Dual turntable stored for 20-30 years - What is initial start up best practice?

Jibe01

Jibe01

Active Member
A friend is about to give me a Dual 1218 turntable that belonged to her father. It has been stored in their garage for at least 20 years. I know that when you first power up a receiver after it has been stored for a long time, it is best to use a dim bulb tester. Is this also true for a turntable?Dual 1.jpg Dual 2.jpg
 
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download the service manual. Look up Youtube to check out how to remove the platter. Remove the platter for regular maintenance, i.e., clean and oil the spindle well, clean the idler and inner platter rim, etc. If the auto off doesnt work, you may need a steurpimpel. Good luck.
 
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The first thing I'd do with a Dual in that series is before plugging in the power cord - operate the levers gently. The speed selector lever in particular. If it is siezed or hard to move, go no further. It must be disassembled and cleaned. The under deck mechanism is plastic and will break if forced.
 
The first three rules of bringing an old Dual back into service are:

1) Don't force any levers or controls

2) Don't force any levers or controls

3) Don't force any levers or controls

Anything that doesn't easily move means that there is dried lubricant that must be cleaned and replaced first. Some levers, if forced, could break, and not all of them are easy or cheap to replace, and even if they were it would unnecessarily delay your progress.
 
Exactly. Don't force a lever, arm etc. Dual's are pretty darn resilient, other than the yellow grease that simply drys out and gets hard and the little steuerpimple thingy which is a little rubber tip piece that helps create some friction to allow some action in the mechanisms to kick in when they are supposed to.
Blow it out, clean it up, remove the cart head and clean off the contacts. Check the stylus. See if it works. Beyond that, there are threads here to help you with the grease. Or over in the Dual section at vinyl engine. motor issues goes to another level of work.
 
Indeed. Duals are very well built, and very durable and that Steurpimple is a wear item by the way, intended to be replaced at a 5 year overhaul. Cleaning, lubrication of the right kind where necessary, and adjustment as necessary, and gentle, regular use and proper servicing every 5 years are the heart of your Dual functioning at it's best. And also helps enhance your Dual's longevity.
 
Take it to someone that knows how to handle it. Period. I've had 2 or 3 Duals and all of them, when first grabbed, were in need of help that was way above my pay grade. Don't touch this, don't move that, don't use that lube, etc. They are really nice machines and once restored are very cool to operate and enjoy. If you are a guy that wants a project then yeah, there are plenty of threads to help you. Yours looks like a nice one. If you want to get it up and running quickly find someone that works on them and bring a couple hundred bucks with you when you drop it off...if it needs a new cart bring more....
 
I refurbished my 1229, but before I did much I read many dozens of pages about doing so, mainly in the archives of this forum, and then I proceeded working at the process very slowly. In my case I also had to take the motor apart and clean and relube the bearings ( which one of the more experienced AK Dual people walked me through in private messages ), because the motor would start chirping after playing a record side or two. If it didn't do that, most of my refurb would have involved cleaning old lube and relubing, followed by fine-tuning of a few adjustments. From time to time I have to reclean some electrical contacts. And after about 4-5 years, I did do a bit of selective relubing.

If you feel better having a professional Dual tech do the job, I wouldn't discourage you from doing that. It might depend on how confident you feel about working on mechanical things. I wasn't especially confident, but I figured I couldn't screw up a lot of things at once if I proceeded very slowly, after first studying up on what to be careful about and what could go wrong. I'm sure a pro could have done a better job, and could have certainly followed a more efficient plan than I did, but my process resulted in a good working machine.
 
I'd bet that the belt is also pretty well rotted by now. Replacement may be hard to find. I used to get belts from Needle Doctor in Minneapolis but as of a few years ago, they had nothing that would fit. Correct length but too narrow, and it would wander on the pulley causing speed variations. They did take back 2 belts, open package, full refund, no problems, and basically said they didn't have anything else to try. I finally found a proper belt from an on line source. Similar issue with a replacement stylus for an ADC XLM Type II Improved. Finally found that on eBay.

These issues prompted me to start playing records into the computer, recording on Apple Garage Band, doing some editing and clean up, exporting to iTunes, creating playlists corresponding to CDs. Burned approximately 75 CDs in the last 3 years. Still have the turntable and a few records, but I'm essentially out of the record playing business going forward.
 
Marine0811 said:
Replacing the steuerpimple will make a big difference with the way it performs. I have a few leftover from a couple Dual projects. If you need one, PM me and I’ll get your address and send you one for free. Just a little Audio Karma
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Thanks Marine. Very kind of you to offer. And thanks to all for the sage advice. I've been all over the internet and gathered the manual, and several how to's with photos from others who've restored Duals. Once I obtain it, I'll access...Carefully...
 
fred soop said:
I'd bet that the belt is also pretty well rotted by now. Replacement may be hard to find. I used to get belts from Needle Doctor in Minneapolis but as of a few years ago, they had nothing that would fit. Correct length but too narrow, and it would wander on the pulley causing speed variations. They did take back 2 belts, open package, full refund, no problems, and basically said they didn't have anything else to try. I finally found a proper belt from an on line source. Similar issue with a replacement stylus for an ADC XLM Type II Improved. Finally found that on eBay.

These issues prompted me to start playing records into the computer, recording on Apple Garage Band, doing some editing and clean up, exporting to iTunes, creating playlists corresponding to CDs. Burned approximately 75 CDs in the last 3 years. Still have the turntable and a few records, but I'm essentially out of the record playing business going forward.
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Thanks, but the 1218 is driven by an idler wheel, not a belt
 
Does 1218 have the single/multi selector at the base of the tonearm? If so the advice to not force anything applies very much so here
Fixing what broke on a 1219 after that control has been forced is a serious project.
 
Sending out a Dual to one of the refurbers will result in spending at LEAST $200 by the time you ship it both ways. Be sure you want to spend that much on the TT. Worked on my 1219 to finally get it right. It saved some money.
 
Thanks. I'm still waiting on my friend to give me the Dual. She's settling her Mom's estate now, & its sucking up a lot of her time - and emotions. I think she may also have an attachment to the Dual that may have her holding on to it. If she decides that she wants to keep it, I've offered to help her in getting it restored so she can play her Dad's old albums. It's a tough time for her right now.
 
On Duals that dropped records from the tall spindle there was usually an adjustment lever or knob that would raise the tonearm so it could move over the stack of records that it dropped on the platter. DO NOT raise the tonearm. Trust me. The dried grease will gunk up the ability of the tone arm to move freely even after you lower it and you will be forced to take it all apart, bearings and all to try and fix it.
 
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