Durable record vacuum cleaner recommendation?

I've been using my VPI 16.5 for thirty years, average 10-15 records a week.  The only thing I've had to change were the plastic pickup tube (I use three separate ones for each cleaning stage). I generally change them out every six months or so.

Greetings,

I agree with @hifiguy42 . Bought my VPI 16 in the early 1980’s. Converted it to a 16.5 a number of years ago. Never had a problem of any kind with it. It keeps spinning and sucking.

I also use a US RCM. I use the VPI for the final rinse and vacuum or use the VPI for records that need to be scrubbed.

Joe Nies

In 1986 I bought a VPI HW-17 in part because it is the unit the Smithsonian uses and I figured if it is suitable for them it must be pretty good and in part because I had worked at a hifi store that had a Monks machine that I found to be difficult and time consuming to use.  But work it did.  Anyway, I still have the HW-17 and it has cleaned literally thousands upon thousands of records.  New brushes and new hoses and new pickup tubes once every few years.  It is now headed for my second home because last month I bought a new MW-1 Cyclone, which I will be reporting on here shortly.  Oh, I also have an HW-16 that works great at my second home and I will probably find a new home for.  These things work, are reliable, VPI has parts and technical support.  It is all good.  One thing though:  They sound like a vacuum cleaner.  You can't have everything.

Ditto on the HW17. I've had mine since the early 90s. No problems ever except periodically replacing the wand that does the suction and the brushes.  Both of which are sold by VPI at very reasonable prices. It's not quiet, but I have never understood why that matters; I clean my LPs in my basement workshop.  I don't try to listen to music or TV or to my wife while I am cleaning LPs.

My Loricraft PRC-4 Deluxe has lasted 13 years so far and has never gone wrong. Before that I had a VPI 16.5 and found the plastic wands kept cracking and breaking where they plug into the tower. It was a lot noisier too.

I used at VPI 16.5 for 9 years with only replacing the tube seals and employing some different brushes.  It is rugged and reliable, but I would not say it is quiet. 

Thanks everybody. VPI gets a solid recommendation. I see one problem: when I take record out of ultrasonic, it is wet on both sides. The VPI has a platter that supports the entire record (12") not just the label. So the platter will get wet every time I put a new record on.

Or is it possible to get a label-size platter? @joenies How do you deal with that as you also do Ultrasonic followed by vacuum?

Re noise, yes, it is a vacuum cleaner. Well understood. What I am experiencing with the PJ is well beyond a vacuum cleaner.

The Loricraft is a bit over the top, IMHO. The point suction arm is of no concern to me after ultrasonic cleaning. And price is also a bit steep.

Below is a photo of one of the cleaning stations at the Packard Campus in Culpeper, which is the intake facility for the Library of Congress. The photo was taken in late 2014. (The facility is not open to the public)

I have been using a big Monks Omni for the past decade, which is supplemented by the older version of the KL. I had a VPI that started life as a 16 and was converted to a 16.5 It would not die. I gave it to a friend at the beginning of 2017, along with an assortment of brushes, applicators and fluids. 

I will do a write up on my new setup, which includes both an MW-1 Cyclone and a HumminGuru after eye surgery tomorrow (assuming all goes well).  I have figured out how to take the record from the ultrasonic machine back to the vacuum machine for final drying and the full platter on the VPI is not a hindrance with my method.  Too blind for a detailed write up tonight.

Good luck with the surgery @billstevenson. I've had a few of them. The very idea is  almost worse than the actual procedure. 

I flip mats on the Monks if I want to wash/rinse on it, pop it into the ultrasonic and dry with the Monks, just to get that last iota. 

@oberoniaomnia I will let the US RCM wipe and blow album partially dry. If still wet I’ll put it in a drying box. Then onto the VPI for a rinse, brushing and vacuum. 
If you put a damp/wet album on the VPI put a paper record sleeve on platter first. Pull record off, remove record sleeve, vacuum other side. Repeat as needed.

Joe 

 It is inevitable that the cork mat on the VPI HW17 will get a bit wet, but it's not a big deal, just incidental. You clean and vacuum one side at a time, so when you flip the LP to clean the other side, the side now facing the platter is dry.  You would not want to support the LP only by the label when dispensing cleaning solution or when vacuuming. I usually keep some Kimwipes handy to dry the edges of clean LPs where the vacuum may leave some drips.

I have used a VPI HW-17 for many years. Yes it’s quite noisy, but it works splendidly. If you are looking for a vacuum machine only to remove any cleaning (or rinsing) fluid from your LPs, the Pro-Ject line of vacuum machines may be a better choice. That is because they have a support platform only as big as the paper center label on the LP, not the entire LP. That platform does not provide support to the entire LP as one scrubs the LP using a cleaning brush.

I see @lewm has advised against supporting only the center label area of the LP whilst (a British term I love ) cleaning or drying, and I agree with him about supporting the entire LP during cleaning. However, for vacuuming the LP dry I don’t see why an LP can’t be supported only in the area of the center label. That’s how the Pro-Ject vacuum machines operate 

If you want a vacuum machine that supports the entire LP---both the VPI HW-16.5 and HW-17 do, you can buy a cork mat from VPI or any number of other companies and use it thusly:

Place the second mat (no pun intended ) on the HW-16.5 or HW-17, then clean & vacuum dry the first side of the LP. Remove the LP and second mat (that mat may now be considered dirty) and place the cleaned side of the LP directly onto the HW-16.5/17’s stock cork mat. Scrub and dry the second side, and Eureka!, you have a clean LP!

The HW-17 features two capabilities not found on the HW-16.5:

- The 17 provides both clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation of the platter, the 16.5 spinning only clockwise. Some people like to clean and/or dry the LP in both directions, not one.

- The 17 features a nice brush which swings out over the platter, dispensing onto the LP any fluid you have poured into it’s internal reservoir, the 16.5 does not. You can fill the 17’s reservoir with distilled water if you so choose, using the brush only to dispense rinsing water and spread it around the LP. You can do so after having used a separate handheld brush to apply any cleaning fluid you wish. Cleaning fluids may be dispensed from a bottle, the HW-17’s reservoir reserved for distilled water.

My VPI 16.5 died after 40 years of reliable service. Still, that one side at a time was a pain. I replaced it with a Record Doctor X which is bidirectional and does both sides. Then I use a Degritter with distilled water only. The RD by itself is pretty good, and it seems well built. I sent back the one sided version. Turning by hand was a mess.

@billstevenson good luck with surgery! Thanks for your input already.

I noticed that the MW-1 cyclone is allegedly quieter, so that is a big selling point. Is it possible to put a small spacer (say 3–5 mm: vinyl, acrylic, leather, wood) on top of the VPI cork platter to give the record a bit more space? Not sure how much hight variation the vacuum tube can handle.

Or can the platter be removed and replaced with smaller diameter one? Is it screwed on or welded?

@joenies Thanks for your procedure. I want to take the record out of US and dripping wet right away onto vacuum. Otherwise any suspended particles in groove have a chance to settle again onto vinyl. I also use RO water (have whole house RO, so is "free") and by quickly removing dirty RO water with vacuum should remove all particles. Listening test have found the RO/Vac cleaned records to be dead quiet. I actually want to do some trials and look at records with scanning electron microscope to see if there are any differences with respect to RO/Vac vs.+DI/Dist.-rinse. I doubt it. 

@bdp24 Re Pro-ject, see first post. Two of those died on me in ~1000 records, so will not buy a third one. But you are right, this is what I am looking for.

Re adding disposable paper on the cork platter, not practical doing 50–100 records in a day.

@howardlee 40 years is pretty good, IMHO. Record doctor with manual spinning is not a good option for cleaning lots of records (50–100/day). Appreciate the pointer, though!

Another + for VPI. I bought a 16.5 in the mid 1980s and used it for 20 years.  Then a friend included a nearly new version along with other LP gear when he quit playing records due to age.  I sold my original to a friend and continued cleaning with the newer one the past 20 years.

I did mount a whisper fan inside the cabinet because I’d feel heat on the spindle when cleaning 5 or more records at a session.  Now cooler, it just motors (revolves) on.

I began cleaning with a Nitty Gritty prior to the VPI but manual was not practical for more than one record at a cleaning session.

@oberoniaomnia if you have the $$ look at the ClearAudio Double Matrix US. It scrubs, does US and vacuum’s both sides at the same time. Some members here have this RCM. Have read good reviews, not too many negative reviews.

If my RCM stops working I would consider the CA. 

Joe 

The Record Doctor X is half of what the VPI is, plus it'll clean both sides and rotates both directions. It only supports the label area, which I have found to be no big deal, and vacuuming bidirectionally gets all the liquid off. That's with 130 gm vinyl, too. It's loud but it's not going to damage your hearing! I got an ear protector gizmo when I ordered it, but immediately realized that was unnecessary, even though the machine is n a small bathroom. I noticed Crutchfeld has these and others on backorder now. Maybe an order placed now avoids tariffs. VPI likely uses all-American components but is expensive. All thngs (price) being equal, I'd still get the RD. 

I went away from a VPI 16.5 as I had reliability problems with the latest version.(the older models are far more reliable and better built). 
I now use a Nessie, which is not only fairly quiet, but also does a fantastic job. 
Unfortunately, Nessie are not that easy to source in the US anymore, but they are built to last and far superior quality to the latest VPI.

Record Doctor X is not manual spin. Bidirectional motor.

What I do with the HW17, because I find that a distilled water rinse is worth the effort, is to wash with cleaning solution dispensed from the tank via the brush, scrub in both directions with brush, then vacuum, then rinse with distilled water from a squirt bottle, then vacuum again. A plastic squeeze bottle with a nozzle is cheap and easy to find, for the water rinse.

@howardlee Thanks for the clarification on the RDX. I did not notice the V vs. X differences at first. The dual side is certainly a plus. One down side is that it does not handle 7/10". Don't have that many but something to consider. Rick from Joy Of Vinyl seems to be happy with it.

@joenies I looked at the CA. The motorized fluid application is a bit over top IMHO and also not needed in my workflow. Certainly nice if that is the only cleaner.

@daveyf Re Nessie looks similar to the VPI, but indeed could not find a US source. 

Currently leaning towards RDX. price is right, dual side action is a big plus. Have my reservations re durability, but may take a gamble. 

There's a real nice VPI HW-17 for sale right now on USAM, priced at $475.00. The HW-17 weighs a ton, so shipping won't be cheap.

I've used the same Nitty Gritty 1.0 since the 1990s and haven't had to do anything to service or repair it.  I'm not sure how it compares to the VPI noise-wise.  I think you could use it for a 7-inch record with the same adapter for the center hole that you'd use on a turntable, but I can't recall if I've done that.

It allows you to spin the record at a nice slow speed, for better cleaning. Costs way less than a VPI.

Vpi

@oberoniaomnia, Just an FYI. I use US cleaning followed up by an H2O rinse using a Pro-ject RCM. The vac motors is a weak point on this design. Found out a rug doctor Wet vac motor is a bolt in replacement. will cost you 99 bucks plus tax and shipping. If interested can provide the part no. 

@johnss This?

https://www.rugdoctor.com/product/vacuum-motor-kit/?srsltid=AfmBOooMF7KRJ57Jtw6it_YGJthY3e6nxunlzAqWoB0sDgIaF1xz3X8F

@oberoniaomnia

close, one digit off. You'll need this one. Rug doctor part no 92727.

It's a bolt in replacement. Stronger than factory stock motor (draws a bit more current), so you will have to also change out the main AC fuse on the Project from 6 amp to an 8 or 10 amp. All the mounting patterns line up. You'll have to cut the terminal ends off the factory motor and solder the leads to the new motor. Then plug the new motor into the capacitor. 

Had the VPI HW-16.5 for years & then upgraded to the HW-17.

It’s nice to clean both directions & have the built in brush.

I use L’ Art du Son fluid.

I've had a VP! 16 for over a decade.  It's built like a tank and only slightly quieter.  I wear hearing protection while using it.  I've cleaned thousands of albums on it.  Zero problems.  Never had cracking of the delrin tubes.  I also take my record out of the ultrasound wet.  I have a second cork mat that I put down first to rinse and vacuum one side then flip the disc and remove second mat and put the dried side down on the permanent mat on the VPI and finish.