ZeroStat 3 - is this overkill?

Hi All,

After I have cleaned my records using an RCM I use the ZeroStat before putting them in MoFi sleeves.

I hold each record in front of me with one hand aiming the gun at 12 o'clock (sort of speak) on the record, squeeze, then do the same at 6 o'clock. Flip the record and do the same there.

Is this overkill? Is it just necessary to aim at ANY (but ONE) point on record and squeeze instead of the way I do it - 4 times?

Many thanks!

Nubben

 

Well, I wouldn't bother hitting records with a ionizer like the Zerostat before putting 'em in sleeves, next time you pull 'em out of the sleeve you might just be charging 'em up again. I'd just do it before you play a record if there's a charge. Otherwise I think you're just wasting the life of the Zerostat.

But a couple of squeezes pointing at different points of the surface (holding the record in free air, not sitting on a platter), is pretty normal use.

 

I've found that really clean records do not have much (if any) static charge. Before I was using a surfactant(Triton-X) my records would still have a static charge after US cleaning. Now, they do not. So I'll only hit them with the ZeroStat if/when needed (and long after cleaning)

 

Buy antistatic sleeves - problem ended

 

Thanks everyone for your input.

Nubben

 

I'have recently acquired one. So far, so good!

Regards

 

Seriously. A wash plus putting them in MoFi sleeves is as good or better than a Zerostat (i.e., no need to use a Zerostat if you are removing records from antistatic sleeves)? I was thinking of getting a Zerostat. Pfan-Stat fluid did nothing for me.

 

Not all, but some records build up a charge just from being played. So just washing and using anti-static sleeves isn't gonna help you in that case.

 

RCM's can add static as well so a quick zap before putting in the sleeve can't hurt. I also zap them before playing.

 

My records get lots of static from sleeves and felt mat. Before putting them back into the sleeve I want as much lint gone as possible. That requires I use the anti-static gun after each LP I play. I will also use it on the felt mat every few records. I do the triangle method but just pull back on the last point instead of doing 4th in the middle as they suggest.

 

I use a Mapleshade Iconoclast anti-static tool after cleaning each record on my VPI 16.5. As noted above RCM cleaning can induce static. Every once in a while I'll need to zap something again, but that's maybe 1 out of 75-100 records.

 

Zerostat has simplified my life, don't know why I waited so long to get one. I use it after cleaning and occasionally before playing.

 

I've seen the demos and they only do one side. Do you have to do both sides? I've also seen demos where they use the Zerostat with the record on the turntable. I know you are supposed to hold the record, but it still seems to work.

 

I only do one side, seems to work for me. I tried the packing peanut test when I first got it, and found that just doing one side seems to get rid of all the static charge.

I don't use it with the LP on the turntable. I just hold the record by the label with one hand.

 

I have a problem with my headphone listening system and static: if the LP is static-charged, the signal cuts out (or down). I believe this is because there is no grounding in my setup (1970s Marantz receiver and Pro-ject Debut III TT). It happens most often with 180g records, which I read is the usual. On my other, whole-house system, I don't have the issue because the TT goes into a phono box that is grounded.

I put on Abbey Road from the Beatles box yesterday and about had a fit when the album almost completely cut out halfway through. Last straw kind of thing.

My options/ideas are thus:

1. Will just putting them in MoFi sleeves cut down on the static? I've started doing this with all 180g albums, and always did this with thrift store finds after I washed them.
2. Is there a solution to the fact that my TT, with an acrylic platter, cannot accommodate both an anti-static mat and a record clamp? The height of my spindle is to short with a 180g record and all of that.
   
3. Should I try the dryer cloth method? I was kind of afraid of some residue getting on the LP..?
   
4. Should I get a Miltys Zerostat, and just spend the $80+ and be done with it?
5. Should I run a phono box into the Aux input on the Marantz to get a ground in the system? I already have a CD player running in there, and it would pretty much defeat the point of having the Marantz at all.

Inputs appreciated.

 

I have an original red body Zerostat and it works as advertised to remove static from my vinyl. I zap each LP after cleaning before I put it in the MoFi sleeve and again just before I play any LP. Maybe overkill doing this before putting in antistatic sleeves but takes literally 10 seconds to do.

I do this mostly to help remove the static so as not to attract more dust to the LP and it works as I can simply blow off any new dust with a gentle breath. So far I have had no need to reclean an already RCM cleaned LP and never had to use a brush to remove surface dust during playing.

 

I'd get a zerostat, and then figure out a way to ground your system. If you don't have one, you might need a whole house humidifier in your home to reduce your overall static. Living in Montana, I would think the air is pretty dry, plus it's winter 12 months out of the year. A little humidity is better for you health wise, also.

Don't wipe your records with a freakin' dryer sheet.

 

Common misconception: we have 6 months of winter, one month of late winter, one month of early winter, and four months of summer.

The whole house humidifier was actually recommended by someone who was talking to us about new wood floors as well. I just don't know that we could afford something that would service the whole house.

 

OT- I live in Massachusetts and have forced air heat which really dries out the air in the winter in my house. I could have added a humidifier to my heating system but after researching it I found out that presents problems of its own. I found out that molds can grow in the heating ducts due to the humidifier moisture which can cause real health issues. I was told it is difficult and expensive to get the ducting cleaned periodically and they can never get rid of all the mold. This was close to 19 years ago so my memory is a little fuzzy but that is what I remember. I would research it further before I added a whole house humidifier to central forced air heating.

 

I've heard that as well, but the environment here is *really* dry year round, making mold growth difficult in all but the most persistently moist areas (for instance, a pipe leaking inside the house's walls - which we had).

I'm not sold on the idea myself, which is why we balked when discussing the wood floors. I personally like it really dry. Having been raised in Massachusetts myself, and lived in NJ and SC, I've had enough humidity to last me a lifetime.

 

You have to set it up so that it only comes on when the furnace is on. I've had a whole house humidifier for well over 15 years, due mainly to the number of musical instruments I own and have had no issues. You don't want it set up so that it's always sending moist air into the ducts in a situation where it can condense inside the duct. It also comes down to the quality of your ductwork in general. I know of some people that have mold problems due to poor quality installation and water condenses on the OUTSIDE of the duct when the air conditioner is on. Most houses are poorly built, so I can see how some issues would arise.

For me, installing that humidifier, and my gas fireplace was two of the best things I could have done for my house.

 

You may be right SD but considering everyone in my family has allergies of one type or another, I am allergic to the outdoors basically and have to take Clariton daily for mine, I did not feel it was worth the risk or expense in my case. I also have a 3 story home so cleaning those ducts would be a challenge and expensive.

Back on topic, I do highly recommend the Zerostat gun. I have read mixed reviews on the reliability of the blue Milty version but you can get an original Red bodied unit from eBay, for about the same price as a new Milty alone, and usually with a complete Discwasher kit.

I bought a complete kit off of eBay when I got back into vinyl a couple of years ago and it was mint and looked barely used. The kit even had the plastic lid and test bulb for the Gun which usually gets lost over time so I figured they must have taken care of the gun and it works flawlessly.

 

Would you be able to post a picture of your set-up with the 'test bulb'? I see a couple on eBay, but I can't tell what components are missing, and the ads themselves aren't much help.

 

Here is a pic I found of a kit similar to the one I bought off of ebay.

1. Discwasher brush
2. Bottle of Discwasher liquid
3. Small red plastic u-shaped handled brush for cleaning the large LP brush velvet (far right in pic)
4. Stylus cleaning brush with mirror ( to the right of D4 fluid bottle)
5. first Generation Zerostat gun
6. Naked Neon bulb for testing gun is putting out ions. ( in pic on far right behind small brush just sticking up from the storage hole)

Here is a good pic of the test bulb



The only thing missing in the example pic is the kit I have also came with a small red bottle of stylus cleaning fluid






If you go for a vintage gun I would ask if they have the bulb as well as this usually gets lost over time. It is very small and sometimes gets pushed down into the storage hole and you don't know it is there which was the case in the kit I bought. It is really just a small neon bulb with flying leads that you hold up to the gun opening while pulling the trigger to see if it flashes to test if the gun is working. Later generations of the gun had a small black cap with the bulb built in, I believe, that fit into the end of the gun for testing.

I really just bought the kit for the gun and bulb so don't use the other pieces like the brushes so did not care if there was any cleaning fluid. I figured since kit had all the pieces the gun was most likely still in good shape, and got lucky, but like anything you buy used it is the luck of the draw.

 

How can you not use that beautiful rosewood handled brush? They work better than anything I've ever used for pre-play cleaning. I used the bulb like one time in the 35 years I've owned my set.