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Degritter brand ultrasonic record cleaner

I received notification yesterday that the Degritter ultrasonic record cleaner is finally making it into production. I have been watching the company for about a year, as the cleaner has moved from prototype to beta testing , and now to a limited production of the finalized (we’ll see ;-) version. The design is excellent, eliminating my reservations about the high-priced (around $4,000) ultrasonic cleaners, at a little over half their price (just over $2,000, last I read). The Degritter uses 120kHz as it’s ultrasonic frequency, and features water filtering and disc drying. It also looks cool, like a 1950’s toaster! Details available on the companys website.
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slaw's avatar
slaw
22,178 posts
 
@whart,

I did not buy the Elma. I'm still having fun, experimenting with my original Rushton copy.
terry9
2,354 posts
 
The thing about higher frequency is that the wave length is shorter. A 40KHz wave is about 1.5" long, a 120KHz wave is 0.5" long. The significance of this is the space necessary for the US wave to develop. If the space (record to tank wall) is less that the wave length, then cleaning is compromised. And don’t forget to factor in a margin for warped records, so those numbers are an underestimate.

Bottom line is a 120KHz machine can have a smaller tank. If it meets spec, and truly generates 120KHz. Which is why it’s a good idea to buy lab grade equipment like the PH60 - you know what you are buying, and you can trust it to meet spec, this year and next.

The first thing I did when I bought the PH60 was to test for damage. It doesn’t, unless you overheat (50C) the chemistry - then records warp, but the grooves remain undamaged. At least, not with my equipment, which includes an air bearing turntable and a Koetsu.

I have cleaned some 3000 records, most of them twice, some many times. No detectable damage from US. YMMV, but I doubt it.
terry9
2,354 posts
 
@whart
@slaw
@dgarretson

Nice to hear from you, and that you’re still cleaning.
slaw's avatar
slaw
22,178 posts
 
Thanks @terry9 ,

There was a lot of info on the "Thumbs up for ultrasonic cleaning" thread that most here contributed to. I've found to be true the same as you and @dgarretson have said regarding overstating possible negative effects of heat up to 45c and higher frequencies than 40khz by others/other manufacturers. I do want to get a .5 micron pre-filter to go in front of my 1 micron filter next.
dgarretson
2,605 posts
 
A .5 micron filter would be nice, but the large 1 micron filter canisters available on Amazon do a great job of clearing the bath of all visible debris-- which accumulates quickly over the course of several cleaning cycles.   Circulation through the soft plastic tubing to/from the external pump and filter also returns a hot bath to safe temperatures. 
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