Humminguru Nova

I recently bought a Huminguru Nova, and have cleaned about 150 albums through it. I have owned ultrasonic tanks for quite awhile, starting with a 40kHz with a Vinyl Stack spinner. One of the attractive points of ultrasonic tanks is you could clean multiple albums and be more efficient. Truth is I hate cleaning vinyl, and using my VPI was always a chore. These days I have a VinylClean 132kHz tank, and it did a good job I thought.

But the Nova has a good rep, and I thought i would give it a go. Doing one record at a time, and having the transducers so close to the vinyl I suspect increases efficiency. I didn't put much faith in the drying step, my other tank has an air dryer, and it works but I never really embraced it. I typially dry vinyl on an Okki Noki vacuum machine. But I put the Nova on a 6 minute dry cycle and its 99.9% dry, I let it air dry in the record rack about 5 to 10 minutes to be extra sure.

What I do think is this. The Nova is purpose built to clean vinyl, unlike a Vevor or I-Sonic ultrasonic tank system. They are a basic ultrasonic tank that has a purpose built record spinner. The Nova only uses as much water as needed, in this case 400 ml. It empties the tank after each cleaning, and when you pour it back into the tank, there is a filter in the container that pulls out the impurities. The receptacle even comes apart easily so you can change the pad.

I use the 5 minute clean cycle, or with new to me used vinyl the 10 minute cycle. Then a 6 minute dry. This gets the vinyl as clean as I have heard. Maybe a Degritter is better, I imagine it would be. But it better be for 3 to 4 times the price. The Nova is not cheap, but if it fails I can live with that. Actually I bought a 3 year extended warranty for mine. The Degritter, I would be gutted if it broke.

With that said, the Nova is not as substantial as I would like. The fit and finish is good, but it just does not feel substantial. Kind of like the VCR that came out after DVD overtook the market. The machines were inexpensive, light, but functioned well. The Nova works well, it just does not feel as solid as I would like. I wish I could spend a couple hundred more and get a machine that had more substantial parts.

But in terms of performance. This is the best bang for the buck I have experienced.

@neonknight thank you for this detailed write up! I read nothing that would make me regret the purchase. Glad you’re happy with it! Can’t wait to try it. 

@elliottbnewcombjr 

You mention using propylene glycol in your cleaning mix.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C4W8S79G/ref=ox_sc_saved_image_1?smid=A343O3SRMXM69V&psc=1

I would not recommend using propylene glycol in a cleaning solution for vinyl records. Propylene glycol can soften and swell the surface of PVC which makes it difficult to remove. If not completely removed, it leaves behind a sticky residue which can attract dust and other airborne particulates. 

Regarding record spacing in an ultrasonic bath. I assembled my own ultrasonic bath and I found no difference in cleaning efficiency between one record or multiple records spaced 1/2 inch apart. On my spindle assembly, I typically cleaned 10 records at a time with 1/2 inch spacing between them.

My ultrasonic bath solution only consisted of distilled water and a non-ionic surfactant.

@ljgerens

I think the generic US cleaners that you most likely used as a basis for your cleaner shoot the cavitation bubbles up. A purpose built machine has transducers facing the record surface. I’m sure you get your LPs cleaned but it’s just not as effective.