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A History of Ultrasonic Record Cleaning

Given all of the attention to ultrasonic cleaning of LPs, made more accessible by DIY, there’s been surprisingly little written about the history of ultrasonic record cleaning. Mike Bodell changes that with a piece I just published entitled “The Curious Case Of Record Cleaning In The Quest For Sonic Perfection," which you can find here:
https://thevinylpress.com/the-curious-case-of-record-cleaning-in-the-quest-for-sonic-perfection/
Mike found an old patent that directly addresses the subject, and puts the development of various cleaning approaches into historical context. I think you’ll find it a worthwhile addition to the literature and an enjoyable read.
128x128whart
lewm
13,136 posts
 
No argument here. I didn’t mean to imply criticism of the article per se. Interesting to know you use a surfactant. So far as I know there is a school of thought favoring pure water. I would be on your side if I ever adopt US.

i think a post cleaning rinse in pure water is very important.
whart's avatar
whart OP
3,048 posts
 
@lewm - right now i am not using any surfactant in the US machine since I still am using the KL. But I've had a number of discussions with a manufacturer of ultrasonic equipment for factory lines who, at least in a metal parts (non-LP) context, convinced me of the value of using a surfactant. The biggest issue, of course, is removing it from the record surface. Thus, the pure water rinse. 
My plan when the KL goes is probably to buy the big Elma, given the feature set, plus external filtering and recycling. 

lewm
13,136 posts
 
Which Elma product would you buy for cleaning LPs? I looked at their website. It seems they make a very wide variety of ultrasonic cleaning machines, but most of them are for various industrial purposes. Thanks.
whart's avatar
whart OP
3,048 posts
 
@lewm- Tim, in this article I published, switched from a cheap Chinese unit that crapped out after a year to the P120, see [url]https://thevinylpress.com/timas-diy-rcm-follow-up-2-compelling-changes-improved-results/[/url].
@Terry9-if memory serves is using a Fisher Scientific branded Elma version of the P60, which as Terry could probably explain, is a tight fit for two records, but I gather works well, and is less pricey due to its smaller size/capacity.
inna
7,296 posts
 
Whart, maybe you could try to actually damage a few records with the ultrasonic. What would it take or is it possible at all ?
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