I made myself a record cleaner - Page 12

AudioDon · 1st April 2009, 11:03 PM

Nice work Ianmac. I am building one of these units myself. Have you played around with temperature in the bath, or have you used any surfactant or detergent?

Audiomix · 2nd April 2009, 06:14 AM

We use one part of alcohol to seven parts of water.
Clean water should be good enough because of the ultrasonic action.

Ianmac · 2nd April 2009, 07:31 AM

AudioDon

Haven't played around with temperature. I don't have a good knowledge of Chemistry so am enlisting the help of a retired Chemist re the addition of alcohol as recommended by a number of subscribers.
Am intending to try the 1 in 7 mix mentioned by Audiomix.

Currently getting good results with Scottish tap water - which is similar to the Norwegian variety !- with a tiny drop of washing up liquid

With the number of users of Ultrasonic cleaners increasing by the week we should be able to pull together a list of recommended cleaners and procedures!

Ianmac

AudioDon · 7th April 2009, 02:04 PM

Scottish tap water? Is that alcohol?

Ianmac · 8th April 2009, 10:29 PM

Regret no, basic water from Loch Katrine. Have not tried to add some malt whisky yet.

Got some Isopropol today and mixed it with water on a 1 to 7 ratio. with a drop of detergent. Excellent results. Looks like the core recommendation from earlier subscribers is well within the ball park.

I have not tried varying the temperature, bearing in mind the temperature of the solution does rise slightly in use. One tip I did pick up from a UK electronics Co. that sells Ucleaners was to degass a cleaning solution before using it. They recommmend running the cleaner for 5 mins each time a new cleaning solution is loaded before using it for actual cleaning.

Ianmac

AudioDon · 9th April 2009, 03:45 AM

Thanks for the response. Just wondering if anybody can elaborate on the action each of the ingredients will contribute. I believe I understand the action of the alcohol is to degrease by dissolving oil; not sure about the detergent.

When detergent is used would it not be necessary to do a rinse on the vinyl afterwards, perhaps using a VPI vacuum machine in conjunction with distilled water?

Key · 9th April 2009, 05:39 AM

The detergent is used as a surfactant to break the surface tension in the water. You do NOT want it to "sud" or bubble.

The idea is that if the water still beads up it will not get into the microscopic groves - 10kHz and above. So a drop or two makes it so the water is slick but not suddy.

Basically before you add the surfactant a water bug could probably walk across the top but after I think he would break through the top of the water and fall into the water.

listener13 · 11th April 2009, 10:33 PM

Hello, my name is Tom and this is my first post here. I have been following this post for a while.

Here is a link to the US Record Cleaner I am working on.

http://www.hillman-rls.com/Ultrasoni...aner/Index.htm

Be gentle with your critiques and good advice is always welcome.

TURBINE · 11th April 2009, 11:30 PM

Awesome job Tom , no critisism here.
What do you use for cleaning fluid and at what temp do you clean at?
I just completed a ultrasonic cleaner myself and will post some pics. next week. Great job.!!!!
Todd

listener13 · 12th April 2009, 06:55 AM

Thanks Todd. It has taken me a while to acquire everything needed for this project. I started collecting parts of it before Christmas.

I just want to say thank you to all you guys for contributing to this thread. Thanks Lars for starting this thread and posting your unit, it looks great.

Thanks as well to Ianmac; I know you have been working on yours for a while, Great job.

Also thanks to the guys over at hifisentralen.no (Lars and others). A lot of good designs over there as well. I just wish I could read the language, but the pictures are pretty, lol.

I really haven’t used it that much to come up with a cleaning solution. We have a reverse osmosis hooked up to our kitchen sink. It is a 6 stage unit with 2 de-ionizing filters on it. When I tried it last night I used the RO water with a couple drops of Dawn dishwashing detergent. I did not like the foam so I sucked it off the top of the bath. I then added some PhotoFlo and that seemed to be the ticket. I will be experimenting more tomorrow.

Be sure to wear your ear plugs when using this type of cleaner. I have more ringing in my left ear today than usual.

2nd April 2009, 06:14 AM	#112
Audiomix diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: No	We use one part of alcohol to seven parts of water. Clean water should be good enough because of the ultrasonic action. __________________ Hans

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1st April 2009, 11:03 PM	#111
AudioDon diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2009	Nice work Ianmac. I am building one of these units myself. Have you played around with temperature in the bath, or have you used any surfactant or detergent?

2nd April 2009, 07:31 AM	#113
Ianmac diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Ayrshire	AudioDon Haven't played around with temperature. I don't have a good knowledge of Chemistry so am enlisting the help of a retired Chemist re the addition of alcohol as recommended by a number of subscribers. Am intending to try the 1 in 7 mix mentioned by Audiomix. Currently getting good results with Scottish tap water - which is similar to the Norwegian variety !- with a tiny drop of washing up liquid With the number of users of Ultrasonic cleaners increasing by the week we should be able to pull together a list of recommended cleaners and procedures! Ianmac

7th April 2009, 02:04 PM	#114
AudioDon diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2009	Scottish tap water? Is that alcohol?

8th April 2009, 10:29 PM	#115
Ianmac diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Ayrshire	Regret no, basic water from Loch Katrine. Have not tried to add some malt whisky yet. Got some Isopropol today and mixed it with water on a 1 to 7 ratio. with a drop of detergent. Excellent results. Looks like the core recommendation from earlier subscribers is well within the ball park. I have not tried varying the temperature, bearing in mind the temperature of the solution does rise slightly in use. One tip I did pick up from a UK electronics Co. that sells Ucleaners was to degass a cleaning solution before using it. They recommmend running the cleaner for 5 mins each time a new cleaning solution is loaded before using it for actual cleaning. Ianmac

9th April 2009, 03:45 AM	#116
AudioDon diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2009	Thanks for the response. Just wondering if anybody can elaborate on the action each of the ingredients will contribute. I believe I understand the action of the alcohol is to degrease by dissolving oil; not sure about the detergent. When detergent is used would it not be necessary to do a rinse on the vinyl afterwards, perhaps using a VPI vacuum machine in conjunction with distilled water?

9th April 2009, 05:39 AM	#117
Key diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2009	The detergent is used as a surfactant to break the surface tension in the water. You do NOT want it to "sud" or bubble. The idea is that if the water still beads up it will not get into the microscopic groves - 10kHz and above. So a drop or two makes it so the water is slick but not suddy. Basically before you add the surfactant a water bug could probably walk across the top but after I think he would break through the top of the water and fall into the water.

11th April 2009, 10:33 PM	#118
listener13 diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2009	Hello, my name is Tom and this is my first post here. I have been following this post for a while. Here is a link to the US Record Cleaner I am working on. http://www.hillman-rls.com/Ultrasoni...aner/Index.htm Be gentle with your critiques and good advice is always welcome.

11th April 2009, 11:30 PM	#119
TURBINE diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2009	Awesome job Tom , no critisism here. What do you use for cleaning fluid and at what temp do you clean at? I just completed a ultrasonic cleaner myself and will post some pics. next week. Great job.!!!! Todd

12th April 2009, 06:55 AM	#120
listener13 diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2009	Thanks Todd. It has taken me a while to acquire everything needed for this project. I started collecting parts of it before Christmas. I just want to say thank you to all you guys for contributing to this thread. Thanks Lars for starting this thread and posting your unit, it looks great. Thanks as well to Ianmac; I know you have been working on yours for a while, Great job. Also thanks to the guys over at hifisentralen.no (Lars and others). A lot of good designs over there as well. I just wish I could read the language, but the pictures are pretty, lol. I really haven’t used it that much to come up with a cleaning solution. We have a reverse osmosis hooked up to our kitchen sink. It is a 6 stage unit with 2 de-ionizing filters on it. When I tried it last night I used the RO water with a couple drops of Dawn dishwashing detergent. I did not like the foam so I sucked it off the top of the bath. I then added some PhotoFlo and that seemed to be the ticket. I will be experimenting more tomorrow. Be sure to wear your ear plugs when using this type of cleaner. I have more ringing in my left ear today than usual.