A Worthwhile Untrasonic Cleaner

Man this is like deja vu all over again.....

I spent well over a year researching the US cleaning thing and about 2 months ago had all my ducks in a row, took the plunge. I bought a cheap tank, 6L Chinese product that runs at 40kHz, 180W and would likely spring for something a little better but at $100 it seemed reasonable place to start.

I got the VinylStack 3 record but in retrospect, would have opted for the 4 record stack as it will just increase each cycle by 1 record and take no more time.

The formula was the most tricky part and on another forum, a gent who is a chemist has been entertaining questions and given learned answers for a couple years now. I thought that I would try a solution based on his and others recommendations which will hopefully cover most of the gamut of what we will run into as far as unwanted stuff stuck to our record grooves is concerned.

Here is the formula I am using and have found it to be very excellent indeed:

FOR A 10 GALLON MIX (8 TANK-FULLS AT 5 QTS. DISTILLED WATER PER TANK)
(I discovered that 5 qts. works perfectly in the 6 liter tank, fills nearly to the overfill line)

Triton X-100 50ml
Hepatstat 256 38ml
IPA (91%) 72ml
_________________
Total 160ml

Mix these ingredients in a container (I am using an empty IPA bottle).
You will need to refrigerate the Triton after opening as it is prone to growing bacteria otherwise. Once the Hepastat is added, no more worries and the solution can be stored at room temperature. Also, you will not be able to mix the Triton unless you have added the IPA as it is extremely difficult to mix unless you do.

Once you have the above ingredients mixed in your empty IPA bottle (or a bottle of your choice), add 20ml to each tank of 5qts distilled water. Then, ADD AN ADDITIONAL 200ml of IPA (91%) to the solution in the tank and you’re ready to go!  Once you start to see a lot of detritus in the bottom of the tank, it will be time for a refill.  Totally empty the tank, rinse well (I use the faucet in the kitchen for this) and dry (I use paper towels).  You still have 80ml of the mixture left, so enough to do 4 more tanks.....get the picture?

As mentioned, this formula is nearly identical to that suggested by the kind gentleman on the other forum who goes by the handle of Phantomrebel so giving credit to whence it is due.

The last step before you drop the records in on your VinylStack or other turning/holding device is to turn the US cleaner on for at least 5 minutes to allow the solution to degass.....you will achieve better results that way. I do use the VinylStack, as noted, and have it set to 6V that yields 1 complete turn of the record every 3 minutes. I set the timer to 15 minutes, which means 5 complete turns for that cycle. I set the heater to 30deg. C. but as others have noted, when the transducers are turned on the temperature will rise fairly steadily. I usually do about 9 records in a session (3 cycles of 3 records) and the ending temperature is about 42-45deg. C. I have noticed NO warping or other unhappy outcomes at these temperatures. I would suspect that the records at the higher temps (the last 3 cleaned) actually might benefit the most at the elevated temps.

Happy cleaning all.....and.....it really, really works! I’ve provided a couple friends here where I live with the details and they are just smitten at how clean and quiet their records are now.

@anovak great post man!  Thanks for passing along this research.  Sounds like your significant effort is being rewarded through great sound.  Nice.  

Appreciate your post, spiritofradio!  I can tell you this was the one thing that held me back for a long time, not having a solution that was fairly inexpensive, made from readily available ingredients, and most of all effective!  After all, the whole reason to improve our cleaning techniques is that we want the cleanest possible records to spin, right?  The tanks and the record spinning gadgets had both become very reasonable in terms of price, so it was just what to use as the solution that kept me from jumping in.  Now that I have, and been cleaning this way for a couple months, it's really a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned.  Thanks again, I hope it helps a lot of vinyl enthusiasts take the next step.  By the way, Phantomrebel has quite an informative thread over on another forum that is extremely helpful if you are interested.  Just google him and record cleaning and you'll see what I mean.  

SAFETY ALERT!!!

Hepatstat 256 in its concentrated form is dangerous, its deadly.  Read the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), and other Warning labels.  This is an Industrial product, and unless you have experience with proper Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as face shields, gloves, proper ventilation, STAY Away from this product.  This product in its concentrated form is hazardous through even skin absorption.