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In Reply to: RE: My DIY approach to ultrasonic record cleaning posted by Rushton on October 21, 2016 at 11:58:48
Rushton,
Your excellent and freely shared detail on the setup and process (at another forum) gave me the itch to take the plunge. And as coincidences go, your post and my tank both appeared today. :) Received the Vinyl Stack earlier this week, and while it's a little more expensive than the 3-D printed Cleaner Vinyl unit I looked at, I'll say I'm very pleased with the execution and quality of it (plus the Cleaner Vinyl unit didn't appear to have adjustable speed). I have the parts for a filter setup similar to bbftx's, but the pump he used is no longer available for a sane price, so I bought another cheap one. Not sure if it will work, but it was only a $25 risk. Already had the Triton X-100 to mix formula for my VPI 16.5, so all I need is some Hepastat. Hope to get everything set up this weekend and give it a try. Again, many thanks for all of your posts and shared experience on this -- would have been a perilous stumble in the dark otherwise.
Bill
Follow Ups:
Hi Bill, thanks for your kind comments. I'm delighted for you that you were able to invest a bit more and get the Ultra Stack Spin Kit . I think you'll find that it works extremely well. Good luck in your efforts! Please tell us how it goes.
Rushton,
When you're done with a cleaning session, do you leave the fluid in the tank, or empty into a container and save it? If the former, do you have any concern about the alcohol concentration over time (as it will evaporate faster than the water)?
Thanks!
Bill
Good question. I leave the cleaning solution in the tank and cover the tank. Certainly might be an even better practice to drain the solution through a filter into a sealed container, but that's not time efficient for me since I'm typically cleaning some records every several days.
I've not worried about the isopropyl evaporating so much that it would have any material impact on my results. And so far I've not been able to hear any impact.
I filter my tank water in between each batch of records using an inline pump and 1 micron filter - the water simply cycles back into the tank. The goal is to keep the tank solution scrupulously clean. I'm finding that I can keep the same tank of solution for 30-50 records, depending on how dirty the records are. After this number of records, I dump the tank solution and mix a fresh batch.
There is some solution loss over time both through what lifts away with the records when pulled from the tank and a bit of evaporation; and I'm sure you're right that the alcohol is more likely to evaporate than the other elements in the solution. I will add more isopropyl if I'm adding water to the tank to top it up, maintaining the 5% solution of isopropyl that I'm shooting for. I typically do not add more of the Triton/Hepastat base solution, however.
Thanks for the question!
Rushton,
Thanks for the detailed reply. Makes sense. Guess I'll have to see how frequently I can get around to cleaning and decide whether to keep it in the tank or drain and store.
Happy to say the pump works perfectly. I was concerned it may not have enough oomph to push the solution through the 1 micron filter, but it is more than adequate. And I was pretty impressed with what came in the box: pump, two brass barb fittings, two compression washers, two hose clamps, the wall-wart power supply, and even a roll of teflon tape. :) Not bad for $25. Very quiet, and was just warm to the touch after running for 30 minutes.
So I'm off to the races, and plan to do some cleanin' and listenin' tomorrow.
nt
The filter is a Pentek 5" filter. It comes in 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" ports any of which will work. Choose what best matches the pump you are able to find. I'm using this 3/8" port version:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014C5D64/The pump bcowen found and that he shows in his photo above is a Bayite brand DC pump. His is the least total cost implementation I've seen and easy to obtain! See https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G305PK0/
Edits: 10/22/16 10/22/16
Thanks Rushton. I bought the exact same filter housing with the 3/8" ports. Works perfectly. Filter link below for Alaskahiatt.
nt
nt
Great to know about another pump that will work in this configuration! Thanks, bcowen.
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