Spin Clean Comparison

[Nixxuz]

You can get a full on motorized ultrasonic setup for just over $200 on Amazon these days. Which is what I'm probably going to do. $100 for the motorized bracket and another $100+ for the 6L ultrasonic cleaning machine. Which is weird; even a year ago the same setup would cost like $350+ on Ebay.

 

[burmashave]

What Tiver said. Get a wand (make your own, or check that auction site), a shop vac, and old broken tt, and go to town after using a Spin Clean.

Cleaning can get better, but not by much.

It's what I do. But I don't use a spin clean anymore. I have a broken elac 50h tt with no arm. the torque on an idler table is great. I set it at 78, drop a recorrd on it, use 2 record doc brushes fused together for double the footprint, my cleaning solution sprayed on the brush pads till they run and place it on the record. let it spin while I count to ten slowly in my head. remove the record, walk 2 feet to my right where I have a piece of mdf with a platter mounted on a bearing in the middle of it. I use that and I vacuum the record with the known method. I flip the record over and do the other side exactly the same way. When I have a record that is really bad, I can do it over and over until it sounds great because the cleaning benefit can be cumulative.

 

[Bobbyboy341]

If the “not being as convenient” comment is directed towards Spin Cleans, I would claim it’s just the opposite. They certainly take up less space to store and to use and don’t create the noise as would be so with a “de-luxe” RCM.

I have observed RCM’s in operation several times at local shops offering a record cleaning service. Although I have not timed the process, cleaning a disc via RCM took longer than it takes me to clean one in a Spin Clean.

Twice when I’ve visited a particular used record store, the person behind the counter was engaged in cleaning LP’s with a Spin Clean. At the same time he was able to converse with customers and answer the phone. The Spin Clean while in use was placed on the counter top occupying not much space at all.

To date, I have cleaned somewhere between 4000 and 5000 records with a Spin Clean. It sits on a shelf when not in use, takes a couple of minutes to setup and the cleaning process takes less than a minute per record.

I let them air dry so no additional effort what so ever. I pass the intervening time engaged in other tasks such as repairing album jackets, whiling it away watching Netflix or I just go to bed. The clean, dry records can be inserted in their jackets the next day.

I’ve duplicated Spin Clean’s fluid so by now, cost of cleaning is literally next to nothing. Even after cleaning as many records as I have, the original brushes are still serviceable and original rollers in good condition.

I purchased replacement brushes along with the Spin Clean eight or nine years ago and do not anticipate any additional expense.

Record cleaning cannot get more convenient than that in my opinion.

I'm on the fence about getting a Spin Clean. Being able to clean multiple records so quickly with no rinsing are two big plusses. But I'm concerned about two things...

Washing multiple records in the same "bath" worries me. Wouldn't each subsequent cleaning be done in water that gets dirtier and dirtier until you change it? I mean, they claim you can do about twenty LP's in one batch!

Also, I'm not convinced that a rinse is unnecessary. I might want to at least hit both sides with distilled water from a spray bottle before that final wipe...

 

[Wildcat]

Washing multiple records in the same "bath" worries me. Wouldn't each subsequent cleaning be done in water that gets dirtier and dirtier until you change it?

Yep. Exactly why I never thought it was a good idea. Plus, how do you flush all that crud out of your grooves once Spin Clean scrubs it out? You don't. It sits there and dries in the grooves unless you have a way to rinse it off on both sides thoroughly with purified water of some sort.

The cleaning method I found that works for me is similar to what Harry Weisfeld of VPI has been doing (there's a lengthy thread in VPI's forum started by Harry). Brief trip through an ultrasonic (too much time will ruin the record), followed by a rinse with purified water on a vacuum. When Harry used the cyclone after an ultrasonic bath, the water was coming out grey from the tank on his VPI Cyclone. Even with an ultrasonic, though, the water bath is a concern, although some of us run an aquarium filter with an activated charcoal filter to keep the water clean.

$100 for the motorized bracket and another $100+ for the 6L ultrasonic cleaning machine.

Those cheap ultrasonic cleaners can be sketchy. Mine developed a fluke in its controls, so I have to fuss with it for half an hour to get it to even turn on steadily. And even when it's running, the timer is often cycling through numbers as though someone is holding a finger on the button. I got what I paid for.

 

[Old Guy8]

I'm on the fence about getting a Spin Clean. Being able to clean multiple records so quickly with no rinsing are two big plusses. But I'm concerned about two things...

Washing multiple records in the same "bath" worries me. Wouldn't each subsequent cleaning be done in water that gets dirtier and dirtier until you change it? I mean, they claim you can do about twenty LP's in one batch!

Also, I'm not convinced that a rinse is unnecessary. I might want to at least hit both sides with distilled water from a spray bottle before that final wipe...

The usual Spinclean model is yellow so you can see how clean the tank is. Mine is subdued brown.
Yes, tank gets dirty, so user discression when to change tank water. I use a second cheaper Studebaker unit with distilled water to rinse. If a turntable and vac wand is used to dry, it could reapply missed dirt. So turntable mat and wand need to be cleaned often. And the turntable mat reapplies moisture to the dry side when doing other side. IME.
I weighed how much to spend.

 

[Bobbyboy341]

The usual Spinclean model is yellow so you can see how clean the tank is. Mine is subdued brown.
Yes, tank gets dirty, so user discression when to change tank water. I use a second cheaper Studebaker unit with distilled water to rinse. If a turntable and vac wand is used to dry, it could reapply missed dirt. So need to be cleaned often. IMO.
I weighed how much to spend.

I like the idea about the using the Studebaker. But I think the idea with the vac is that it pulls liquid and dirt off of the vinyl. So I don't understand how it could reapply missed dirt. In any event a vacuum system, although it might work better, is out for me because of space (and noise) limitations...

 

[Old Guy8]

I like the idea about the using the Studebaker. But I think the idea with the vac is that it pulls liquid and dirt off of the vinyl. So I don't understand how it could reapply missed dirt. In any event a vacuum system, although it might work better, is out for me because of space (and noise) limitations...

I have used the two spin tanks, clean and rinse. Then a hand spun turntable an small shop vac with wand. I'm implying no process gets ALL the dirt off. Non of the brushes really get into all those grooves, if any of them. I don't have data. Just a guess. They just agitate on the peaks of the grooves. Why the ultrasonics became popular.
I put vac in a box, and still need earmuffs. Why I've mostly don't use it.
Just my opinion.

 

[Mr Owl]

If the “not being as convenient” comment is directed towards Spin Cleans, I would claim it’s just the opposite.

We'll have to agree to disagree. I've owned/used both. The VPI is much easier/faster/etc. I come home with a record, go right to it, and I'm done in a minute. Nothing to fill / setup / empty / dry / put away / etc.

But to each their own. If you like the SC better, have at it.

 

[MikeT.]

I've owned/used both. The VPI is much easier/faster/etc. I come home with a record, go right to it, and I'm done in a minute. Nothing to fill / setup / empty / dry / put away / etc.

For me, Spin Clean was just marginally better than a plain Discwasher, the original. Record Doctor V1 was clearly better but LOUD. The Record Doctor VI is marketed as quieter. I’m currently using a Nitty Gritty 1.5 which is slightly better than Record Doctor with auto rotation.