adrian

[Jac Hawk]

I've had one for a couple of years now and very good it is too, speak to Spider on AA as he makes one called the velvet vortex i think and by all accounts it's meant to be decent, i got mine off ebay from a guy from Liverpool who doesn't seem to be making them anymore, however they all use very similar 5 or 6 ltr baths.

Regarding fluids my preference is for a 25% 75% IPA distilled water mix with a splash of wetting agent (about w tablespoons) and for really dirty records i leave them to soak for about 20 minutes before they get the ultrasonic treatment.

As i use a higher concentration of IPA the records tend to dry more quickly plus a have a fan set up much like a air hand dryer, so my vinyl is ready to play within about 4 or 5 minutes from leaving the bath.

[Opti-cal]

I use this one listed below (very similar by the looks of it).

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ultrasoni...EAAOSwyEhfgyzy

Its basically the same as the one you link to.

It's very very good. 10/15 minutes on medium dusty/dirty records is all it really needs, slightly longer for really bad ones.

I just leave them to dry for a few minutes on a vinyl drying rack (from an old manual cleaner) and dab them dry with a microfiber cloth, it doesn't add static if you do it carefully.

The mix, I have found IS important and helps them dry properly as well as remove dirt and grime.

As recommended by the seller the mix is 20-30% bio-ethanol fuel (which I use in my fire-place also) to 80-70% deionased water (available cheaply from Halfords). Depending on the strength required and the state of the records. Most of my records are in VG+ to M condition and therefore pretty clean to start with, so I tend to stick closer to 20/80 concentration.

As most of my records are clean one bath will probably do 100 records easily before you would consider making a fresh 'bath'.

[AJSki2fly]

I use this one listed below (very similar by the looks of it).

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ultrasoni...EAAOSwyEhfgyzy

Its basically the same as the one you link to.

It's very very good. 10/15 minutes on medium dusty/dirty records is all it really needs, slightly longer for really bad ones.

I just leave them to dry for a few minutes on a vinyl drying rack (from an old manual cleaner) and dab them dry with a microfiber cloth, it doesn't add static if you do it carefully.

The mix, I have found IS important and helps them dry properly as well as remove dirt and grime.

As recommended by the seller the mix is 20-30% bio-ethanol fuel (which I use in my fire-place also) to 80-70% deionased water (available cheaply from Halfords). Depending on the strength required and the state of the records. Most of my records are in VG+ to M condition and therefore pretty clean to start with, so I tend to stick closer to 20/80 concentration.

As most of my records are clean one bath will probably do 100 records easily before you would consider making a fresh 'bath'.

Bio-ethanol fuel to clean vinyl is a new one for me! Thanks for the reply and link.

[Opti-cal]

Bio-ethanol fuel to clean vinyl is a new one for me! Thanks for the reply and link.

Yup, it sounds wrong but it does work!

Think I may have made the guy an offer somewhat below that price (a bit closer to £300 as I remember .....)

[Lurch]

Spider is your man on AA & Wam. His velvet Vortex is a great piece of kit sensibly priced. Have had mine for over 18 months without issue.
5L MIX =
De-ionised/aquarium water
25ml Ilfatol
150 ml isopropyl alcohol
10 drops each of Tergitol15-S-3 & 15-S-9

Rinse = 5ml ilfatol & 5ml alcohol per litre

Sent from my I3312 using Tapatalk

[sjs]

Velvet Vortex from Spider, as recommended above

If you want to clean 10 records at a time, the Kuzma kit via Definitive Audio is great, but that may fall foul of your "no hifi remanufactured" rule
Frank Kuzma tested out a bunch of different tanks and has a recommended list which you source yourself to use with the hardware he makes

[Leppy]

Hiya, I mentioned on the previous thread (Cleaning solutions RCM) and added pics of my home made ultrasonic tank. I,ve been using it this week and very pleased with the results. I,ve made 5 spindles which each take 5 lps. I,ve been giving all the 5 loaded spindles a 10 minute prewash at 35 degrees in filtered water,( I have an undersink plumbed in water filter), putting them on a drying rack supported by the spindles. I discard the rinse water and refill the tank with the cleaning solution and go through the motions again ,20 mins at 35 degrees, putting the solution through a home made filter after each spindle load consisting of an undersink booster pump and the same type of filter cartridge that I already have. The pump can empty the 4 lt tank in about 4 mins through 6mm ext poly tubing. Then each spindle back onto the drying rack. I can hand spin them on the rack which removes most of the water. It takes about 3hrs approx to clean 25 lps and obviously I only have to be there for the changeover operations. I,ve just topped up the cleaning solution with some more filtered water, IPA and wetting agent because some water gets lost during the op and I imagine there's some loss of the IPA through evaporation. The cleaning tank etc cost about £150 to make and the pump and filter about£50.

[AJSki2fly]

OK after much thought and discussion with a friend I have decided to go with one of these https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1, I decided on this as I have reasonable sized vinyl collection and would hope to be able to clean 10 LPs in one batch in around 15 minutes in the ultrasonic bath, and whilst the next batch is on the go rinse and vacuum dry the previous batch. I will be initially using what seems to be a pretty accepted mix of 5L of distilled water, 1L (one large bottle) of 99% IPA and 30ml of technical grade Triton X-100 or 25ml ILFORD ILFOTOL WETTING AGENT, and will rinse of with distilled water and vacuum dry.

I questioned quite a few on how close records can be in a unit and still effectively clean and got some mixed responses, but but predominantly it was that as long as there was 5-10mm gap then cleaning would be good. If I find this is not the case them I will space the records out more and do less at a time, at least I will have this option.

So I am looking forward to trying this out, and will report on how I find it, I have several stubborn records so it will be very interesting how these come out.

[Macca]

It looks good for the money.