Ultrasonic record cleaners

Whart - Yes, your cautionary message is correct. You do need to be careful of the alcohol. I only use a small amount in the mixture. About 1/2 a cup in close to 1-1/2 gallons of distilled water in a vented area.
Some people don’t want the alcohol at all and that’s fine too. If not rinsed off the alcohol can dry out the vinyl but it does help clean well. So find a method that you are happy with. The cleaning mixtures that companies sell are usually expensive and are probably 90-99% water depending on the company. Find what works for you and the best that you can afford.

I use mine a couple times a month.  I usually buy 3-4 used records each month and also re-clean a couple or so that need it while I have the water and unit set up.  I do about 8-10 records per tub of water mixture.  Then just dump the water, dry the machine and store it in the garage.  I almost built up a water filter system for about $100 or so which would clean the water down to .5 microns and used a little 12V pump but soon realized it just wasn’t worth it.  6-10 records is as much as I ever do and the small amount of water is cheap so what’s the point.  If you run it more then I can see filtering it.

I think even a cheap ultrasonic cleaning system is much better then the old vacuum type systems. Although it would be great to have a vacuum unit to suck the water and any residue off the record after the process!

When I got back into vinyl a few years ago (and so glad I did) I broke down and purchased a Vevor 6L ultrasonic cleaning machine directly from them on sale Less then $200 and we’ll worth it! Years ago I had the upper level Nitty Gritty machines and they were good but don’t get that deep down dirt. The ultrasonic cleaners really work great to get the deep down dirt that is in used records and great to have around to just re-clean a record from time to time. I use (after reading tons of forums) a mixture of distilled water, few drops of photoflo solution, a little alcohol and a couple drops of dish washing soap. Then use a waterproof label protector and rinse the record in tepid (not hot) water. Then let them dry. Seems to work fantastic! I’ve purchased VG and VG+ records cheap that had a little surface noise, cleaned them and they were much quieter and very listenable. Brought some up to EX quality.

These cheaper machines only do 40kHz and it would be great to have a 60kHz machine but it still works great. I know the expensive machines will do an even better job but $2k, $3K or even $4k isn’t in most peoples budget. So for a couple hundred you can get a very good cleaning system. Then read the forums to figure out what fluid mixture you want to use. Distilled water is cheep. Buy a small “eye dropper” bottle to hold the photoflo solution and some ultra soft towels (like car polishing rags) to handle the records with. Some people don’t want to use the alcohol but if you do get the 91% stuff. I only use about 1/2 a cup per tank of water and about 3-5 drops of photoflo and 2 drops of dish washer soap. Everyone has there opinion of what to use. Some people just use the water and will freak at my mixture. Others go even further. If you do use alcohol or a mixture like I do you should rinse the records under the facet. This is inexpensive and really brings records back to life. If you’ve got thousands of records maybe invest in an expensive more convenient system.

Mbs3 - This is the exact setup I have. Really excellent results with it!

I know the best results would come from a machine that can do a frequency of 60kHz to 70kHz but the price for those goes up dramatically. For people on a budget but really want something that does a very good job these ultrasonic units are excellent!

I did change one thing. I felt the motor turns too quickly to really give the record a good soak so I purchased a variable power supply (about 3V to 24V) and usually run a little over 3V to the motor I keep it running slow. This provides more time while under water to clean it. Then, when I remember (not important), 2/3 of the way through I turn it up to about 6V. I rarely run it faster then at 6V.

This is the description if you want to search for it. Only $19 right now on Ama… Works great and doesn’t overheat.

SHNITPWR 36W Universal AC to DC Adapter 3V ~ 24V Adjustable Power Supply AC/DC Converter Transformer 3V 5V 6V 9V 12V 15V 18V 19V 20V 24V 1A 1.2A 1500mA with 14 Tips & Polarity Converter.

The Vevor comes with a 24V walwart supply. I’ve seen a few others in the forums also use a lower voltage supply to slow the motor down. The unit just cleans better at a slower speed. I’ve been using the variable supply for about 2-1/2 years now without an issue. Motor does not get hot and is very well built. It’s a DC motor and has no problem with a lower variable voltage control.  I’m a retired electronics tech and after examining the motor was pretty sure there wouldn’t be an issue. And if there was I’d just stick a new motor in.  😂