Nitty Gritty record cleaner DIY repair ?

[MisterDK]

Hey boys and girls, have any of you repaired your Nitty Gritty machines beyond capstan and “velvet lip” replacement?

Just wondering if we may want to share tips, replacement parts, etc.
I’ve fixed two ebay NG machines so far, and I just bought another to fix up. My favorite and most used is one of the big, heavy duty 3.5fi machines, probably made around ‘90. I got it in good cosmetic shape but needing the usual velvet lips and new capstan rubber. It also needed - a new electric fluid pump. After looking at new submersible pond/fountain pumps like the original was, they seemed not only too expensive but I didn’t see the size I was looking for. My repair for that was a Chinese diaphragm pump that’s 12v, and an LED 110AC-12vDC converter. These were both super cheap on ebay and worked great in the 3.5fi - and I bought an extra of each in case I ever needed ‘em. BTW, I also replaced the fluid reservoir with one about double the original volume and it takes the original thread on bakelite type cap - I looked at lots of cheap shampoo bottles at wallyworld and chose one from some baby shampoo..
Well, the unit I just got to repair is another old electric pump model, this time a 2.5fi. I have a spare diaphragm pump and voltage converter, ready to go in case the pump is bad (haven’t tested it yet - it showed up just today). I’ll post some pictures of the 2.5fi getting fixed when I figure out what all it’ll need. The solid oak base and ABS top are in good cosmetic shape, so I think it’ll be worth fixing..

 

[visman]

I’ve had my Mini-Pro 2 for probably 15 years. It’s needed a few repairs beyond the new capstan rubber and velvet lips - usually related to leaks. Replacing interior tubing is pretty easy - I have had a couple leak at their connecting point - fresh cut or new tubing required (tubing available at any big box store). My last major repair (maybe a year ago) required a new reservoir and hand pump - very easy fix and the complete part was still available through the new owners of Nitty Gritty - I think it cost around $100. I tried to “repair” the existing reservoir pump - but it was beyond hope after 15 odd years of use.

I know there are several members who love the ultra-sonic record cleaners - but I have been more than happy with my Nitty Gritty over the years - looks great (gorgeous Oak), very reliable, does a terrific job cleaning and vacuuming (both sides at the same time) and has cleaned several thousand of my treasured records in a very timely fashion (usually right before playing).

 

[MisterDK]

Here are a few pictures of the older 2.5fi I just picked up. Base and top look pretty good. I may need to touch up the base in a few spots with a little Danish oil rub where it’s faded or lightly scratched. The ABS top and acrylic plates for switches and spindle look fine but as you can see, switch plate was pulled off and spindle broken out and missing. No big deal. Looks like previous owner wanted to fix and gave up(?). I haven’t tested the vacuum, drive motor or fluid pump yet but everything looks surprisingly clean inside. The vacuum commutator looks fairly new with no trench and no comm dust; brushes look clean and long, from what I see. Drive motor turns freely by hand and the gearbox feels smooth and not frozen, like the 1.5 I’d picked up. I’ll still pull the drive box apart for fresh lube, and lube the drive motor bushings. When I pull the vacuum out, I’ll oil its bushings too.

If anyone here knows just what the black adhesive is that Nitty Gritty had used, please tell us. It seems to have been fairly sticky and was probably soft, some 30 years ago. I’d like to use similar, rather than silicone for reassembly.

 

[Wolverine]

Don't want to hijack the thread but I am curious about the "velvet lip" upgrade that the OP mentioned.

Got an original Nitty Gritty at an Estate Sale several years ago and have been very happy with it.

 

[MisterDK]

Don't want to hijack the thread but I am curious about the "velvet lip" upgrade that the OP mentioned.

Got an original Nitty Gritty at an Estate Sale several years ago and have been very happy with it.

Not sure what you mean by upgrade.. The “velvet lips” rub on the record as it spins, with the fibers doing a soft scrubbing of the grooves. Those fibers do wear out and you have to replace your velvet lips after a time, with a new strip. It’s held on with a sticky, double-sided tape. You can order new ones from a few suppliers online. There are two different styles, depending on whether you NG has a fluid pump, or not. Those for pump machines have small holes for the fluid to pump through. Unless your machine was practically as-new, you probably should just replace the strip with a fresh one.
If your machine has a drive unit to automatically spin the record, you should also inspect the capstan rubber and replace if needed.

 

[MisterDK]

Got a chance to look at this old 2.5fi this morning. Plugged it in and switched the functions on to see what it did.. Looks like the previous owner took it apart to see why the fluid pump didn’t work (?) - and more or less left it apart. Vacuum runs strongly and the drive motor and box wasn’t frozen at all. I opened up the drive box anyway to re-spread the grease inside (still soft and wet), and lube the motor shaft and capstan shaft oilites with a needle-point oiler. It just takes a few drops of oil - don’t use too much. The drive box is held together and the motor is held onto to it, with a couple of 1/4” head bolts. Don’t over-tighten those on reassembly. Just a good snugging up is what you’ll want or you risk stripping the pot metal drive housing.

While I could pull the little pond pump apart to see if I can free it up - as it does get power from the momentary push switch, instead, I’m going to replace it with a small diaphragm pump and 12v converter. I’ll also be putting in a larger fluid reservoir, as I did with my 3.5fi. More on those later..

 

[MisterDK]

The 12v diaphragm pump and 110vAC to 12vDC LED driver, just as I used in my 3.5fi. These were the extras I bought in case they worked well - and they did. On ebay you can search for the cheapest 12v diaphragm pumps out of China and you’ll find these for around $5. There’s one Chinese seller who offers one for a couple $ more and they look slightly different. I’d buy from him as he has better feedback than the sellers with the very cheapest pumps.
These little pumps are powerful, BTW!

The LED drivers are also really cheap; search for the cheapest 12v 18w LED driver and pick the seller with the best feedback.. You can get both the pump and LED driver for under $15 shipped; much cheaper than a new pond/fountain pump - and this combo really pumps. When I put this in, I’ll probably also put a restrictor into the inlet tube to slow things down. I haven’t yet, but that’s what my 3.5fi needs as just four 1/4 second “blips” of the fluid button are enough to coat the record with cleaning fluid.

 

[Wolverine]

Not sure what you mean by upgrade.. The “velvet lips” rub on the record as it spins, with the fibers doing a soft scrubbing of the grooves. Those fibers do wear out and you have to replace your velvet lips after a time, with a new strip. It’s held on with a sticky, double-sided tape. You can order new ones from a few suppliers online. There are two different styles, depending on whether you NG has a fluid pump, or not. Those for pump machines have small holes for the fluid to pump through. Unless your machine was practically as-new, you probably should just replace the strip with a fresh one.
If your machine has a drive unit to automatically spin the record, you should also inspect the capstan rubber and replace if needed.

Ok thanks I was checking it was not something else. I have some of those replacement strips already and replaced the original one that was on it when I bought it.

 

[mcgjohn]

I have done a ton of vinyl cleaning over the years, wore out 2 nitty gritty machines. also have a VPI and Pro-Ject machine.

The weak point on the NGs is the plastic vacuum chamber. If a person does too many records in row, the motor gets hot. With enough cycling the plastic vacuum chamber eventually cracks and leaks. I eventually replaced the complete vacuum assy. on both machines. Nitty gritty had gone out of biz but is under new ownership now and will sell you the replacement vacuum assy for around 140 bucks US.

its a pretty easy change out.

Key to any of the nitty grittys is give them plenty of cool off time, or if you are going to do super cleaning for extended durations buy 2 and switch between the two of them to allow for ample cool down time.

 

[MisterDK]

I have done a ton of vinyl cleaning over the years, wore out 2 nitty gritty machines. also have a VPI and Pro-Ject machine.

The weak point on the NGs is the plastic vacuum chamber. If a person does too many records in row, the motor gets hot. With enough cycling the plastic vacuum chamber eventually cracks and leaks. I eventually replaced the complete vacuum assy. on both machines. Nitty gritty had gone out of biz but is under new ownership now and will sell you the replacement vacuum assy for around 140 bucks US.

its a pretty easy change out.

Key to any of the nitty grittys is give them plenty of cool off time, or if you are going to do super cleaning for extended durations buy 2 and switch between the two of them to allow for ample cool down time.

Good advice. Never had that issue with my big 3.5fi though; maybe those were made for more severe use, don’t know.
That’s it below.

 

[MisterDK]

Had a little more time to work on this old 2.5fi..

Location of spring which helps push the capstan toward your record:


My LED driver (converts 110v AC to 12v DC) and the diaphragm pump in place, along with a new fluid reservoir bottle.
Since these pumps really want to pump.. I used a smaller ID tube between the fluid bottle and pump inlet to restrict flow a little. It’s some silicone fuel line for model engines and a good size; the pump can’t over pump like it did on the machine I previously used one of these pumps on.


I got this with the record spindle/pin broken off and while I had a genuine Nitty Gritty replacement here, I wanted to try this. It’s a “T-nut” that I modified on my little lathe and a nylon bolt that’s cut down to fit. The T-nut is epoxied in place and the new spindle/pin (nylon bolt) screws into place. Diameter of the bolt shank is smaller than the record hole so a brass sleeve goes over it and spins on the bolt shank. No more cutting the spindle/pin through with your records..


Fresh capstan rubber and velvet lips (vac-sweep) strip. Actually a really old strip I had here that came with a machine I’d picked up; not perfect, but it hadn’t been used.


And another old Nitty Gritty electric fluid injection machine brought back to service. This one needed a little more fixin’ than others I’d picked up. Fluid pump was bad, reservoir bottle broken, spindle broken off, no capstan rubber or vac-sweep strip..and previous owner had it all apart..
I just cleaned 5 records and it’s working fine.

 

[PrivatePress]

Resurrecting an old thread for some advice. I have an older machine on loan from a friend and the rubber “clip” that holds the record keeps popping off. Is a crazy glue the answer here?

 

[MisterDK]

Resurrecting an old thread for some advice. I have an older machine on loan from a friend and the rubber “clip” that holds the record keeps popping off. Is a crazy glue the answer here?

Yes. The capstan is held in place with CA glue. Don’t use too much or you may make a mess with it..

BTW - you can get new replacement rubber capstans if needed.
KAB used to stock parts for them but may not have ‘em these days. If not, try contacting Nitty Gritty directly.
The company is still around. A few years ago it was sold off then relocated to Georgia.

 

[PrivatePress]

Thanks so much, @MisterDK! Forgive the possibly silly question but what is CA glue? I have some glue I got to repair the rubber surrounds of some Celestions I have…

 

[MisterDK]

Thanks so much, @MisterDK! Forgive the possibly silly question but what is CA glue? I have some glue I got to repair the rubber surrounds of some Celestions I have…

CA glue is “super glue” - which is what “Crazy Glue” is. The CA is short for “cyanoacrylate” - much easier to say CA…

 

[RetroSquad]

Well I picked this up on the cheap the other day and figuring on trying to refurbish / restore / modify into a working usable unit.

1) What model is this? I think it is an old 1.5 with fluid injection but it does not look like any of the models I can find on line.

2) Any idea on what year this was manufactured

3) The vacuum motor seems to work and there is suction at the “lips”

4) I was surprised when moving the back cover the only thing holding the pump in place was an extremely sticky foam pad and the cap on the fluid reservoir. Once the back and sticky pad to the pump are separated the fluid pump and tank just flops around without any mounts to the hard wood sides.

5) Also surprised that the motor that turns the records hangs from the top with no motors mounts of any kind. This make me think something is missing or broken. If not an upgrade modification would seem useful to make the unit more stable.

HELP – any advice or recommendations welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would not mind modifying this with the improved suction arm used on more advanced units if that is possible.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[RetroSquad]

Had a little more time to work on this old 2.5fi..

Location of spring which helps push the capstan toward your record:
View attachment 2312295

My LED driver (converts 110v AC to 12v DC) and the diaphragm pump in place, along with a new fluid reservoir bottle.
Since these pumps really want to pump.. I used a smaller ID tube between the fluid bottle and pump inlet to restrict flow a little. It’s some silicone fuel line for model engines and a good size; the pump can’t over pump like it did on the machine I previously used one of these pumps on.
View attachment 2312296 View attachment 2312297

I got this with the record spindle/pin broken off and while I had a genuine Nitty Gritty replacement here, I wanted to try this. It’s a “T-nut” that I modified on my little lathe and a nylon bolt that’s cut down to fit. The T-nut is epoxied in place and the new spindle/pin (nylon bolt) screws into place. Diameter of the bolt shank is smaller than the record hole so a brass sleeve goes over it and spins on the bolt shank. No more cutting the spindle/pin through with your records..
View attachment 2312298

Fresh capstan rubber and velvet lips (vac-sweep) strip. Actually a really old strip I had here that came with a machine I’d picked up; not perfect, but it hadn’t been used.
View attachment 2312299

And another old Nitty Gritty electric fluid injection machine brought back to service. This one needed a little more fixin’ than others I’d picked up. Fluid pump was bad, reservoir bottle broken, spindle broken off, no capstan rubber or vac-sweep strip..and previous owner had it all apart..
I just cleaned 5 records and it’s working fine.
View attachment 2312301

The 12v diaphragm pump and 110vAC to 12vDC LED driver, just as I used in my 3.5fi. These were the extras I bought in case they worked well - and they did. On ebay you can search for the cheapest 12v diaphragm pumps out of China and you’ll find these for around $5. There’s one Chinese seller who offers one for a couple $ more and they look slightly different. I’d buy from him as he has better feedback than the sellers with the very cheapest pumps.
These little pumps are powerful, BTW!

The LED drivers are also really cheap; search for the cheapest 12v 18w LED driver and pick the seller with the best feedback.. You can get both the pump and LED driver for under $15 shipped; much cheaper than a new pond/fountain pump - and this combo really pumps. When I put this in, I’ll probably also put a restrictor into the inlet tube to slow things down. I haven’t yet, but that’s what my 3.5fi needs as just four 1/4 second “blips” of the fluid button are enough to coat the record with cleaning fluid.

View attachment 2295862 View attachment 2295863 View attachment 2295864 View attachment 2295865

Well I picked this up on the cheap the other day and figuring on trying to refurbish / restore / modify into a working usable unit.

1) What model is this? I think it is an old 1.5 with fluid injection but it does not look like any of the models I can find on line.

2) Any idea on what year this was manufactured

3) The vacuum motor seems to work and there is suction at the “lips”

4) I was surprised when moving the back cover the only thing holding the pump in place was an extremely sticky foam pad and the cap on the fluid reservoir. Once the back and sticky pad to the pump are separated the fluid pump and tank just flops around without any mounts to the hard wood sides.

5) Also surprised that the motor that turns the records hangs from the top with no motors mounts of any kind. This make me think something is missing or broken. If not an upgrade modification would seem useful to make the unit more stable.

HELP – any advice or recommendations welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would not mind modifying this with the suction arm used on more advanced units if that is even possible.

Thanks in advance!!!

 

[MisterDK]

Guessing it’s a 2.5 that was converted to a 2.5fi - like the one I started this thread about.
I’m away from home and writing on my phone so I’ll see if I can help out later.

Duane

Edit:

Okay, I have a few minutes and can make some recommendations.

First off, look at the pond pump label. That may have a date on it, indicating when the pump was made. However, I suspect that it was installed as an upgrade, after your 2.5 was originally made. I say this because your switch plate looks like an add-on.
If the pond pump works and isn’t leaking, use it. If not working, I suggest switching to the diaphragm pump and LED power supply I have use to fix a couple of these Fi machines. The pond pump is harder to get, more expensive and doesn’t work as well as the diaphragm pumps.

Check out all functions to see if they work. Put some water in the bottle. When you push the fluid switch, does the pump move fluid?
Is the record drive motor working and spinning the rubber capstan? When you flip the rocker switch over, the drive motor should still be working but also, the vacuum should sucking now as well. I haven’t pulled the vacuum out to lube one yet but have had to free up some stuck commutator brushes to make one functional.

You can try to get some replacement parts from KAB; they used to carry the parts and new NG machines. If they can’t supply parts, try contacting Nitty Gritty. I think they’re now in Georgia making new machines. Do a search online for KAB and Nitty Gritty.

The newer models with fluid pumps use hand operated ones that you push on to pump fluid. Not nearly as cool as these older Fi models with the electric pumps.

Read through this thread again. It may give you some tips for lubricating the drive motor and swapping in the diaphragm pump..

Happy fixin’..!

Duane

 

[PrivatePress]

Sad,sad morning. I went to turn on my old 2.5 this morning and she won't spin. When I press the switch to spin, im just getting a faint hum.

Is the motor dead? Hoping the NItty Guru, @MisterDK is up this morning....

 

[MisterDK]

Sad,sad morning. I went to turn on my old 2.5 this morning and she won't spin. When I press the switch to spin, im just getting a faint hum.

Is the motor dead? Hoping the NItty Guru, @MisterDK is up this morning....

Up - but not early today. Had chemo yesterday so wanted to sleep in some..

If you’re getting a hum, then I’d guess you have power going to the motor. BTW - are we talking about the vacuum motor - or the capstan drive motor; there are two motors in a 2.5.? - Guessing that it’s the drive motor.. The last time you had it apart, did you lube everything inside the motor, like oil the armature bushings and fresh grease in the worm drive? IF it’s the vacuum motor, you would need to pull it out to lube it and they’re held in place with some kind of (probably black) glue around the motor and foam holding the motor.

The idea is to take it all apart and lube everything.
It just sounds like things froze up, likely because they got wet and lacked lubrication…

In post #17 above, 4.jpg shows the black foam holding the vacuum motor in place.
If you go back to post #6 above, you’ll see my 2.5fi with the capstan drive motor pulled out and the drive box taken apart to lube it all.
I’ve never pulled one of the vacuum motors out so you’ll need to figure that one out..