Vacuum Record Cleaner Rreplacement
I get most of my records from from garage sales and such, and they are typically pretty dirty. My record cleaning protocol is to run them through the vacuum record cleaner then the ultrasonic cleaner. If they have fingerprints or mold I’ll put them through the Neil Antin’s method. I’ve done it this way for years with good results.
Unfortunately, my venerable Music Hall WCS-2 needs a new cleaning wand and I’ve been told from numerous sources that the parts are no longer available. I started the hunt for a new vacuum cleaner and found a suitable replacement. Before I pull the trigger, I wanted to determine if I really need a vacuum cleaner if I’m using the ultrasonic. I’ve used both cleaners in succession more from habit than any practical reason, though I’ve convinced myself that the vacuum cleaner gets the big chunks off first and the ultrasonic does the fine, deep cleaning. I don’t know if this is true or not.
I’d like to know the thoughts of the group. I’m more than happy to buy another vacuum cleaner, but could always put that money toward something else if it is not needed.
Thanks in advance for your help.
That’s interesting. Under Australian consumer law, the clock starts ticking when the consumer first discovers the problem, and stops ticking three years later. Whether or not there is a problem depends on what a ’reasonable person’ would think. In theory. Regardless, I have never had a request for a refund or exchange knocked back by the supplier, though I feel very bad about having to ask for one |
RB, If you must know the ugly truth. This concerned (at least) one LP in a 5 record set of Miles Davis early quintet recordings, which were originally from Prestige. These all precede "Kind of Blue", chronologically. The set includes such classics as "Workin'", "Relaxin'", etc. As it turned out, I also have most of the original Prestige LPs as individual albums and so the set from Classic did not receive much play over the years until one day about 5 years ago when I decided to plow through them. I already knew that in the case of "Workin'", the original Prestige pressing was superior to the Classic LP equivalent. Anyway, when I played one of the more obscure recordings in that Miles Davis Quintet grouping, I noted an odd form of distortion. I pulled out my Prestige equivalent really to see whether the distortion might be on the master tape or something like that. This comparison showed that the Classic re-issue is grossly defective. One wonders whether the folks at Classic ever actually listened to it. Anyway, Classic Records existed between 1994 and 2010, when it was purchased by Analog Productions. So Classic as a brand was defunct for between 5 and 10 years before I discovered the problem. |
I was unable to find your linked paper, but it's common knowledge that higher temperature will improve cleaning Cavitation-dynamics-in-water-at-elevated-temperatures-and-in-liquid.pdf but the peak is about 60C (140F) with little change up to 40C (104F). As far as record cavitation cleaning is concerned, I do not see temperature as a valid impact. However, there is testing that also shows that the depth of water in the tank as multiples of 1/2 the wavelength can have a significant difference varying between 20 and 60% - (PDF) Cavitation intensity of water under practical ultrasonic cleaning conditions. Otherwise, for just basic ultrasonic cleaning, this article is excellent awad-reprint II, written by the VP of Crest Ultrasonics. Take care, Neil
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It was hidden in plain sight under Wayback Machine
Thanks for the article you referenced. Of maximum relevance to this topic, I'd like to quote a sentence from it:
If that includes microgrooves then my thoughts are that ultrasonic should be the primary method for cleaning records, with vacuum used to assist drying as an option. Do you have a feel about the smallest particle size we should be worried about? Sub-micron? |
That last quote, I would like to amend. "The released energies reach and penetrate deep into crevices, blind holes and areas that are inaccessible to other cleaning methods." and where there is no music signal possible and anyway where no stylus could possibly contact. I don't think Mozart would fit into a blind hole. |
