2. analog
  3. 152714-1640

A Worthwhile Untrasonic Cleaner

I just purchased these two items from Amazon (PRIME)...

An Album Rotation device - holds 5 albums...
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07PNCVMZ3/ref=pe_3034960_236394800_TE_dp_1

An Utransonic Cleaning Tub
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07HNQ26WT/ref=pe_3034960_236394800_TE_dp_f1

The rotation device is extremely well built and fits the tub perfectly. The tub also looks well made, but is a bit noisy, but that is normal from what I have read..

I have just finished cleaning some 30+ albums and found the complete unit is extremely good at getting rid of those crackles and pops - even finger prints and other grunge - with minimal effort

The tub defaults to a wash time of 5 minute (I used 10 minutes) and I reduced default temperature to 20 Celsius, but the ultrasonic process warms the water up, so by the time I had finished some 35+ albums it was 30 Celsius.

Even had a friend come over with 3 of his dirtiest albums - grunge + finger prints - just plain grubby. Ten minutes of cleaning and voila - shiney like new (apart from the scratches) playing the album was almost noise free - probably needed a second wash.

So the total cost for both units was around $450 from Amazon.ca ($370 from Amazon.com)) for the two pieces - which from what I have been seeing is perhaps the lowest price for an Ultrasonic cleaner out there.

Eager to try the unit that arrived yesterday, I only used distilled water - without any additive

What additive does the absolute best job ?
What difference does it make?
Or should I just stick with distilled water?

Thanks for any feedback.

One of the best analogue related value for money products I have ever purchased

At this rate I’ll clean my entire vinyl library pretty quickly AND do some of the wife’s jewellery :-)

If you are looking for something that actually cleans you vinyl well - consider these products.

Regards - Steve



.
williewonka
Ag insider logo xs@2x
cleeds
5,954 posts
 
benjie
... plain distilled water does not do anything. It will not clean your records ... It won’t remove grease or fingerprints. You need to use 1 1/2 ounces of isopropyl alcohol (70%) per tank and a surfactant to properly clean records when using an ultrasonic machine.
That’s certainly not universally true, even though it may be true with the machine you are using. The Klaudio US machine uses nothing but distilled water and is very effective with grease and fingerprints. That’s all part of its charm: Ease of use. Essentially one button operation.
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,791 posts
 
Look into inserting a filter to keep the solution clean.
williewonka OP
3,075 posts
 
@benjie - what machine are you using?

How many watts?

What is the vibration frequency?

There seems to be a few "variables" and would like to get an appreciation of these attributes of your machine

Many Thanks
benjie
329 posts
 
@williewonka OP

I am using an iSonic P4875, it is an commercial quality machine. Its a 35 Khz frequency at 165 watts. 3 industrial grade stack transducers with individual control PCB for unmatched cleaning power. The tank is nice and wide at 9.5 inches. The unit is well insulated so it runs pretty quiet, it doesn’t buzz your brains out.

I use the VinylStack Ultra Sonic Spin to mount the records. There is 1 inch spacers that go between the records so there is plenty of room for proper cleaning and you have control on how fast the records spin in the tank. Nice design.
https://thevinylstack.com/

Hope this helps.
billwojo
397 posts
 
You definitely need something to break down the surface tension in the water. There is a commercial product, Terrigal I believe is the product name. It's what the Smithsonian uses to clean records with.
There is a big thread on AK on the proper products to use with a chemist involved in the discussion. Lot's of really great info there.It's nice to see ultrasonic record cleaning coming down in price.

BillWojo
More to discover