The Ultrasonic vinyl cleaner owners thread

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Josquin des Prez, Mar 4, 2019.

  1. Jim0830

    Jim0830 Forum Resident

    To those of you using the Audio Desk UCM with the stock cleaning fluid, I have a question. I have been wondering about for a while now. We have discussed elsewhere in this thread how sometimes there are leftover drops of water on the LP after the drying process is through. I am pretty diligent about drying the LP for a longer time or using a microfiber cloth to remove drips and drops. But no one is perfect. I am curious what happens if you miss some drops and sleeve the album? Are you left with a water spot that makes noise when you play the LP?

    TIA.
    BTW I am not being an Audio Desk UCM snob. I figure that each cleaning solution might behave differently than the stock Audio Desk fluid.
     
  2. dminches

    dminches Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cherry Hill, NJ
    I don’t think it is a big deal assuming it dries before you play it. It will eventually evaporate and what’s left, if anything, should not be harmful.
     
  3. Subagent

    Subagent down the rabbit hole, they argue over esoterica

    Location:
    Arlington, VA
    As an Audio Desk user, I had wondered about it passing when putting the newly-cleaned record on the TT. I've found that whatever droplets I might have noticed are gone when side ends.

    Never yet having pulled a record from the sleeve with any indications of water spotting, I finally stopped worrying about it.
     
    gabbleratchet7 likes this.
  4. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken! Thread Starter

    Location:
    U.S.
    I'm really pretty careful to make sure the record is completely dry before sleeving it. I'm not so worried about droplets drying on the record as much as creating an environment for mold to grow inside a sleeve. I have a bamboo dish drying rack and use that to air dry records that come out of the RCM (wether it's the Audio Desk or Okki Nokki). I only sleeve records when I feel certain they have no moisture at all.
     
    gabbleratchet7 and Optimize like this.
  5. Jim0830

    Jim0830 Forum Resident

    Thanks for the replies. The reason I asked is: I have a few records that were cleaned and then played sometime well after they were cleaned. They have some noisy patches where the is a sound that is softer and longer than a scratch and louder and more constant than the normal snap, crackle and pop. IT is like the stylus is traveling through some sort of grunge, I look at the record and I can't see any physical cause for this. I wondered if I might have inadvertently sleeved the record before it was dry and the noise I was hearing was the result.
     
  6. Robert C

    Robert C Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    I have a question about ultra-sonic record cleaning machines that dry the record using a 'blowing' mechanism, (rather than a vacuum on a more traditional RCM). How do the machines prevent dirt from being blown into the grooves?
     
  7. dminches

    dminches Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cherry Hill, NJ
    The Klaudio has a filter which catches dust particles from getting to the LP. My recollection is that the AudioDesk has this too.
     
  8. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken! Thread Starter

    Location:
    U.S.
    Both fans on the Audio Desk have filters. Records come out of it with less dust on them than when they come off my more traditional RCM (Okki Nikki).
     
  9. PoisonM

    PoisonM Member

    Location:
    Singapore
    There are 2 versions of the KLAudio. Only one has a filter, the other does not. The one that comes with the external reservoir has a filter but the one with the inbuilt reservoir doesn't have a filter attached.
     
  10. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken! Thread Starter

    Location:
    U.S.
    Are referring to the fluid filter? The posts above refer to the air filter on the fans.
     
  11. dminches

    dminches Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cherry Hill, NJ
    That filter is for filtering the water, not the air. When it comes to drying, the 2 models are the same with respect to filtering the air.
     
  12. eflatminor

    eflatminor Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nevada
    I use a Klaudio.

    I also have a Spin Clean, a VPI Cyclone, and where needed, a Disc Doctor manual system. Any combination may come into play depending on how old/dirty the record is, the type of music, and how much I value that music.

    One rule for me relative to the Klaudio is that I always try to put clean records only into it. At the very least, everything gets the dust blown off with a Giotto Blaster.

    I also change the water in the Klaudio fairly frequently. I like to use the cloths that came with the Spin Clean to mop up the internal reservoir of the Klaudio and to wipe clean the filter. Unless you have tiny hands, use plastic or wood tongs or you'll cut your hand on the thread of the reservoir door. Water wise, I have a three gallon container (PV7) which I fill up at the local grocery store with RO+Distilled water. It's not top lab grade but plenty pure for the ultrasonic.
     
  13. PoisonM

    PoisonM Member

    Location:
    Singapore
    My mistake.
     
  14. Robert C

    Robert C Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Thanks for your responses :) I understand that the fans have filters but, if debris is left on the record (i.e. the water drains and leaves particulate on the record) how is that prevented from being blown into the grooves?
     
  15. dminches

    dminches Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cherry Hill, NJ
    Why would debris be left on the record? That’s the whole point of the cleaning process, to remove all the debris. I really can’t recall taking a record out and seeing any physical particles. Of course, I am sure there are microscopic ones.
     
  16. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken! Thread Starter

    Location:
    U.S.
    All I have to do is shine a bright LED lamp on the record after it comes out. With the AD US cleaner, there is almost nothing there. Part of the cleaning process leaves the record static free. OTOH: using the Okki Nokki vacuum wand introduces static. When I look at a record under the lamp after it comes off the vacuum it already has far more dust clinging to it than with the US cleaner. When I use the Okki Nokki, I put the record on a bamboo drying rack and hit it with my ZeroStat. I don't need to do that when I use the AD US cleaner.

    It's the vacuum based RCM you should be worrying about. That vacuum wand with the pads loads the record with static making it a real dust magnet.
     
  17. Robert C

    Robert C Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, UK
    Well, the debris has to go somewhere once it's left the record. I suppose it is sucked down with the draining water? I've cleaned records in ultra sonic baths and then lifted the record out of the water and bits have remained on the record. So I'm just trying to figure out how that process works the other way round, where the water is drained from the record. What mechanism is in place to ensure the removed debris is pulled away with the water without some of it being left on the record?
     
  18. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken! Thread Starter

    Location:
    U.S.
    In any case, records come out of my Audio Desk far cleaner and with with nearly no dust clinging top them from static, which is not the case with my Okki Nokki. They play a lot cleaner too. The Audio Desk does have a water filter. I rinse that and the cleaning barrels with distilled water after every 50 records or so.
     
  19. dminches

    dminches Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cherry Hill, NJ
    The water filter in the Audiodesk is not going to do much. You should purchase an inexpensive meter to measure the amount of contaminants in the water at any point. With my DIY I have a pump system and a .35 micro filter which keeps things below .0004 PPM. When I measure this with my audiodesk it was significantly higher.

    This is what I have https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075TZZTXR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
     
  20. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken! Thread Starter

    Location:
    U.S.
    Thanks, but my records play just fine, so there's not much point for me. I'm not going to change what I am using, and it's still a clear and audible improvement over what I was using (ON RCM).

    At some point this all becomes a chase for diminishing returns. Once you sleeve a record it's going to attract a bunch of dust from static cling when you pull it out again for play.
     
  21. classicrocker

    classicrocker Life is good!

    Location:
    Worcester, MA, USA
    Don't have an UC but hope to get one someday and enjoy reading all the owner feedback in this thread.

    I have never had a problem with static after cleaning with my Record Doctor V RCM. After cleaning I give it a couple of pulls from the Zerostat gun before going into a fresh MoFI sleeve. When I take the LP out to play I hit it with the Zerostat again and then blow off any stray dust with one of these.

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y3YCCF3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    Like the fact it has a filter for the intake air so you are not blowing dusty air back onto the LP like the other rocket ship looking blower gizmo, others have recommended. Also has a soft tip which will not scratch the vinyl should accidentally hit it while using it.
     
  22. Warren Jarrett

    Warren Jarrett Audio Note (UK) dealer in SoCal/LA-OC In Memoriam

    Location:
    Fullerton, CA
    Nobody has mentioned the Kirmuss lately in this thread. I am curious if more owners would please comment on their satisfaction with it. How many full cleaning cycles do you typically use for new vs. used records?
     
  23. dminches

    dminches Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cherry Hill, NJ
    I added a radiator to my setup since the water temperatures were constantly rising during a cleaning session. Now they remaining at 30C.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  24. Spence

    Spence New Member

    Location:
    UK
    As a new Ultrasonic vinyl cleaner (almost) convert I just read this whole thread. Seems to have died a bit of a premature death... I was really looking forward to someone analysing Optimize’s test audio files, and to the next instalment of hammr7’s highly informed educational posts. What happened...? (I even had to join to ask this!)
     
  25. Spence

    Spence New Member

    Location:
    UK
    My tiny contribution, having read the entire thread and the plastic cavitation research paper, is to emphasise that one of the key points the research paper concluded was that: “Impact loads acting on the surface of plastics are lower... because plastics have very low acoustic impedances”. Also, the paper found that cavitation only causes “damage” to plastics where the plastic is already damaged due to fatigue, cracking etc. i.e. it exacerbates any existing intrinsic damage, which I’m hoping we wouldn’t have on our records.
     

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