40khz vs 120khz or 40 plus 120khz US cleaning?


Has anyone been able to actually get better results from 120khz? Does 40khz only miss anything? 

flemke

The Khz from recollection will determine the Particle that can be impacted by the Cavitation taking place.

A increased Khz Machine will have the potential to remove smaller micron dimension embedment in the Groove.

This can be interpreted as a Deeper Groove Clean/Purification

The PAVCR Cleaningology Document will offer the most accurate guidance . 

@flemke,

Here are some basic UT rules:

1.  Power needed to produce cavitation is inversely proportional to kHz.  So, lower kHz requires less power to produce cavitation.

2. Cavitation bubble size is inversely proportional to kHz.  So, lower kHz produces a larger diameter bubble.

3. Cavitation intensity is proportional to the bubble size and the power into the tank.

So, a KLAudio 40kHz 200W 2.5L UT is a very powerful machine compared to the inexpensive 40kHz, 6L 160W UT machines.  A Degritter 120kHz 300W 1.4L UT is a very powerful machine compared to a 6L 120kHz 180W machine.   

But this is all very simplified because there can be other factors.  Of the power advertised, how much actually gets into the tank.  The Elmasonic P-series UT tanks are very powerful dual frequency 37/80 kHz and 6L P60H is rated 180W but peak power of 720W, and the tank water from just the UT heats up accordingly.  Serial cleaning with the Elmasonic P60H requires an outboard pumped/cooling radiator to keep the fluid temp <100F.

Most people find the KLAudio with DIW only (OEM says no to any chemistry) quite acceptable, but some will pre-clean to remove junk from used records, while some people will indicate that without some chemistry, the Degritter may not be effective in removing some tenacious surface fingerprints which can often just be cosmetic.  

So, the devil is in the details and if you want to deep-dive into the details Chapter XIV of this free-book will take you there Precision Aqueous Cleaning of Vinyl Records-3rd Edition - The Vinyl Press

Thanks for the replies. I currently use a 40khz tank and run it for about 25 minute with 3 records. I then use my VPI 16.5 to vacuum off the records.. The results are very good. I am interested in purchasing a 120khz tank to run after the 40khz cleaning. This is the unit I am looking at.

 

@flemke 

Shapertek is a US company, and the model you list is 11L and total power with heaters is 850W.  Call them on the phone and ask them how much UT power is in the tank.  High Frequency Ultrasonic Cleaner XP-HF-450-11L-120KHz (sharpertek.com)

I know from other people that they will answer the phone and will talk to you.  Note that as the tank volume increases, the amount of power required per liter decreases due to the ratio of tank surface vs fluid volume.  

Otherwise, FYI 40kHz machines are sensitive to record spin speed, and most spinners rotate way too fast. Slowing them down is easy and can improve cleaning - SHNITPWR 30W Universal Power Supply 3V 4.5V 5V 6V 7.5V 9V 12V Adjustable Variable AC/DC Adapter with 5V 2.1A USB Port, 100V-240V AC to DC 3V~12V Converter 0.5A 1A 1.2A 1.5A 2A 2.5A Max with 14 Tips (amazon.com).  The PACVR book addresses the why.