Ultrasonic record cleaners

@drbond,

As written in the book -

VIII.7: KODAK™ PHOTO-FLO 200: This is a wetting agent that is water mixed with a combination of 25-30% propylene glycol (i.e., anti-freeze) that acts as a solvent and as an antibacterial and antifungal agent and 5-10% nonionic surfactant. The nonionic surfactant by the CAS number 9036-19-5 is most likely Dow™ Triton™ X-114. This type of surfactant (octyl-phenol ethoxylates) is an environmental aquatic toxin and is being phased-out (see CHAPTER IX. DISCUSSION OF THE FINAL CLEANERS: for details). If the surfactant is Dow™ Triton™ X-114, the surface tension will be about 31 dynes/cm, the CMC will be 120 ppm, but the low 25°C/77°F cloud-point limits this product mostly to applications equivalent to room temperature.

If you add a cap-full that may be 10-ml, at best only 1-ml of surfactant is added, but (1-ml/6000-ml)(100) = 0.0167% = 167 ppm. So, there should be enough for it to act as a wetting solution. The propylene glycol diluted does nothing other than increases the non-volatile residue which if not rinsed, can leave a viscous type of residue.

My recommended nonionic surfactant is Tergitol 15-S-9 which is a very high-performance surfactant - Tergitol 15-S-3 and 15-S-9 Surfactant | TALAS (talasonline.com). At 1-ml in 6L tank, the 167-ppm will provide excellent wetting and also provide detergency that Triton X100 will not unless you add 3X more - Tergitol 15-S-9 is much more efficient, mixes easier and rinses much easier.

Edit:  FYI - Tergitol 15-S-9 is not the same as Tergikleen - different products and the book addresses in detail the difference in Chapter IX. 

drbond, You have a point about the fact that I do my cleaning in a conventional VPI RCM. And I guess I take the point of antinn that using 25% IP alcohol in a heated US cleaning tank might be dangerous, although that surprises me. However, the fact remains that such a low concentration of isopropyl alcohol as you propose is unlikely to help much, in my opinion. By the way, because of the low concentration of Photoflo as you propose to use it, I have to think that I was being overcautious in mentioning the undesireable additive, which antinn names as propylene glycol. However, antinn seems to agree that other surfactants might work better, e.g., Tergitol. Sorry for any confusion, otherwise.

@antinn 

Thanks for the word of caution about Photo Flo.  Do you know if the solvent in Photo Flo could adversely affect the LP at all?  

One of the best reasons to purchase a degitter is that it has a filter that cleans the water every cleaning cycle. Most other cleaners once you clean the first record the dirty water is returned to the water tank

@drbond,

The 'solvent' in Kodak Photo-Flo as I addressed is propylene glycol - and it is not harmful to a record; and it is non-toxic in many cosmetic products.