RCM recommendations

I guess I'll throw my two cents in. I recently picked up an old used and abused VPI 17 rcm, the vacuum was weak, the wood rotted from leaks, etc. but all mechanical parts were functioning.

I was very suprised at the poor build quality and design of this old 17 especially for the price that was paid for it new. I hope many of the design issues have been addressed in the newer models. Examples are vacuum and fluid reservoir tanks had no tops to them and allowed liquid to be exposed to bare partical board, vacuum seal was cheap foam and was leaking badly. I was a bit disappointed, but with a bit of effort and some time I was able to remedy all of these issues and turn my old 17 into a great rcm.

It really works nicely to clean records, the fluid dispensing system is nice but I would say is not required, plus if you want to do an additional rinse with different fluid (ie distilled water) there is no easy way to do that other than with a spray bottle so all in all if I were to buy new I would go with a 16.5 over the 17 for the price difference. But I would also do further investigation on the build of the machine. Hope this helps.

Without stream your records are not as clean as they could be. If you don't have a Keith Monks machine, you are also not getting things as clean as the could be.

I like the Nitty Gritty... I have the 1.5FI, has auto fluid application which the VPI 16.5 does not

Had a Nitty Gritty 2.5Fi - recently stepped up to the Mini-Pro2 - awaiting arrival. I was very happy with the 2.5Fi, the upgrade bug bit hard. I like how NGs vacuum from below - gravity helps with fluid removal.

Some ideas about RCM..Had a 16.5 and someday I got a Monks. I was very impressed from that one.
Some additional info (generally)
The most famous and (and the most expensive by far ) was the Point nozzle from Keith Monks (Monks RCM..some sizes...some modifications).
He made a superior Design 30 years ago and it is still unsurpassed (from the idea and the way it works).

That one was the only one which was used in Studios, Record libraries and Radio stations all over the world. Reason was (or is):
-superior cleaning Result
-very, very silent compared to others
-it is a workhorse, nothing gets hot or breaks
-the cleaning result is exceptionally good from the №1 record in the morning to № 400 in the evening

(Problem: the Price, is was very hard to sell with the Mark Ups which are used in High end ---> Copies started)

Monks got older, his RCM was still expensive and the first copies were made.
Loricraft is based on the Monks System (Point nozzle), it is a good machine based on a competitive pricing.
Source Odyssey is made from the former Monks Importer in Germany (Keith Monks passed away some years ago), same System but with the "Made In Germany" Parts Standard and Function. The overkill :-)
Monks jun. is back in Production and the Keith Monks from GB is available again.

Then you have those RCM's from VPI, Hannl, Clearaudio etc.
They clean in a different way, they are very fast, but the noise is something special and the cleaning result can't reach a Point nozzle (simple Physics)