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For those that have a vacuum RCM, what have you used that was better?

J

JohnVF

Lunatic Member
Banned
I'm looking for responses from people that actually have experience with vacuum record cleaning machines. In good faith, have any of you found anything else to be as efficient in time and effectiveness?

I personally haven't found anything remotely as effective as my vacuum RCM (a nitty gritty, but others work just as well). But I would be curious to know if anything else is as fast and effective, for anybody looking for a different route.
 
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My VPI 16.5 was one of my best investments hands down. The only complaint is how loud it is!
 
240sx4u said:
My VPI 16.5 was one of my best investments hands down. The only complaint is how loud it is!
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Yeah, the "whhooooosh" of the nitty gritty does kind of ruin the mood if I'm cleaning right before play. I don't clean every record every play with it but I run them through after a while. Normally its a brush, then occasionally the RCM.
 
I know that adding the KAB Gliding Platter made my RCM 100x better to deal with! Not sure if that qualifies as "something better" or not. Yeah, but only the whoosh, but mine has tripped the breaker in my little room if I had a bunch of other stuff running. It's easy to loose sight of how much juice it draws.

Otherwise, the only thing I could offer better is the wood glue, but who's got that kind of time for anything other than occasional use.
 
Several years ago I acquired 600 78s. At the time I had a large darkroom sink and set up developing trays. I filled one tray with a lukewarm solution of Labtone. I would soak a batch of 10 or so records, gently scrub them with a sponge, then rinse with water. I used a dish rack to let them drip dry.

This was faster than using my RCM. However, I have gone back and cleaned some of those records using the same Labtone solution, but vacuuming after the solution and then after the final rinse. The makeup squares I use to spread the cleaning solution has returned dirt left by the first cleaning. I also now use a paint pad to get down in the grooves. In addition to discovering dirt left behind, listening tests have shown a minor to significant reduction in noise using the vacuum RCM.

For LPs and 45s, I have used both dry and wet brushes (Discwasher) for years. This method may be slightly faster, but does not provide near the cleaning of the vacuum RCM.

I'm buying mostly garage sale and thrift shop LPs now. I can't imagine not having a vacuum RCM. It improves the record at least one, and often two grades. In addition, I have cleaned many of my records I bought new in the '60s. Even though I have taken very good care of them, they play significantly better now. What I thought was permanent was just dirt.
 
I've used the spin clean in the past and it was quicker than my VPI 16.5. But the effectiveness of the spin clean is not even close.
 
DougMac said:
What I thought was permanent was just dirt.
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That was my experience as well. Records I'd cleaned with other methods (nothing super fancy, but sink washing, some cleaning solutions, a brush) left things behind that the RCM easily removed.
 
240sx4u said:
The only complaint is how loud it is!
Click to expand...

I'm currently in the market for an RCM, however, as I take repeated or prolonged exposure to loud or moderately loud sounds quite seriously, I'm concerned about any possible detrimental effects to my hearing over time. Since the working distance to an RCM is much closer than a typical household vacuum cleaner, I believe this may be a legitimate concern.

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever measured the noise level of an RCM? If louder than 85 dBs, then earplugs are perhaps a sensible precaution. What's the point of having clean records if you end up with hearing damage? :D
 
Un-filtrd said:
I'm currently in the market for an RCM, however, as I take repeated or prolonged exposure to loud or moderately loud sounds quite seriously, I'm concerned about any possible detrimental effects to my hearing over time. Since the working distance to an RCM is much closer than a typical household vacuum cleaner, I believe this may be a legitimate concern.

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever measured the noise level of an RCM? If louder than 85 dBs, then earplugs are perhaps a sensible precaution. What's the point of having clean records if you end up with hearing damage? :D
Click to expand...

They're loud, but I can't imagine they can cause hearing damage unless you're cleaning thousands of records a year.
 
Un-filtrd said:
I'm currently in the market for an RCM, however, as I take repeated or prolonged exposure to loud or moderately loud sounds quite seriously, I'm concerned about any possible detrimental effects to my hearing over time. Since the working distance to an RCM is much closer than a typical household vacuum cleaner, I believe this may be a legitimate concern.

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever measured the noise level of an RCM? If louder than 85 dBs, then earplugs are perhaps a sensible precaution. What's the point of having clean records if you end up with hearing damage? :D
Click to expand...

I don't think you really have to worry. I've got a Nitty Gritty Record Doctor RCM (the cheapest one) and while it's kinda loud, it's actually not as loud as my household vac! It's not nearly as loud as say, one of those little Magic Bullet blenders either.
 
I have used a Nitty Gritty 1.5 and VPI 16.5. Both provided excellent results, I was just more comfortable with the VPI since I didn't have to flip a wet record, which sometimes got fluid on the label. And the vacuum lips on the Nitty Gritty are always rubbing on one side of the record. In my experience both worked better than my Spin Clean or manual cleaning with water and microfiber cloths.

I use earplugs when I use the VPI. Even if I'm only cleaning a single record.
 
Un-filtrd said:
I'm currently in the market for an RCM, however, as I take repeated or prolonged exposure to loud or moderately loud sounds quite seriously, I'm concerned about any possible detrimental effects to my hearing over time. Since the working distance to an RCM is much closer than a typical household vacuum cleaner, I believe this may be a legitimate concern.

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever measured the noise level of an RCM? If louder than 85 dBs, then earplugs are perhaps a sensible precaution. What's the point of having clean records if you end up with hearing damage? :D
Click to expand...

If I am doing a bunch of LP's I do wear my earplugs that I use when I play drums. While the whooshing isn't outrageously bad, it sure is annoying.
 
In a word ... no ... nothing I ever tried has worked any better.

FIY ... most interesting record cleaning video I ever seen is linked below.

How to Clean and Maintain Records By Mark Baker, Managing Director of Origin Live

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmXO9YNQvXg&list=FLO-NQ6dmJHAzO6BuYco-ffg&index=1

48 minutes long ... not DIY methods ... demo of Spin Clean, Keith Monk's Moth RCM & the Loricraft machine. ... discussion of the role of static electricity and the L'Art du Son Record Cleaning Fluid.
 
I don't have a RCM yet, but as we speak am putting money away for one. I am waiting for the owner of a Audio Desk to pipe in here but maybe you and I might be waiting a while due to the price. But from all the reading I have done, I would not be surprised that the Audio Desk out cleans the typical vac type of cleaner. The vac part of the RCM from what I understand, main purpose is to remove the loosened dirt and water that is on the disc, and its mainly the hand scrubbing that does the real cleaning. Where as the Audio Desk uses ultrasonic's to do the cleaning rather than hand scrubbing. The only part of the Audio Desk that I don't like is the method that they use to remove the water and that is forced air blowers.

I did see another one that uses Ultrasonics just the other day and it will clean 8 records at one time, and it is about half the cost, but it has no method of drying the records so you would almost need a vac unless you just let them air dry.
 
nothing works better. i made my own, ridiculously easy, super cheap, found the directions right here on AK, make my own cleaning fluid also, really helps with all those thrift store records I buy :)
 
Something like this would not be to hard to use for making a DIY ultrasonic cleaner. The ultrasonic frequencies used cavitate the water which basically is like millions of bursting hi pressure water blast. It will clean items to be medical grade clean. I know many engine manufactures now recommend using these rather than the older cleaning machines which used very toxic and bad ass chemicals and say these actually will clean better than those aggressive chemicals.

http://www.ultrasonicsdirect.com/ultrasonic-cleaner-sh180-4l.html
 
Un-filtrd said:
I'm currently in the market for an RCM, however, as I take repeated or prolonged exposure to loud or moderately loud sounds quite seriously, I'm concerned about any possible detrimental effects to my hearing over time. Since the working distance to an RCM is much closer than a typical household vacuum cleaner, I believe this may be a legitimate concern.

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever measured the noise level of an RCM? If louder than 85 dBs, then earplugs are perhaps a sensible precaution. What's the point of having clean records if you end up with hearing damage? :D
Click to expand...

I went with the Okki Nokki because it works great and the vacuum is much quieter than the VPI.
 
Un-filtrd said:
I'm currently in the market for an RCM, however, as I take repeated or prolonged exposure to loud or moderately loud sounds quite seriously, I'm concerned about any possible detrimental effects to my hearing over time. Since the working distance to an RCM is much closer than a typical household vacuum cleaner, I believe this may be a legitimate concern.

Out of curiosity, has anyone ever measured the noise level of an RCM? If louder than 85 dBs, then earplugs are perhaps a sensible precaution. What's the point of having clean records if you end up with hearing damage? :D
Click to expand...

I measured the VPI HW 16.5 some time ago and if memory serves,it was over 80db.As luck would have it,the battery in my SPL meter is dead.When I get a new battery,I'll take another measurement if anyone cares.
 
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