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Durable record vacuum cleaner recommendation?

I am looking for a durable record vacuum machine. Any recommendations?

Ideally will also do 10" and 7", and be on the quieter side. Should be able to handle some volume without breaking.

Background: my Project VC-S is busted; vacuum motor got noisy to 95dB at 1 m, a bit much, IMHO. ~$250 motor part with no returns and no guaranteed compatibility is a non-starter. This is already a replacement unit for one with bad gears for the platter. So Pro-ject is out of the running.

In the last couple of months, I used the unit quite a bit (around 1K records vacuumed) as I got an ultrasonic and go through my entire collection.

Thanks for any leads and recommendations, particularly if you have run a few thousand records through your unit with no issues.

oberoniaomnia
howardlee's avatar
howardlee
112 posts
 

Record Doctor X is not manual spin. Bidirectional motor.

lewm
13,771 posts
 

What I do with the HW17, because I find that a distilled water rinse is worth the effort, is to wash with cleaning solution dispensed from the tank via the brush, scrub in both directions with brush, then vacuum, then rinse with distilled water from a squirt bottle, then vacuum again. A plastic squeeze bottle with a nozzle is cheap and easy to find, for the water rinse.

oberoniaomnia OP
190 posts
 

@howardlee Thanks for the clarification on the RDX. I did not notice the V vs. X differences at first. The dual side is certainly a plus. One down side is that it does not handle 7/10". Don't have that many but something to consider. Rick from Joy Of Vinyl seems to be happy with it.

@joenies I looked at the CA. The motorized fluid application is a bit over top IMHO and also not needed in my workflow. Certainly nice if that is the only cleaner.

@daveyf Re Nessie looks similar to the VPI, but indeed could not find a US source. 

Currently leaning towards RDX. price is right, dual side action is a big plus. Have my reservations re durability, but may take a gamble. 

 

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,281 posts
 

 

There's a real nice VPI HW-17 for sale right now on USAM, priced at $475.00. The HW-17 weighs a ton, so shipping won't be cheap.

 

drmuso's avatar
drmuso
161 posts
 

I've used the same Nitty Gritty 1.0 since the 1990s and haven't had to do anything to service or repair it.  I'm not sure how it compares to the VPI noise-wise.  I think you could use it for a 7-inch record with the same adapter for the center hole that you'd use on a turntable, but I can't recall if I've done that.

It allows you to spin the record at a nice slow speed, for better cleaning. Costs way less than a VPI.

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