Ultrasonic LP Cleaning vs. “Thread Type” Cleaning (Keith Monks/Loricraft/etc.)

willy-t24 where did you buy your Elmasonic and what model?  thanks   

@lewm: As @vinylshadow mentioned, these pumps are off the shelf. Monks claims theirs is specially adapted to spec from a pump commonly used in dialysis machines with a low failure rate and the ability to run continuously for a long while. If you saw how a Monks is built inside, it is really very Rube Goldberg, but quite ingenious in some ways. Part of the pride of ownership, apart from cleaning effectiveness, is the sort of quaint vintage charm of something that looks like it was put together by the Wright Brothers using canning jars inside. It is also relatively quiet. I don’t listen while I clean- the "cleaning "station" is in an adjacent room, but it is almost enjoyable to use the thing.

MC is only here to help .
Wait ....
He can’t help it

I can’t fathom an ultrasonic cleaner compromising any vinyl more than physical scrubbing, not to mention it’s speed advantage. Agree Try a cheap one with a few drops of Tegikleen or NP-9 and never look back.

The cleaning expert @terry9 referred to upthread might have been Neil Antin. Neil was responsible, among other things, for developing cleaning methods to scrub 02 systems on submarines for the U.S. Navy. He is a trained engineer with a fertile mind and a deep interest in audio. He has done an extensive paper, entitled "Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records" on the how and why of record cleaning. It is a pretty intense read, but is well organized and takes the reader through each step, from manual cleaning and chemistry to use of chemistry in machines, including ultrasonics and covers the basics in plain English as well as more technical data that supports what he says.
I was honored to publish this paper, for which I’m happy to provide a link. No $ here for me or Neil-- labor of love. I learned a hell of a lot in publishing this and Neil is a delightful human being. Who said engineers are boring?

mikelavigne

... the best RCM is one that does a great job, is easy to use, quick and always works. it makes my vinyl playing experience the best. the KLAudio does that for me. unfortunately they no longer make them as they cost too much to build. mine is a keeper. i can easily listen and clean at the same time. it’s on a table outside my listening room door, and is quiet enough that it does not intrude on my listening. easy for me to clean one pressing while listening to another. no muss, no fuss. just distilled water.

+1. I may have cleaned more records in the few years I've owned the Klaudio than I did in the previous decades with my old Nitty Gritty machine. It is an easy, one-button solution for cleaning records.