I had forgotten until yesterday about the existence of the Zenn Record Cleaning Machine/T-Rex Record Cleaning Machine. I never did find much useful information about the approach, but was reminded of its existence after someone sharing a video of some dudes spinning record so fast that they exploded.
Zenn/T-Rex: YouTube
Exploding records: YouTube
The few positive reviews that I've seen, as well as the vigorous scrubbing in the rather poor demo video above, make me a little nervous. That being said, while I've had excellent results with DIY ultrasonic and a vacuum RCM, it would be nice to be able to have similar results with less time and effort. Vacuuming also causes obscene static, and I only use it for rinsing anyway.
Any more technical DIYers have any thoughts on this approach? This seems like a potentially simple DIY project, if done carefully. How fast of a motor would be usable without damaging the record? I feel like a counter-clockwise rotation would be better for coaxing fluid to follow the groove paths out of the record. Would this even be worth trying?
Zenn/T-Rex: YouTube
Exploding records: YouTube
The few positive reviews that I've seen, as well as the vigorous scrubbing in the rather poor demo video above, make me a little nervous. That being said, while I've had excellent results with DIY ultrasonic and a vacuum RCM, it would be nice to be able to have similar results with less time and effort. Vacuuming also causes obscene static, and I only use it for rinsing anyway.
Any more technical DIYers have any thoughts on this approach? This seems like a potentially simple DIY project, if done carefully. How fast of a motor would be usable without damaging the record? I feel like a counter-clockwise rotation would be better for coaxing fluid to follow the groove paths out of the record. Would this even be worth trying?
#2: Most records have two sides. The spirals run opposite ways.
However you are suggesting HUGE force (see below). If the land slopes 1%, and a hurricane hits, does it flood worse if the slope is with or against the rain path? Probably don't-matter.
#1: a car engine flywheel, 12" diameter, will blow-up at some speed above 6,000RPM (typically well above). Commercial Vinyl is 1/10th as strong as steel, so will blow-up at 1/3rd the RPM, say 1,800RPM. Record vinyl is crap-loaded, and as that video shows the thin disk will flutter, so be very conservative.
How hard do you want to fling water? Go back to the engine. At around the same RPM the pistons will break their rods and fly out. Instead hang a piston by its rod and wait for gravity to break it. Never happen. The forces in steel engines at high RPM are Hundreds of Gees. That water is coming off hundreds of times faster than in the dish-rack.
I don't think you need to "push" the RPM. 78RPM may be slow, 1,800RPM is dangerously fast, so 300RPM might be a trial number.
And of course shop the thrift and yard sales for Perry Como LPs before you put your precious LPs at risk. (If Como is your 'precious'-- sorry, he's not mine.)
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