Fer Gawd's sake, don't tell Fremer about jeweller's putty!
Ultrasonic record cleaners
I have a modest lp collection, mixed bag of original college age purchases, used records before the current renewed interest, and some newer albums to replace some older issues from the p mount needle days. Have a vpi 16 machine and audio intelligent form 6 fluid. I’m not finding a significant improvement on my noisier issues. The price of ultrasonic cleaners have come down to a price I would consider. Appreciate the experiences of those who have purchased the ultrasonic machines, are they superior to my vpi and are the less expensive models effective?
TIA
- ...
- 131 posts total
Please be careful with high concentrations of IPA in water and use with a heated ultrasonic tank. 25% IPA/water has a flashpoint of about 80F; and no ultrasonic tank you can afford is explosion-proof. With an ultrasonic unit three mechanisms are now in play - the heat that speeds up evaporation; the record turning is drawing fluid out that is evaporating, and the ultrasonics are agitating the fluid surface and a mist/vapor is often produced. All of this has the potential to setup the necessary conditions to develop flammable AND explosive vapors. At 100% IPA, the lower and upper explosive limits are 2.3 to 13.2%. But, even diluted with water, at 25% water-IPA, the lower and upper explosive limits are 2.3 to 7.1%. In a common domestic setting, it is very unlikely that the high ventilation turn-over rates that are required in medical and industrial settings that prevent the accumulation of flammable/explosive vapors will be used. So, the risk in a domestic setting is higher. |
As written in the book - VIII.7: KODAK™ PHOTO-FLO 200: This is a wetting agent that is water mixed with a combination of 25-30% propylene glycol (i.e., anti-freeze) that acts as a solvent and as an antibacterial and antifungal agent and 5-10% nonionic surfactant. The nonionic surfactant by the CAS number 9036-19-5 is most likely Dow™ Triton™ X-114. This type of surfactant (octyl-phenol ethoxylates) is an environmental aquatic toxin and is being phased-out (see CHAPTER IX. DISCUSSION OF THE FINAL CLEANERS: for details). If the surfactant is Dow™ Triton™ X-114, the surface tension will be about 31 dynes/cm, the CMC will be 120 ppm, but the low 25°C/77°F cloud-point limits this product mostly to applications equivalent to room temperature. If you add a cap-full that may be 10-ml, at best only 1-ml of surfactant is added, but (1-ml/6000-ml)(100) = 0.0167% = 167 ppm. So, there should be enough for it to act as a wetting solution. The propylene glycol diluted does nothing other than increases the non-volatile residue which if not rinsed, can leave a viscous type of residue. My recommended nonionic surfactant is Tergitol 15-S-9 which is a very high-performance surfactant - Tergitol 15-S-3 and 15-S-9 Surfactant | TALAS (talasonline.com). At 1-ml in 6L tank, the 167-ppm will provide excellent wetting and also provide detergency that Triton X100 will not unless you add 3X more - Tergitol 15-S-9 is much more efficient, mixes easier and rinses much easier. Edit: FYI - Tergitol 15-S-9 is not the same as Tergikleen - different products and the book addresses in detail the difference in Chapter IX. |
- 131 posts total