My version of an Ultrasonic Record Cleaner

I found some 4" round weatherproof Carlon outlet covers at Home Depot. They were $2.54 each. I just drilled a 1/4" hole in the center and super glued the supplied foam ring to the back. I get full label coverage with these covers. I bought 8 of them so that I can load 4 LPs on the spindle for cleaning.

Kevin T

Sounds like a great option Kevin, the waterproof foam gasket should work well.
I looked for a similar cover at my Home Depot --- just like the one that covers my motor box. I'm guessing it's similar to your Carlon --- a tad over 4" in diameter with a weatherproof gasket. My motor box cover is metal. But my home depot didn't sell that cover separately from the connector box. I didn't see the Carlon there. Is it plastic or metal? Electrical department I assume?

Will you use some kind of spacer between the covers on each record? I could easily use some of the nylon spacers I have, in between the cover/record/cover sandwich and the next cover/record/cover sandwich.
 
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It's plastic.I found some aluminum ferrules with some rope stays that are a little bigger than 1/4" inner diameter that I use between the spacers. I had to buy the whole set because I couldn't find just the ferrules. They were $1.92 for 2 ferrules and 2 stays. I bought two packs to have 4 ferrules. The ferrules are roughly 3/4" of an inch. Add in the thinkness of the Carlon covers and it's about 1.25" between each record.

Kevin T
 
Finished my ultrasonic cleaner this weekend. Still trying to work out the best cleaning solution, length of time ratio. I'm using a .5 RPM gear motor from ServoCity.com. I added a DPDT switch so that I can rotate the records forward and backwards if I so desire. The gear motor runs off a 12V 2.5A power supply that fit perfectly inside the case. I just cut off the captive cord and added an IEC inlet so the ultrasonic power supply and gear motor power supply are both attached to the IEC inlet.

I purchased the ultrasonic cleaner used and the case looked beat to hell so I taped it off and spray painted it. I was gonna paint the PVC flat black as well, but figured I'd rather finish putting the thing together than wait another day for paint and clear coat.

Here she is:
 
Nice, Kevin! Good to see you up and running.

I've been tweaking my setup a bit. I'll post some more photos soon.

One thing I've done with the cleaning solution is cut back on the Photo Flo. A little goes a long way. Instead of the 200:1 ratio I started with, I've cut the Photo Flo down to 600:1.
I'm glad to see you're going with the wider spacing between records too. I've found some more background info on ultrasonic cleaners which supports limiting the number of records one tries to clean at one time. I'll get around to summarizing that info in another forum post too.
 
I'm hoping to have time to demo some pre-cleaned, then ultrasonic cleaned records next weekend. I'm using my regular DIY record cleaning fluid. The recipe is 3:1 distilled water to 91% isopropyl alcohol with ~10-15 drops of Triton X-100 for surfactant. My first run was 15 minutes (7:30 forward & 7:30 backward). I may add additional spacers since I have some room or I may reduce the number of LPs to two per cleaning instead of three. I still have a lot of experimenting to do.

Kevin T
 
Thanks guys for taking the time to share your builds! I am so stoked to build one. I am on the hunt for a used machine so hopefully I can get going this month with any luck.

How many records can you clean before the water needs changing? I am trying to get a sense of what the per record cost is going to be.

Again thanks and please keep sharing your experiences.
 
How many records can you clean before the water needs changing? I am trying to get a sense of what the per record cost is going to be.

Depends on how dirty they are.
But if you're cleaning the typical, playable LP that doesn't have a lot of visible schmutz on it, I think it's dozens of records.

I'm not one to keep the tank of fluid sitting around, so for me, dumping the tank is generally governed by reaching the end of the cleaning session or day. I'm finding that I'll get up to 12 records cleaned per hour over a longer session. But, I haven't run that many batches yet.

So far, I've been setting aside a few really grubby or problem-child LPs to be the last ones to clean before dumping the batch of fluid. I put those on when I've reached the end of whatever time block I've set aside for cleaning.
 
Using IPA / Isopropyl / Isopropanol

I am a bit nervous about people using high concentrations of isopropyl in an ultrasonic cleaning solution. The electronics and transducers in an ultrasonic machine can easily ignite flammable vapors, particularly if the vapor collects in the closed area under the wet tank where the transducers are. The transducers get hot.
UC manufacturers generally warn you to NOT use any acetone or IPA in their machines.
While it's easy to think that "I've got lots of water in my solution, how could anything ignite?," it is possible, since the flash point of isopropyl is very low, even in fairly dilute IPA/water mixtures.

Below is a chart of flash point of IPA in water at increasing concentrations. At only 10% IPA (that would be 9 to 1 water-to-IPA ratio), the flash point is only 105°F / 41°C. Even if you don't use the heater that is often found in these desktop UC machines, the fluid temperature can easily get to that level just through the ultrasonic energy and heat given off by the transducers and electronics. At a 30% concentration, the flash point is room temperature or below.

This is why I'm using very little isopropyl --- about 2%, no more. Distilled or DI water with a little isopropyl and a few drops of surfactant like photo flo gets the records clean. There's no need to spend more on IPA and no need to risk ignition of vapors.
 
I'm finding that I'll get up to 12 records cleaned per hour over a longer session. But, I haven't run that many batches yet.

Thanks for the speedy reply. The 12/hr number is using 3 records per batch as per your photos at the beginning of the thread? How much fluid in your tub?

I am a bit of a DIY noob so I would like to copy your design if you don't mind. I am trying to put together a parts list so I can start sourcing all of the necessary components of the mounting system and motor. If you don't mind sharing I would be grateful.
 
URC Parts List - First Pass

Happy to share Addict.
But I don't have a complete, final parts list of my own yet, as I'm doing a fair bit of "figuring it out" as I go, and am continuing to revise bits and pieces as I use the machine.

Some of your build will depend on the exact geometry of your Ultrasonic Cleaner. They all vary in size and dimensions to some extent, and that affects the parts you'll need.
You'll notice that while kgturner's build in this thread is similar in concept to mine, he's using different families of parts and his mounting layout is a bit different.

Your parts list will also depend on the tools you have at your disposal. Example: I have a metalworking lathe, so it was easy for my to fashion a precise spindle that snugly fits both the record holes and fits over the shaft of my motor, without the need of a separate coupling to join the shaft and the spindle. Without a lathe, you'll need to find a coupling to match the diameters of the motor shaft and spindle you're using.

Also, some of my parts are just spare bits and pieces of hardware I happen to have laying about.

I'll start by labeling a photo of the current build and begin a spreadsheet that I can update.
Versions as of today are both attachments to this post. Excuse any errors and omissions at this point.

As to the fluid and number of records: Yes, I'm doing 3 LPs per cleaning cycle. I'm filling my 6 quart tank with right about 5 quarts of cleaning solution.
 
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A note on the "Spindle Support" I added. This isn't strictly needed, but with a fully loaded spindle, there is some give in the plastic parts and there is some downward torque on the motor shaft. The spindle doesn't support much weight, but helps keep the spindle horizontal and reduces stress on the motor shaft and gearbox in the Synchron motor.

You could put in a nice bearing on this support if you're super attentive to detail. But, since the rotation is quite slow, there is little weight load on the support, and the lifetime of the machine will probably only see about 1000 rotations, this simple support surface is entirely adequate (and inexpensive since it's just some miscellaneous window shade-type brackets and felt I had laying about. It is clamped over the lip of the UC --- no holes needed in the UC.
 
But... how much better does your vinyl sound after cleaning?? :)

Hi Arno
My vinyl sounds MUCH better after ultrasonic cleaning. As I first stated in message #9 in this thread, background noise is dramatically reduced --- better than the average record coming off of my VPI cleaner.

Fewer pops, hiss, crackles. Cleaner attacks on notes, better soundstaging, and more clarity from each instrument or voice.

I think ultrasonic cleaning is a superior method to produce better sound.
Cheers,
 
To each his own, but I am not a fan of brushes and contact methods of cleaning. UC is clearly doing a better job, for me, on it's own. The whole point of UC is to avoid contact and to clean into surface features where brushes can't reach.

If one does a brush method first, before UC, they risk pushing some dirt deeper in the grooves and lodging it there, or even damaging the grooves, making it more difficult for the UC cycle to succeed.

If one does a brush method after UC, they risk transfering contaminants on the brush from prior cleanings onto a fairly clean record, or again, damaging the record.

Putting brushes in the UC tank is foolish, as the added surface area of the brushes and supports would overload the cleaning capacity of the UC and take that energy away from what you're really trying to clean -- the LP.
 
Drying step?

Hi. Very nice work!

What is your method for drying after UC? Do you remove LPs to a separate rack for air dry?

I take your point about avoiding contact, but would think a vacuum only to dry, or perhaps even a final rinse with DI water, would have little risk of cross contamination if you reserve brush and vacuum tube for this purpose only. If a record fresh from UC can contaminate the next one, then it must have some dirt left to remove.

I guess it's a trade off: (instant dry + possible improvement by removing that last bit of film and dirt from the bath water) vs. (avoiding contact and all the hassle and risk of manual vacuuming).
 
Hi Ishmail,
My rotation speed is so slow, that most of the record surface is dry when my 1 rotation is complete. Just the section that is submerged at the end of the cycle is wet. So far, I either lift the arm and let it drip and air dry, or I stand up the LPs in a dish rack-type LP stand I have.
I've toyed with the idea of having several spindles, such that I could just leave the drying records on the spindle (then set the spindle or even spin dry!), and then put another loaded spindle on the machine. I'll probably do this, just haven't fabbed the additional spindles yet.
Depending on your cleaning solution formulation and level of enthusiasm/dedication/passion, some folks might want to do a DI rinse.
I don't feel it's necessary.

I've got an almost clear LP (by the band Everclear) that I cleaned on my VPI. There was a disturbing amount of stuff left on it. Haven't tried that with the URC yet, but I will try it and report back here at some point, if I can get some pics to turn out.