My vinyl record cleaning machine project

I plan to build a semi-automatic record cleaning machine and I hope nobody minds if I document the progress here.

The principal follows the usual design found everywhere on the net. Put the record on the platter, make it spin and apply cleaning solution. Brush the fluid in and vacuum it out. Some designs use a long vac tube which spans across record powered by a shop vac. I find that unacceptable because of the noise. I am opting for "the other" design using a vacuum pump connected to a single fluid pickup line.

I have collected most of the parts. I am using a small rotary AC compressor salvaged from a 7K BTU window unit for the vacuum pump and the platter drive assembly from an old 1970's vintage "school" junk phonograph. I have an old jar for waste collection and some new plastic tubes which I plan to run some experimentation tests in the next few days.

I plan to "scan" the fluid pickup orifice at the end of a balanced arm by means of a slow rotating motor driven screw.

I am looking for an easier way to clean my growing stock of 45RPM records. Washing all of them by hand is not really a practical option anymore. Way too much labor. Not that I plan to always wash them but I need to find a better way. I am in the mood to build this.

Hope it is alright to make this thread documenting my progress. I will post some pics soon.

Sounds interesting. I've heard of the Spin Clean system -- http://www.audioadvisor.com/Spin-Clean- ... nfo/SWSYS/

And of course, those of us, of a certain age, probably remember the Ronco Record Vacuum --



I had one, in fact, and it actually did a pretty good job. I still see these for sale, used of course, on eBay, etc.

Your system, using a wet/vacuum cleaning method, sounds like it will do an excellent job.

For those new to this, here are some of the ones that hard core audiophiles use -- http://www.musicdirect.com/c-562-record ... hines.aspx

JDS

Joe,
Believe it or not--I was up late a couple months ago, board, so I was channel surfin'--
Guess who I saw doing an "informicial". Ron Popiel (SP?). He'z back--doing the "Ginsu knives" stchick, again--Only "new and improved" knives ! Remember the Vegematic ?? A friend of mine's wife got her Boob stuck so badly in one of them, she had to go to the hospital ! (we teased her for years about that !) Ron Rich

Thank you for the kind support. Yea I remember those cool vacuum machines advertised on TV but never had one myself.

These are the basic key parts to my project. Yes I know they look terrible, dirty and rusty. I want to build a basic prototype and see it work before cleaning it all up else waste the time. These parts are:
(1) Is the compressor used as a vacuum pump. I will be using its mounting plate, the original window AC unit bottom plate.
A plastic line runs between the suction side and into the top of a plastic peanut butter jar. A second line runs from the bottom of the jar and will eventually connect to the record pickup. You can also see the pump's power wiring and start capacitor.
(2) Is the platter and drive. You can see it can easily be mounted on any surface.

My first experiment revealed that I need a better jar. The moment I obstruct suction from the pickup end of the tube, the vacuum crushes the plastic jar. I'll probably go with a glass jar and metal lid. I might need to build an over-pressure relief valve in the jar lid to keep the jar from breaking should the line get obstructed.

I am not sure about something with the compressor. I have conflicting information. I have a friend who is in the "AC" business and says these compressors receive lubrication carried with the coolant gas itself. This makes me wonder if I am running this compressor without adequate lubrication. Other sources say these pumps have an oil sump and the main source of lubrication is not within the gas itself.

Yet I also read that refrigerant oil within the compressor does not react well with oxygen and will ruin the pump. Hmm. I am thinking I should tip this compressor on its side(s) and drain what I can out of it and replace it with the same amount of standard 20w gear lube.

Thoughts?

I thought about making my own record cleaning machine for years. Never got past the thinking about it stage and have just too many projects and parts laying around, so I finally broke down and bought a VPI machine. Works OK, but some records, even new ones, still need multiple cleanings.

As far as record cleaning machines of the past, I remember the Ronco one. A few years ago, I found a person trying to sell one at an antique and collectables show. After a record spun in it for a minute or so, it had so much static electricity in it that the record almost stuck to the wall. Any paper or cloth that you would lay the record on would stick to the record.

Even in the instructions for my VPI machine tell you not to let the record rotate more than two times in the vacuuming cylce because it will cause static.

As a note, high quality vinyl records develope static electricity much easier than the cheaper quality record material that pressing companies like Monarch used. Also, 45's made out of cheapo polystyrene don't usually develope static electricity.

Thanks for the comments.

I haven't posted in a while but my project is still very much alive. I have several other projects going and I've found the time to do some practical experiments using the AC compressor as a vacuum pump to remove the fluid from the record.

This is a fun project I'm doing and it entails a lot of things. One aspect of it is video documentation including some detailed CGI animations of how it works and maybe it will inspire someone else's ideas. The CGI also helps me work out some mechanical puzzles in design. I'm currently rendering the first part of the series and hope to publish it on my YouTube page.

I could buy a commercial unit but I have always loved planning and building projects.

As a teaser, here's the video result of my first experiments.
YouTube has stretched its aspect ratio?

Anyway... This is not a finished project by any means. I am testing how well the vacuum from the AC compressor removes fluid from a record. It's a video of fluid pick-up and NOT how to clean a record.
The test record is a crappy worn-out thing which I'll throw out later. The hose nozzle here is just an unscrewed pen tip. I'll try some other pickup devices and come up with a practical buffer to keep the tip from scratching records. Maybe a small piece of felt, leather, string etc. I'm really pleased with the quietness of the operation.

The vacuum crushed my 1st plastic jar so I am using this glass one with plastic top. I wanted to test failure points so I blocked the inlet hose and it cracked the plastic top (Hence the taped jar lid).

This is a temporary video to be used as part of a larger project when I'm finished. I just wanted the folks here at Phonoland to see how it's going. It is not part of my other videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/SirSteveFury

This is the video. It's HD so you can view it full screen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6wAjChvboE

Hi Guyz--
The "static" problem brings up a question in my feeble mind--
I had a guy send something in for repair here, awhile back. It was packed in white Styrofoam "peanuts"--
Dam thing about drove me crazy(er) for hours--that stuff stuck to everything , then the wind came up and blew it all over--Anyway I could pick it up, but could not get it "unstuck" from ANYTHING, I used to gather it. Spent a couple of hours cleaning it up--still missed a bunch. But what I have found out since is--just rub you hands, or whatever you are using to gather it, with a clothes dryer sheet--and "magic"-- no more sticking to whatever you used the sheet on--this leads to my question--
Would using a dryer sheet be helpful in record cleaning ??
Ron Rich

The dryer sheets have silicone oil in them. So did those anti-static record cloths. The fun part is that the silicone oil then attracts dirt.

I found that raising the humidity in the room or using an ion generator removed the static. An ion generator (found in some high-end electric fans) might also help with the packing peanuts. The heater or discharge type of humidifier works too. Do not use the ultrasonic type because they make fine rock dust from the minerals in the water.

Actually the only trouble I ever had with static was that the record up on the spindle of my Collaro lifted the pickup off the record below in cold weather. I sprayed an antistatic coating (to get rid of computer static problems) on the top of the arm and that problem disappeared.