New Hobby Ultrasonic Record Cleaning

I did @slaw. His TINDIE.com webstore, too. No response from either.

The Vinyl Stack ULTRA Sonic Spin Kit (it's full name) has arrived. All the parts are very well made, a high quality product. And the 6L/50kHz Vevor tank is on it's way. That'll have to do until the Vibrato 135kHz tank is again available. 

Now I gotta read through all the blogs on ultrasonic cleaning, and choose my chemicals. I already know I'm going with Tergitol 15-S-9 as my surfactant, and perhaps Alconox as my cleaner.

Thanks @sryeager. I guess I’ll get a cheap tank to use until the Vibrato is back in production. Vevor makes a 6L that runs at 50kHz, priced at only $118 including shipping.

Since I don’t care about the drying function built into the Degritter (I would rather suck the water off with my VPI or Nitty Gritty than blow warm air on my LP’s), and water filtering systems being pretty simple to add on, and like being able to clean three records at a time instead of only one, I think I actually prefer this combo (Vinyl Stack + Vibrato) to the Degritter. The Degritter sure looks cute, though. ;-)

It took the Vinyl Stack company closing down to finally get me moving on an ultrasonic cleaner, but better late than never. I really like my HW-17F, but there's no denying the benefits of ultrasonic.

Well fellas, I have some good news, and I have some bad news.

Last night I emailed the Vinyl Stack people, asking if the out-of-stock single-disc hand-held model would again be available at some point in the future. I figured it would be cool to have one for pre-rinsing newly-acquired old LP’s before putting them in or on the "good" cleaner.

This morning I received a reply from their production manager Erin, informing me that the company was closing shop, and that they were selling what they had left in stock, which included one and only one of the 3-disc "Sonic Spin Cleaner" (the official name of what I thought was named the Vinyl Stack).

I immediately went to their website and bought that last one (the website page showing the SSC now indicates it is out-of-stock). That’s the good news. The bad news is that anyone who had been thinking of getting one is out of luck. Better you than me ;-) .

Now I gotta get a tank. Recommendations, anyone? I put my name on the waiting list for the 132kHz model shown on the Vibrato website, but who knows when that will again be available? The Vibrato designer/builder states that he hasn’t been able to get any of the ultrasonic elements from China for quite some time. Damned pandemic ;-) .

Good point @totem395. Let me point out that a Vevor brand 40kHz tank can now be had for just under a hundred bucks. That, combined with the VinylStack LP spinner (recommended by @slaw, who is, as always, right on the mark ;-), is only about $170 more than the budget all-in-one cleaners discussed in this thread.

If and when the 132kHz tank offered by Vibrato (designed and built expressly for LP's) again becomes available, one of those may be substituted for a 40kHz tank if one so chooses. The combined price of that pairing is just under a grand. If one feels no need for LP drying and water filtering, that pairing appears to provide LP cleaning as good as any machine available at any price.

Have ya'll heard about the HumminGuru ultrasonic?  Looks to be a simplified, budget version of the Degritter, supposedly available later in the year for around $400.

Has anyone else received the Vevor machine Walmart is selling? Mine arrived a few days ago, and the upright carriage with the slot for lowering and raising the motor with attached LP’s is completely different from that pictured in the Amazon and Walmart listings (though each retailers machine goes by a different name, they are identical).

The upright I received is actually much nicer that the one pictured, being a much more elegant single slab of aluminum. But instead of having a threaded knob on either side of the motor, mine has single one in the rear. Not a problem.

What IS a problem is the spindle onto which LP’s are placed. The end of that spindle is far too short, it’s threaded end extending only slightly past the middle of the 6L tank. If you clean only a single LP, fine: the LP---using all the provided plastic spacers (see below)---can be in the middle of the width of the tank. But if you clean more than one at a time, all the LP’s will be squeezed into one half of the tanks width. Duh!

9 plastic spacers are provided, but are far too thin: there should be more than the spacers 1/4" thickness between any two LP’s. Sure, you can glue three or four of them together, and clean just two or three LP’s. But still, the one furthest out on the spindle will be in the middle of the tank, the other two between it and the edge. That is unacceptable.

Back to Walmart it goes. You get what you pay for. I’ve been looking at the Cleaner Vinyl line of US machines: they have expanded their product line since I last looked, including a 132kHz tank. A fully loaded model (with drying fan and water filtration system) is under a grand. I haven’t seen a single used Degritter come up for sale, and don’t expect to.

The price of the Happybuy has crept up to $248.99 on Amazon. The identical Vevor is available from Walmart for $199.99, with free shipping and no sales tax.

Well alright then! I do believe I'm gettin' one. At $199, it's a no brainer. I still see a Degritter in my future, but until then this one will do. Thanks for the heads up @skypunk.

Am I correct in thinking that the main thing missing from this USCM is a water filtration system? I suppose a filter is not absolutely required if one is willing to empty and clean the tank of debris every few LP's. But the cost of frequent water refills adds up to way more than the cost of a filter system!