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Audiodesk Vinyl Cleaner Pro - Drying Issue

Hello,

Can anyone who owns an Audiodesk Vinyl Cleaner or the newer Pro version chime in with their experience on drying for me?  I recently bought the pro version myself.  The machine is supposed to clean and fully dry the record.  I am finding that mine does not fully dry the record.

As concerned as I am about this, I am still impressed by the machine.  However, I would like it to be doing all that it is designed to do.  I have spoken to the service department about this issue.  In fact, they replaced my machine with a new one in hopes that would solve the problem.  It did not.

My machine dries the record mostly, but not fully.  It leaves some minimal beads of water on the dead wax, the outer edge, and even on the grooves.  The problem is, regardless of the small quantity of moisture left, it is moisture.  If I put the record in the sleeve, the moisture is obvious, and it sticks to the sleeve.  

I have resorted to running the drying cycle a 2nd time (only possible on the pro model) or using a clean anti static cloth (made for photographic film) to soak up some of the moisture during the drying cycle, making the cycle more likely to finish the job.

Has anyone experience this with their version of the same machine?  What do you do to get the records perfectly dry? 

thanks!
Mark
marktomaras
cto007's avatar
cto007
22 posts
 
As an aside, may I also suggest reading anything you can find by @Whart (Bill Hart of The Vinyl Press) or @Tima (Tim Aucremann) -- either here or elsewhere-- on the overall subject of record cleaning and most recently the implementation of ultrasonic cavitation with a mixed method approach to cleaning different records in different states of "un-cleanliness". I have yet to find a one-stop cleaning solution to any record -- which in the end is the ultimate takeaway from reading anything from the two vinyl adventurers I referenced earlier. Again, setting expectations is key, and I feel their work is best at calibrating what to expect. Convenience always compromises performance - but never puts it out of business. As Fremer likes to say, McDonald’s never killed the gourmet. Cheers.
fred_s
30 posts
 
Hi Mark,

>were you under the impression that the machine should fully and completely dry the records? 
Yes, I expected it to produce a dry, "sleeve-able" record at the end of the cycle especially when you consider the cost of the machine.

>are you ok with your work around?  Or do you feel that you should have your machine repaired?
I doubted that there actually was a fix for the problem so I never investigated. That being said, I hadn't considered the possibility of a bit more wetting agent (as mentioned by clo007). That seems like it's worth a try.

My work-around does the job but if you like to wash a record and drop it straight onto the turntable, the Audiodesk will only allow this sometimes.


Best, Fred

whart's avatar
whart
3,033 posts
 
Thanks for the kind words, @cto007 
When I had the Audio Desk it would leave wet spots, I suspect much had to do with the 'lips' being wet from the wash cycle-- i know there was a modification on the original version to ameliorate that. Haven't used the "Pro"- though a friend is delighted with his, after having the original unit. 
The KL will leave spots occasionally- this is from wet edges around the slot.  
You guys would hate the Monks- it always leaves the edges (at 90 degrees to the face of the record) a little wet; in fact, when Monks rebooted the business, they briefly introduced a little tweezer-like thing with pads that you'd manually run around the edge of a record--that didn't work too well either, or so I'm told (it was discontinued, and I never tried it).  I just use a fresh microfiber cloth to dry the edges if necessary. 
marktomaras OP
544 posts
 
thanks all, I appreciate the comments and ideas.  I have been happy so far with my workaround.  Using the anti-static photography film cloth to wipe the record a bit during the drying cycle.  I simply gently cup part of the record as it spins in the machine with the folded cloth, removing some excess moisture.  I do this for 1 revolution, and then let it continue the drying.  Kind of like using a and dryer in the mens room, and using a piece of paper towel at the same time, the effectiveness is increased dramatically.  I'm not saying this is an amazing solution, but so far so good.
whart's avatar
whart
3,033 posts
 
@marktomaras - it might be worth a call to Robert Stein, the importer, if you are in the U.S. The one thing I’d be a little wary of, given the mechanics of the machine, is messing with the record while it is spinning. And if it is the lips that are wet, even using your method, when you remove the record at the end of the drying cycle, are you getting any water spotting from that?
It’s been a while since I used an Audio Desk and haven’t used the "Pro" version, so my comments may or may not be totally on point.
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