DIY Ultrasonic album cleaner

undertowogt1 · « **Reply #80 on:** 26 Oct 2016, 08:13 pm »

My 6 L arrived yesterday (only took 2 days to ship). Tonight I will be testing and cleaning a few records. so far I just filled it and turned it on. Starting to sketch out some ideas for the electronic record spinner manly made up of oak. The ultrasonic cleaner itself seems pretty good. Simple to use. I thought it would be louder and 6L is a the right size for me. Build quality seems fine. I will post my impressions when I have some.

S Clark · « **Reply #81 on:** 27 Oct 2016, 01:37 am »

Quote from: undertowogt1 on 26 Oct 2016, 08:13 pm

...Build quality seems fine. I will post my impressions when I have some.

And?

undertowogt1 · « **Reply #82 on:** 27 Oct 2016, 02:49 am »

Quote from: S Clark on 27 Oct 2016, 01:37 am

And?

Well I rigged up a little stand and spinner with some wood clamps and a screw. I just cleaned 2 records. Pink Floyd Obscured by Clouds and The Carpenters (they are my guilty Pleasure). Both these records have been cleaned with my DIY Vacume Machine but I knew they still have some noise. Before I cleaned each record I listened to two songs, taking note of the background noise and clicks and pops. Definitely and improvement in background noise. Definitely and improvement with clicks and pops.........much much cleaner. I can not say the click and pops are gone because they are not. They have be reduced significantly.

I know this is by no means a thorough comparison.

I am listening to the Carpenters as I type and am a little shocked how much better it sounds.

I used Distilled water and 240ml of Isopropyl alcohol and Dryed the records with my RCM.

My next project is to make the stand and motor.......good times

Folsom · « **Reply #83 on:** 27 Oct 2016, 02:58 am »

I bet a little X-100 would make them even cleaner.

undertowogt1 · « **Reply #84 on:** 27 Oct 2016, 03:16 am »

Quote from: Folsom on 27 Oct 2016, 02:58 am

I bet a little X-100 would make them even cleaner.

That stuff is a little pricey and is difficult to find it seems. Is there anything similar / cheaper / easy to obtain, that would do the trick?

Folsom · « **Reply #85 on:** 27 Oct 2016, 03:38 am »

Are you kidding? This bottle will last the rest of your life.... well probably.

JDUBS · « **Reply #86 on:** 27 Oct 2016, 03:41 am »

Quote from: Folsom on 27 Oct 2016, 03:38 am

Are you kidding? This bottle will last the rest of your life.... well probably.

Lol, yeah, stuff doesn't get much cheaper than this.

-Jim

S Clark · « **Reply #87 on:** 27 Oct 2016, 03:53 am »

Glad you like the results. I have had the same experiences with mine. It's as much better than vacuum rcm, as vacuum is over a DiscWasher... a big step up.

And Folsom's right, 500ml of Triton X will last you for decades.

undertowogt1 · « **Reply #88 on:** 27 Oct 2016, 06:05 pm »

Oh...........ok. So is just a few drops added to the mixture or something. What is the benefit of Triton?

S Clark · « **Reply #89 on:** 27 Oct 2016, 06:48 pm »

It reduces surface tension, allowing water molecules to penetrate into the grooves more deeply. Basically, it's like a soap with little residue.

Folsom · « **Reply #90 on:** 27 Oct 2016, 06:50 pm »

Yup, and this one doesn't leave residue, photoflo leaves a little.

There's also something you can add to reduce static but I forget what that was, started with an H.

undertowogt1 · « **Reply #91 on:** 28 Oct 2016, 02:20 pm »

So how much Triton X100 would I be adding to approximately 6L of mixture? A cap full? a drop? 3 drops? The reason I ask is I found a supplier and the price difference between 500ml and 1 L is only 15 bucks.

S Clark · « **Reply #92 on:** 28 Oct 2016, 02:56 pm »

I added about 3 ml, or half a cap.

kgturner · « **Reply #93 on:** 14 Nov 2016, 02:57 pm »

I have a Vibrato ultrasonic cleaner which works well. My only problem is that there is no drain in the unit. I bought a pump, but it struggles to pull the solution up and out of the unit. Does anybody have any advice on how to add a drain to the pan? My only thought was to buy a used ultrasonic cleaner with a drain and cannabalize the pan from it. I checked around the plumbing section of Home Depot & Lowes, but all I found were drains that were too large for my needs. Thanks for any advice you can give.

Kevin T

S Clark · « **Reply #94 on:** 14 Nov 2016, 03:13 pm »

It would sure be easier to get a better pump. Perhaps something like this?
https://www.amazon.com/Koehler-Enterprises-RA990-Multi-Use-Transfer/dp/B0181EDCZ6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1479136251&sr=8-2&keywords=hand+pump+liquid

kgturner · « **Reply #95 on:** 14 Nov 2016, 03:25 pm »

Not nearly as elegant as I was thinking, but it looks cheap and easy. I was wanting to have the tank drain through a pump and then refill the ultrasonic pan after the solution passed through a filter. I guess I could use that device to pump the solution into a container. Then use the container as an infinite loop to filter (drain out of the bottom, pump/push through filter, and refill into the top). Now I just need a 6L container that has a drain on the bottom.

Kevin T

undertowogt1 · « **Reply #96 on:** 14 Nov 2016, 03:29 pm »

I have been working on for the past week and final finished. It turned out really nice and works perfectly. I had to buy the motor and motor control from a local hobby / electronic shop and I had some wood kicking around the work room.

I kinda copied a design I found online but tweaked it to my preference. Mainly I wanted to be hands free when I add and remove the records. That is where the back arm lifts with the motor attached. I still need to make the mechanism to hold the arm up when raised. Another challenge was holding the records on. I could not find an appropriate clip to hold records on with a smooth metal bar so I had to go with threaded rod and wing nuts. Then I realized it was taking me too much time and effort to screw and un screw the wing nut onto the rod. So I came up with using the cotter pin. Works well for now but I will be on the look out for other options, if anyone had ideas, please let me know.

simoon · « **Reply #97 on:** 14 Nov 2016, 07:19 pm »

Quote from: undertowogt1 on 14 Nov 2016, 03:29 pm

I have been working on for the past week and final finished. It turned out really nice and works perfectly. I had to buy the motor and motor control from a local hobby / electronic shop and I had some wood kicking around the work room.

I kinda copied a design I found online but tweaked it to my preference. Mainly I wanted to be hands free when I add and remove the records. That is where the back arm lifts with the motor attached. I still need to make the mechanism to hold the arm up when raised. Another challenge was holding the records on. I could not find an appropriate clip to hold records on with a smooth metal bar so I had to go with threaded rod and wing nuts. Then I realized it was taking me too much time and effort to screw and un screw the wing nut onto the rod. So I came up with using the cotter pin. Works well for now but I will be on the look out for other options, if anyone had ideas, please let me know.

Looks good!

Could you list the motor and controller brand and model numbers?

It would be nice to use one that has already been tested, instead of having to 'reinvent the wheel'.

Thanks!

undertowogt1 · « **Reply #98 on:** 14 Nov 2016, 09:57 pm »

Quote from: simoon on 14 Nov 2016, 07:19 pm

Looks good!

Could you list the motor and controller brand and model numbers?

It would be nice to use one that has already been tested, instead of having to 'reinvent the wheel'.

Thanks!

Sure. I really didn't know what I needed for the motor and controller but it was pretty straight forward once the dude at the store gavve me what I needed.

The motor is
37D 131:1
80 rpm 0.3A s:5A 250oz -in
(at the slowest point it goes around 3 rmp. at the fasted it goes like 80 or something)

The motor controller is
PWM 10A
AMS12402P 10-100% 13k

not sure if this helps, but that what the packages say. I dont have brand names to go by for these.

SteveRB · « **Reply #99 on:** 21 Nov 2016, 11:45 pm »

Quick question: how do you use a vacuum machine to dry it, when both sides are wet? ...doesn't that just make the platter on the machine wet when you flip it over?