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Introducing the RCMCS (my DIY RCM)

elcoholic said:
I agree that most use the small wet/dry vacs and that they are probably sufficient especially when used with the efficient VPI wand system. Part of my RCM build was using supplies on-hand. I had a 10 gal Shop Vac just taking up space in the garage rafters. I'm certain that it is overkill, but I wanted to have a self contained RCM for the convenience of needing no set-up to clean just one record. I'm also pretty sure that I'm bleeding off some suction where the down tube enters the tank. The other variable is the speed of the record platter. They use a 16 RPM gear motor. Faster rotation will require more passes to remove the fluid. I wondering about the flexibilty in the VPI wand. Where'd you hear that? I'm spanning mine across 2 pencils and I have to push pretty hard to get enough flex to see it. There's a little give where it joins the holder, but not so much that it will conform to the record. On the contrary mine will lift the record and make it conform to the wand.
Click to expand...

Sorry my friend/all, that I wasn't perhaps a bit clearer with my explanations about rhe VPI Wand.

Yes, you are correct, there's not much flexure of the clear acrylic wand itself, but I do believe the entire Wand Assembly-Tower flexes a bit to perhaps aid uniform contact with the record. An ingenious (but simple) method Harry W. used, for sure.

About Vacuums. I'm no engineer-designer, but have put a bit of thought into this.

I would assume much of the difference between a 5 gallon shop vac, and a 16 gallon shop vac, is the size of the cannister, not much more.

That there's a limit as to the size-power of a vacuum motor that can be installed into any home use vacuum cleaner. They certainly cannot sell something so outrageously powerful that it's tripping your circuit breakers every time you use it. Mark
 
Vacmotors do vary greatly and you just can't look at the electrical load. For instance take a $90 3 HP ShopVac 6 gal Quiet series. It draws 8 amps, flows 127 cfm and pulls 57" of (presumably) water. Now take the $300 Fein Turbo II I replaced it with. It also draws 8 amps, flows 116 cfm but pulls an epic 90" water column through a 5 micron filter. That's a 58% increase in suction for a 9% decrease in airflow for the same 8 amps.
 
DoDog - Thanks for the great details and pictures. I was on the fence regarding buying the VPI wand assembly because I wasn't sure how to incorporate it into a home-made RCM. Your pictures illustrated how it would all fit together and have inspired me to take the leap and order the VPI hardware.

Thanks,
Rob
 
rshep said:
DoDog - Thanks for the great details and pictures. I was on the fence regarding buying the VPI wand assembly because I wasn't sure how to incorporate it into a home-made RCM. Your pictures illustrated how it would all fit together and have inspired me to take the leap and order the VPI hardware.

Thanks,
Rob
Click to expand...

The wand assembly is the most expensive part of the project but, unlike Big Bill, I'm unable to turn a sprinkler assembly into a vacuum wand. I was willing to pay for those parts. Glad you enjoyed the build.



I will admit that I still use a conical attachment and velvet for cleaning 45's as I'm too cheap to buy the VPI 45 wand.:D
 
Thank you. I'm all thumbs so if I can build this, anyone can. AK'er "bryana" made the box for me (I just rough guesstimated the size and he took it from there). If I had tried to make the box it would have looked like Homer's spice rack.
 
motor

Hi
Great job and thanks for sharing.
what did you use for the shaft coupler, motor mount?
what is the rpm of the motor?
matt
 
12string12 said:
Hi
Great job and thanks for sharing.
what did you use for the shaft coupler, motor mount?
what is the rpm of the motor?
matt
Click to expand...

Someone else asked about this. I SWEAR I had pictures but I can't find them.

For the mount, I first made a template of the motor after measuring the diameter of the motor, then the distance between screws, etc. I used a piece of craft aluminum that I cut into a square, taped on the template and drilled the holes (screw mounts, center for the shaft). I mounted the motor to the board with hex screws. This whole assembly was mounted to some scrap walnut I had laying around, which was itself mounted to the underside of the top board of the box. I created a shaft coupler from the aluminum rod in the pics, cut to size. I used a drill and tap set to couple/pinch the motor spindle to the bolt I used glued from the platter.

The motor is a 15 RPM high-torque motor, rated for 12V. I use a RadioShack wallwart that has adjustable voltages. If you use the motor at 9V it runs slower. 12-15RPM is optimal and the vacuum is dry in about 4 seconds (if I did my math right).
 
This is awesome! having looked at a lot of DIY RCM this is the one that im going TRY to replicate. If anyone know where i can get the VPI wand assembly that he uses that would be a great help.
 
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