Degritter Users

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by WntrMute2, Jun 30, 2019.

  1. hobbes4444

    hobbes4444 Forum Addict

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    So what is the best solution to cleaning the tank? I have rinsed it thoroughly but there is definitely some dried residue at the bottom of the tank. Is the dishwasher with regular dishwashing detergent really the best way for a thorough tank cleaning? I guess since we drink from the items cleaned that way it should be safe. But is it really safe for my precious vinyl?? :p
     
  2. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    This is why we always keep one or two of our old plastic-handle toothbrushes. Heat up the head with a hair dryer. Bend the head outward at a slight angle. Let it cool. Then use a bit of CLR and a bit of warm water to dissolve both visible and invisible residue in the nooks, crannies and corners of the tank. A bit of gentle scrubbing with the toothbrush gets into all
    the sharp corners. Rinse with tap water, then use a single drop of dishwashing detergent and the rinsed toothbrush to do another quick cleaning. Rinse with tap water again for half a minute. Dry the tank inside and out with a clean linen dishtowel. To dry off the drips in the corners, use the blunt handle end of the same toothbrush to push the towel into hard-to-reach areas.

    The tank will be perfectly clean, ready for distilled water, the degassing cycle, and then 2 ml of Degritter fluid.
     
    robertawillisjr likes this.
  3. AArchie

    AArchie Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado
    I've never had residue of any kind in my tank. I rinse under hot tap water and shake the drops out before filling with DW, IPA and Tergitol for the next 30 records. I would think the dishwasher would be bad since it uses tap water and dries it leaving behind whatever is in the detergent, water, etc. I do the vinegar solution cleaning as recommended by Degritter every few hundred cycles. Done it twice now.
     
    pacvr and Agitater like this.
  4. pacvr

    pacvr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maryland
    FWIW - If you read the CLR MSDS - Microsoft Word - CLR SDS 521012 8-31-12 (bigcatrescue.org) it contains two acids Lactic & Gluconic and nonionic surfactant. Both of these are not strong acids, but stronger than Acetic acid (i.e, vinegar); but when mixed 50:50 as specified the lactic acid is still as high as 9% concentrate. From prior posts, the tank is ABS, and if you check the various material compatibility tables you may see Chemical Compatibility Chart from ISM (industrialspec.com) where ABS is not great with acids. White distilled vinegar (WDV) at 5% acidity diluted 50:50 to yield 2.5% acidity should be much safer; odor notwithstanding. Note, diluting the CLR to 2.5% will still result in an acid that is stronger than 2.5% WDV. You would probably need to at least dilute the CLR 10:1 to be safer.
     
    Agitater likes this.
  5. Agitater

    Agitater Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto
    Thanks for the post. My occasional use of CLR on ABS or anything else is always brief and always with water to dilute it as noted in my post. I think that the dilution starts at 2:1 for less than half a minute and as rinsing takes places immediately the dilution becomes very high quite quickly.

    But . . . your review of the CLR monograph has pointed out that I should start with a higher dilution. Or maybe, as @AArchie already posted, it's just a smarter idea to use the vinegar cleaning method that Degritter recommends and that you're suggesting.
     
    pacvr likes this.
  6. sharkshark

    sharkshark ThatShelf

    Location:
    Toronto ON
    ...or, you know, put them in the dishwasher. Sure, the metal on the rail will go away, but that's one easy way to get things clean (and supported by the manual)
     
  7. hobbes4444

    hobbes4444 Forum Addict

    Location:
    Massachusetts
    I tried the toothbrush cleaning but it still didn't get everything, not for want of trying. As far as the dishwasher, the comment above, sure the metal on the rail will go away. Why do you think would that happen with an occasional run through the dishwasher?
     
  8. nutop

    nutop Active Member

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    so, after a year, finally have a degritter again... was curious what settings you find the best for cleaning? i'm mostly dealing with new / clean records.

    this is what i've done so far...

    1. put in new RO water from whole foods
    2. degas
    3. add cleaning solution (trying l'art du son)
    4. using medium cycle

    i have the water level set to medium... haven't changed any other settings
     
  9. nutop

    nutop Active Member

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    also, one issue i've had so far that i've cleaned a few records... the edge of the record has spots of water after completing a full dry cycle... this is having the fan at 100%
     
  10. AArchie

    AArchie Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado
    For any record that has not been cleaned with the Degritter, I use a Heavy cycle. I dry for 2:15 at 1/2 power. Completely dry with no spotting. Could be your solution?

    Oh, and I Degas twice since not all of the water gets degassed at any given time.
     
    nutop likes this.
  11. pacvr

    pacvr Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maryland
    Not sure l'art du son would be the best cleaning solution for the Degritter which is filtered after each cleaning. The document - Gebrauchsanweisung-LArtduSon-LPReiniger-Englisch.pdf (sieveking-sound.de) indicates the solution "....with small white ingredients floating in the solution." and "As they are lipophilic they are visible in a water based concentrate." The term lipophilic mean they are oil-loving (dissolve in oil) but in water they exist as an emulsion. The Degritter filter may remove this "important" ingredient either by direct filtration or by adsorption. You may want to contact Degritter and see if they are OK with l'art du son and at the very least keep an eye on the filter.

    Also, you should note that l'art du son recommends rinsing with distilled (or RO) water after use, and "…Knosti-cleaning bath: Pour the cleaning solution away after every cleaning day. Although filtered the solution drops effectiveness when reused. To improve the cleaning result rinse your records with distilled water before you dry those. ". FYI - this is the Knosti cleaning bath - Knosti AntiStat Record Cleaning System - Generation 2 (turntableneedles.com).
     
    nutop likes this.
  12. nutop

    nutop Active Member

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    i spoke to Taniel and he said it should be fine. when i swap out my tank, i'll try a different solution, though. i had some l'art du son left over and figured i'd give it a shot.

    is there a consensus on what cleaning fluid works best?
     
  13. AArchie

    AArchie Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado
    Others can chime in but I had good results with both the Degritter solution and the DW, IPA, Tergitol 15-S-9 solution. The latter seemed to leave less residue. I never did a final DW only rinse.
     
    nutop likes this.
  14. Johncan

    Johncan Always learning

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA
    I have noticed that during the week, I lose some DW in the holding tank. This is probably due to some evaporation and to surface tension. I buy DW in a gallon container. Instead of adding 2 ML of DeGritter's cleaning solution to the holding tank, I would like to add it directly to the 1 gallon container. This way I can top off the tank as needed and not have it foam up as the water level in holding tank goes down. I can't do math anymore (too lazy) so how much DeGritter cleaning solution do I add to the 1 gallon of DW?
     
  15. AArchie

    AArchie Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado
    You may want to refrigerate the extra. I just added more DW after 15 cycles (30 total) and I never saw any less sheeting. I think you are splitting hairs.
     
  16. bbones

    bbones Active Member

    Location:
    Canada
    Evening and thanks for the friendly welcome. My Degritter arrived today. I have not hooked it up yet......want to read thru the manual first and make sure I'm following correct steps....but itching to get started. Might have to wait a day or two as work commitments have me running in circles but I'll keep you posted and am sure I may have a few questions along the way.
     
    RC2257 likes this.
  17. SME12A

    SME12A Takumi forever

    Location:
    PA
    do you guys have preferred distilled water brand that you recommend?
     
  18. AArchie

    AArchie Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado
    I just buy what's available and/or cheapest.
     
    Twinsfan007, RC2257 and SME12A like this.
  19. Alan Nordoc

    Alan Nordoc Well-Known Member

    Location:
    California
    Louie Belt likes this.
  20. robertawillisjr

    robertawillisjr Music Lover

    Location:
    Hampton, VA
    Since we use it for other purposes, as well, we get it delivered.
     
  21. SME12A

    SME12A Takumi forever

    Location:
    PA
    So I got my cleaner yesterday. Run it and so far I like it. When I add 1.5ml cleaning solution and run medium cycle, I can see foaming that goes away with drying.
    Is it normal for the gray gasket on the top, to be loose to the point it slides of when touched with record?
     
  22. Zoroastra

    Zoroastra Forum Resident

    Well, East Coast Waste just carted away my four quarts of Tergitol 15-S-3 and 15-S-9 that I had mixed into a 50:50 solution (Tergikleen copy), costing me £130 and when I asked him how they would dispose of it, he said they would separate it back into its components. What then, sell it?

    I still have two unadulterated quarts of Tergitol 15-S-9 left, and have made up the cleaning solution, I hope correctly, that pacvr suggested: 5500 mL distilled water, 0.44 mL of Tergitol 15-S-9, and 137.5 mL of isopropyl. Degassed twice, per Aarchie, then cleaned on medium with 3 min 50% fan dry cycle and the results have been good. Some sudsing, especially first cleaning of the day, but calms down some by second. Sounds great on playback. Only thing now that I worry (some) about is the gritty bits down in the bottom of the US tank. Not sure how or if I should attempt to clean those out.
     
  23. WntrMute2

    WntrMute2 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Zoroastra, why did you decide not to follow the advice of your environmental scientists and our resident expert? Dilution seems perfectly safe and effective.
    How are you going to dispose of the used fluid you are mixing up currently?
     
  24. Zoroastra

    Zoroastra Forum Resident

    The Environmental Officer for the East Anglia Area was advising based upon what he understood was a working dilution of 72 ppm in distilled water, that I should dilute a further 10X (to 0.72 ppm) and discharge one litre of that over several days into the sewage system per week. He was getting the information second-hand and did not realise that I was not connected to a sewer system (where further dilution occurs) but to a small bio-system in my back yard that drains the treated effluent directly into the drainage ditches and from there into the river which borders my village. At first I contacted friends who were connected to sewers to see if they would consider doing these huge dilutions and discharging a little per week down their drains, but they too are ecologically minded and did not want to discharge anything down the drain that was harmful to any living thing. In addition, the Tergitol 15-S-3 has been coming out of dilution and adhering to the plastic dropper and Degritter water tank. Not being soluble in water, I suspect it would remain harmful to aquatic life regardless of dilution. It was for these reasons that I decided to be safe and have it taken away.

    The RCF using water-soluble and highly diluted Tergitol 15-S-9 (with isopropyl) that pacvr suggested, being water soluble, I feel safer diluting and discharging in the manner as recommended by the Environmental Officer, bio-system or not. This is recognising that discharges of pesticides and fertilisers from the fields that surround my house into the water courses will do far more damage than my trifling amount of highly bio-degradable Tergitol 15-S-9, an amount probably less than that found in other household cleaners and laundry detergents. We all pollute this world with our chemical products and garbage, but personally I would like to keep my own footprint in all of that as small as I can.
     
    Fractured and pacvr like this.
  25. AArchie

    AArchie Forum Resident

    Location:
    Colorado
    My gasket fits snug all the way around. Did you try pushing it outward with your fingers to make sure it's seated properly? I have a consistent gap all the way around the record. My opening measures 3/8" wide.
    If you remove the rubber gasket you ought to be able to reach into the tank with something thin to clean out any debris. I've never had particles in mine but I have swabbed the water line.
     

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