Ultrasonic record cleaners

@antinn 

Thanks.  So it seems that, based on a flow calculation, due to speed of rotation, only 1 LP is recommended at a time in the 6 L tank.  And on review, it looks like 1 LP should be cleaned at a time based on surface area as well.  Your book also references a Kuzma rotater:  I went to their website, and they have similar recommendations as your book, but not nearly as detailed.  Unfortunately, it looks like the Kuzma website is also recommending Photo Flo 200, which has the Triton X, which is so bad for the environment, so perhaps you could send them an email to recommend the Tergitol instead? 

@drbond 

Kodak Photo Flow 200 is the wrong fluid to be used in a heated UT - read the book VIII.7; KODAK™ PHOTO-FLO 200: excerpt: " 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."

Otherwise, Triton X100 is now banded from sale in EU/UK, and EU/UK cannot easily purchase Tergitol 15-S-9, but the book has some alternates see Chapter II.  But I am not sending Kuzma an e-mail (I am very protective of my e-mail).  The book is available for free, and people can use what they wish.  

WRT to surface area - the book XIV.3.3 (NASA) The sum of the parts cross-sectional area should not exceed 75% of the tank cross-sectional area. The tank cross-sectional area is associated with the surface where the transducers are mounted. For bottom mounted transducers, the cross-sectional area is the tank length x width, and the record shows only its width x thickness (12” x ~0.1”). For side mounted transducers, the cross-sectional area is the tank height x length and the record shows its width x height (about 0.67 ft²/record) for a much larger cross-section. This suggests why stacks of multiple records “can” be cleaned with a UCM with bottom mounted transducers, but with some loss of efficiency.

Bottom line:  for 40kHz keep record spacing about 1" but do not spin too many too fast.

@antinn 

The cloud point is an interesting property of Triton X:  I studied college level chemistry, and generally speaking, I thought most substances/chemicals were more solvent as the temperature of the solution increases.  But with Triton X, having a cloud point of 25C indicates that Triton X becomes more insoluble as the temperature increases above 25C. . . 

@drbond 

Cloud point is not unique to Triton X (100 or 114), it's a property of nonionic surfactants, the book:

VIII.2.4.c Nonionic surfactants for the most part do not ionize in aqueous solutions so that the hydrophilic head has a neutral charge. A unique property of nonionic surfactants is “cloud point”. Cloud point is the temperature when the mixture starts to phase-separate, and two phases appear, thus becoming cloudy. The cloud point is the (theoretical) optimum temperature for nonionic surfactant detergency, but above the cloud point the surfactant comes out of solution and detergency drops.

I received one of the inexpensive ultrasonic clears, as sold on Amazon, as a gift. Looking forward to trying it. Can anyone recommend a cleaning solution formula, using readily available products that are available in typical US retail establishments? Distilled water is easy (grocery store). What about a surfactant, detergent or alcohol? 

I've been using a spin-clean for years and have spin-clean cleaner concentrate (if recommended). This will be my first attempt at using an USC.