Record cleaning machine advise, want to buy,"HELP"

Put me in the 16.5/RRL fluid/DD brush camp.

I've owned the 16.5. My vote goes for the Nitty Gritty 1.5F (currently own). Much prefer it to the 16.5. It is a little quiter and has a pump for the cleaner.

Someone needs to stick up for the Nitty Gritty concept. Sucking the used fluid DOWN seems to me inherently better than sucking it UP (who wants to be a suck-up anyway?). I much prefer the manual Nitty Gritty to any of the automatic machines -- gives you much greater control over the cleaning process. My original NG I was going strong after 22 years, but I found an irresistibly-priced Record Doctor II (same thing as a NG I, essentially) here on Audiogon. Thinking of donating my original to the Smithsonian. Seriously, it does a great cleaning job.

I have had the Nitty Gritty and sold it in favor of the VPI 16.5 and am very happy with my decision to do so.
The VPI has more vacuum and with the record on a firm platter you can really scrub the record and suction tube being clear lets you know when it is dried. Th NG was all face down and trial and error played ing to whether the record was dried or not.

For an interesting and informative take on the topic, take a look at this link to a page on an audio enthusiast's website where he very neatly outlines his own thoughts and processes behind cleaning records and the methods he supports. It's an excellent and informative read, regardless of your decision to adopt his methods.

http://www.indiespinzone.com/other/recordcare.html