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Zerostat: Old is Gold?

I was recently in the market for a Zerostat gun.  I looked online and saw that they had moved their production from England to China.  Of course, without any reduction in price.  As I try to avoid Chinese manufacture as much as I can,  I thought I would buy a used one on ebay.  I bid on a few auctions but was surprised to see them selling for around $50 for one in decent (but hardly new) condition.  The new blue Zerostats from China are $80 and up. 

Are the old Zerostats in some way superior to the newer Chinese made that would justify the (IMO) relatively high prices being realized for the original guns?
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perkri
907 posts
 
Hi,

As winter is here, and the air is crazy dry, static is causing me much grief. Using the Milty seems to help, but the RCM (Okki Nokki) is adding unwanted static on top of a carpeted room. Humidifier is running 24/7 - with some benefit.

I've been looking at one of these. Thought it might help dry records after RCM as well as remove static. 

Has anyone used one?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-Aerostat-PC-Ionizing-Air-Blower-Fan-Ion-Anti-Static-110V-220V/32...

Thanks!
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
P.S. regarding my previous comment that:
I have never felt the need to use a brush....
I do occasionally use a brush on the platter itself, even though my turntable has a dustcover. I use an Oracle record brush I purchased back in the 1980s.

Also, after thinking about it a little further I’m not sure I was recalling correctly that the original Zerostat instructions recommended three pulls and releases at each of the three locations above the record, rather than one. But in any event that’s what I’ve always done.

Best regards,
-- Al

uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
@perkri
We use ionized air fans on our work industrial equipment to reduce the static charge buildup in the hot plastic sheeting as it is being manufactured and wound.
Much larger and 460v units but the principle is the same.
We can definitely tell when one has died!
Cannot see why it would not help but you may have to play with positioning and such.
Might be worth a $95 experiment.
gpgr4blu
1,088 posts
 
I have a white Zerostat from I believe around 1972 which still works. I can't tell the difference between that and the newer blue one I purchased 2 years ago. When I bought a Furutech Destat, both Miltys were shelved as the Furutech works better and more evenly (at a cost $).
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
I wondered if anybody actually had a white one.
The one on eBay is $50 with no idea if it works or not.
I am afraid to say I bought one of the newer blue, made in China, models.
It seems to work fine for me.
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