Zerostat: Old is Gold?

Do you seriously think anyone knows whether a new Xerostat made in China works any better or worse than one made in England a decade or longer ago? A scientific comparison could be made, but I doubt that it has been made.  I await other responses.

It is surprising what people know, and I would have thought that the whole point of a forum such as this one is to share knowledge. I don't really see why you need to be so rude to the OP in your unhelpful response.

I bought a Zerostat blue which I presume to be made in China over here in the UK a few months ago and it works just as well as the one I first bought 40 odd years ago. Oh and the price was just 42 pounds so I think someone is making a killing somewhere. I must also say that I buy lots of things for my computer direct from China and on average I pay about a third of the price as buying on E Bay. Again someone is doing well at our expense and I have no notion of giving up buying from China.

huh - maybe I should sell mine

You should check out ali express for CDs  and SACDs.  Some great discs to be had at super prices.  Many discs they offer there I have been unable to find elsewhere!

Agree with @lewm . Maybe one of the mags will do a review. I've used red ones, blue ones, old and new. Seem the same to me. Am I offending you @gromitinwa? That's life.

Blue one works better (as it should since the red one is 30+ years old and way over used:-)

I have my original Empire static gun, which I probably bought in the late 1970s.  Still seems to work, although I have read that there are parts inside these things that eventually wear out ("Good for 10,000 LP sides!").  

I would only buy used if there was some way to verify they still functioned correctly.

This is one of those devices that makes you wonder if some non-audio equivalent is out there that does the same thing at a fraction of the price.  Something like drum gels or Magic Erasure instead of Onzow Zerodust.

And... Amazon to the rescue:

https://www.amazon.com/TOOGOO-Cylinder-Elimination-Discharger-Anti-Static/dp/B00KBQCHZO/ref=sr_1_7?i...

Now we need someone to try one of these and see if it works!  

To Gromitinwa and the OP:  I apologize if you found my response to be offensive.  I was only having fun.  I use a white Zerostat that I bought in England in 1972, still to this day.  I often wonder whether it still works, because when I do occasionally get a static electricity effect, there is the possibility that the charge built up while the LP was in play or because of my body transferring a charge to the LP at the instant I touch it after play.  A charge can accumulate on one's body, especially on a wool carpet, just by that act of walking up to the turntable.  This is why, short of making an actual scientific analysis of the Zerostat, the question is problematic.  I wager most of those who have responded to say that their old Zerostat works just fine, or not, are basing their opinions on experience with playing LPs, not on measuring charge.

@bondmanp 
For $3 I will throw one in the cart of the wife's next Amazon order!

Well, I guess I will have to "bite the bullet" and pony up $40 or so for a used Zerostat gun.  Why they sell for so much use is one of those many audio mysteries I will probably never understand and just have to learn to accept.

It should be easy to determine that the things are working by taking a small piece of styrofoam and rubbing on your shirt to give it enough charge so it will stick.  If you zap it with the gun, it should drop to the floor immediately.

Lewm:  Your response came off as merely pedantic to me.  I was surprised to hear you meant it to be amusing.  In any case, audio related subjects are serious matters as they involve our sense of well being, sanity and self worth.  Blue vs Red, whether Zerostat guns or other concerns are very much are very much "trigger" issues these days and should be treated carefully so as to not provoke endless debate.

Hifiman5:  I bought a CD once.  They are a big scam.  They only have  music on one side.  I only buy LPs.  But thanks for the suggestion.

@andysf   What?  Must be some humor there but I must be too tired to appreciate it...big day entertaining relatives. 😳

Dear Andy, Thanks for the lecture on how to behave on audio websites.  I would have rather thought that it is fun to behave as if we are all friends to begin with, and we are sitting around having a discussion over a hypothetical beer.  In my experience, everything in audio is open to "endless debate", regardless of how circumspect one might or might not be in expressing one's opinion.  I hold no grudge, nor do I bear any anger, directed at anyone here.  That's a given.

One thing I do know, though, is that you'd need to perform some thoughtful testing (if you think using the word "scientific" is pedantic), in order to know whether a particular Zerostat, old or new, British or Chinese in origin, is actually working.  

My experience with the Zerostat left me with the feeling it was just a piece of crap. It never did work right. I guess it was made in the UK, as I bought it over ten years ago. I won't be wasting cash on another one, that's for sure.

Dan

Islandman, We differ in the sense that I do think a Zerostat can work to do the job for which it is intended.  My only point is that I don't know whether MY Zerostat is still working after more than 40 years, and I certainly don't know if a Chinese-made Zerostat is any better or worse than one made in England.  Nor do I think one can answer that question without taking some measurements.

To complicate matters further, there are completely contradictory descriptions of how properly to use a Zerostat, to be found on the internet. One says to operate the trigger back and forth while holding the gun about 12 inches from the LP.  Another says to operate the trigger slowly so not to activate the clicking sound, hold the trigger IN, and then slowly pull the gun away from the vicinity of the LP while very slowly releasing the trigger.  Some folks say you can de-stat while the LP is on the platter, some say not.  So, if the gun does not appear to be working perhaps the problem is the method.  (I don't know myself which is correct, but the idea to hold the trigger IN while pulling the gun away from the LP makes some sense to me.)

FWIW - I had an "original" red Zerostat for years and (as was discussed in another earlier A’gon thread) followed the directions supplied with it. Going by memory now, instructions were to slowly pull and release the trigger at (3?) locations around an LP while on the turntable. One pull- and-release cycle at each of those locations. For the 4th and final activation, pull the trigger slowly while positioned over the spindle, then withdraw before releasing the trigger. Distance from the LP on the order of 8" or so (again, going by memory). Idea was to shower the vinyl surface with charged particles that were supposed to neutralize static.

I have a new blue Zerostat now. Don’t feel like digging it out to double-check but my recollection is that it’s supplied with a little attachment that fits on the tip of the "gun". This is not for use when treating an LP but is intended to confirm the Zerostat is functional. If the Zerostat is working, a little light on the attachment will illuminate when the trigger is pulled. The attachment is to be removed when using the gun to treat LPs.

Results with Zerostat do seem to be mixed and inconsistent - it might help with cleaning dust using a record cleaning brush afterwards but doesn’t always seem to reduce static buildup felt on removing the LP after play - even if used after a side is played. I mainly use the Zerostat prior to playing the rare piece of vinyl with significant dust and then follow with a record cleaning brush. More often, records are clean enough that Zerostat is not employed. I prefer, instead, to use a lightly moistened Hunt Mark 6 brush. Empty and rinse a spray bottle as supplied with eye glass cleaning solution from the optometrists office. Fill with 1 oz. distilled water and 1-2 drops 99% isopropyl alcohol. These spray bottles generate a very fine mist. Lightly mist (that’s LIGHTLY as in spray once from a distance) the surface of the record cleaning brush. With a few rotations, this lightly moistened brush does a great job collecting and removing any dust from the LP surface.

I purchased an original red Zerostat in the late 1970s, and replaced it with the blue "Milty" version about 8 or 9 years ago. As far as I could tell the original one was still working as well as ever, but I wanted to eliminate any lingering uncertainty. I did not notice any difference in the performance of the two devices.

Ghosthouse is correct that the blue Milty version is supplied with a plastic attachment enclosing what I believe to be a small neon bulb, which allows one to test the gun.

His recollection is also correct about the instructions provided with the original version, except that I believe they called for three pull and release cycles at each of the three locations, rather than one at each location (with the final release at each location being performed away from the record). That is what I have done on every side of every record I have played for the past nearly 40 years.

I also use a Nitty Gritty record cleaning machine on new records and occasionally on ones that have been played a number of times, and after cleaning I put the record in a previously unused Mobile Fidelity sleeve. I also clean the tip of the stylus with Last stylus cleaner before and after playing every side, while being careful to not let the fluid migrate up the cantilever. I have never felt the need to use a brush, and I’ve been happy with the results of these protocols.

Best regards,
-- Al

Thanks, Al.

This might be of general interest (no personal agenda in posting it) ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQmTm9ZlAS4

I have a red Zerostat bought in the 80's. It also came with the little neon bulb tester. Keeping a finger at the tip of the Zerostat will also tell you if its working. I use my Zerostat frequently, and to good effect. I also have no sense of any diminished performance over the years. I have two more observations- first, it's the only piece of gear I used in 1987 that I also use in 2017, and second, it has proven to have provided the best "bang for the buck" of any hifi purchase I have ever made. 

A quick perusal of eBay revealed this gem!

Anybody seen a white one before?

Of course no mention from seller if it is working.....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Original-Zerostat-Gun/302572054063?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&am...

Am I correct in surmising that most of us are using the "hold the trigger in then release slowly as you move the gun away from the LP" method?  Seems like ghosthouse does.  Yesterday, I searched Youtube for videos like the one cited above.  There you can find several different would-be gurus touting several different ways to use the Zerostat.  I did like the demonstration that a Zerostat treatment can cause a charged up balloon to fall off the surface of an oppositely charged LP.  I would accept that demo as "data".

My neighbor up the street owns a system in which he has invested well north of $100,000, maybe north of $150,000.  I observed that he haphazardly squeezes his Zerostat rapidly and repeatedly over the LP, without any regard for avoiding the clicking sound and without the "hold down" final step.  When I advised him that his technique is not optimal, he gave me a quizzical look and basically showed no interest.  This is a guy who uses cable lifters, ICs and PCs that each cost in the 5-figure range, those crazy things that are supposed to change the room air to promote sound propagation, $100 fuses, etc, etc.  Each of us is crazy in a different way, which makes this a great hobby.

@lewm 
...well,  only on the final application above the spindle do I hold the trigger, move the gun away from the TT and then release it while aimed at the carpet or whatever.  I do it quickly too...no reason for concern about quick discharge at that point.  The other 3 preceding cycles of pulling and releasing the trigger I do slowly and while aimed at the vinyl (e.g., 12, 4 and 8 o'clock).  

To Al's point about using 3 pull/release cycles (vs just 1) at each of 3 locations above the disk - that You Tube video with the static charged balloon DOES seem to show more treatment needed to neutralize charge when the LP is on the turntable as opposed to the LP held in the air.  Personally, I'm much better off doing more Zerostat treatment cycles with the LP resting safely on the turntable platter.  

"Each of us is crazy in a different way...." - I liked that. 

I owned a Zerostat years ago. All of the issues you all are referring to are valid. Shew!!!!! I own a Mapleshade anti-static gun (no longer offered- works much better than the Milty).

Get a DIY US cleaner (look at the Rushton thread) and the latest Audioquest brush (if needed).

Life will be more enjoyable.

Ghosthouse, You wrote, "Only on the final application above the spindle do I hold the trigger, move the gun away from the TT and then release it while aimed at the carpet or whatever.  I do it quickly too...no reason for concern about quick discharge at that point.  The other 3 preceding cycles of pulling and releasing the trigger I do slowly and while aimed at the vinyl (e.g., 12, 4 and 8 o'clock)."

Yep.  That's what I do too.  With my 45 year old Zerostat.  With the LP always ON the turntable, mainly because I refuse to yield to the ritual to any further extent.

Hi,

As winter is here, and the air is crazy dry, static is causing me much grief. Using the Milty seems to help, but the RCM (Okki Nokki) is adding unwanted static on top of a carpeted room. Humidifier is running 24/7 - with some benefit.

I've been looking at one of these. Thought it might help dry records after RCM as well as remove static. 

Has anyone used one?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/New-Aerostat-PC-Ionizing-Air-Blower-Fan-Ion-Anti-Static-110V-220V/32...

Thanks!

P.S. regarding my previous comment that:

I have never felt the need to use a brush....

I do occasionally use a brush on the platter itself, even though my turntable has a dustcover. I use an Oracle record brush I purchased back in the 1980s.

Also, after thinking about it a little further I’m not sure I was recalling correctly that the original Zerostat instructions recommended three pulls and releases at each of the three locations above the record, rather than one. But in any event that’s what I’ve always done.

Best regards,
-- Al

@perkri
We use ionized air fans on our work industrial equipment to reduce the static charge buildup in the hot plastic sheeting as it is being manufactured and wound.
Much larger and 460v units but the principle is the same.
We can definitely tell when one has died!
Cannot see why it would not help but you may have to play with positioning and such.
Might be worth a $95 experiment.

I have a white Zerostat from I believe around 1972 which still works. I can't tell the difference between that and the newer blue one I purchased 2 years ago. When I bought a Furutech Destat, both Miltys were shelved as the Furutech works better and more evenly (at a cost $).

I wondered if anybody actually had a white one.
The one on eBay is $50 with no idea if it works or not.
I am afraid to say I bought one of the newer blue, made in China, models.
It seems to work fine for me.

@uberwaltz

Thanks.

I'm sure it could get "dramatic" if one of the units failed...

One would think it could work?

The nice part is it should be able to do multiple records at the same time.

Clean - Dry - Remove Static and into Mofi sleeves.

When/of I get around to ordering one of the fans, I'll pass the findings along.

P

Was digging thru some storage boxes recently and some old and forgotten equipment I had. Since I also recently pulled my vintage 1977 turntable out and connected it I thought this stuff might come in handy. Anyone know what vintage a white zero Stat gun is? The only markings are zeroStat anti static pistol made in england. It's been so long I forgot how to use it. Still works though as my finger will attest to. Also found a Sure stylus force gauge no clue how to use it either. Along with that some vintage cartridges. Can anyone enlighten me?