Thanks, Bill. Glad to hear it's been helpful.

Hi Harold - you must be getting close to completion of your house rebuild. I hope there haven't been any unexpected delays. Bill

Thanks for your invaluable contribution to record cleaning. I've benefited a great deal and I'm sure others have as well. Good luck with your journey into high resolution digital.

Rush drops mic.

For those looking for Hepastat 256, the only source I know of today is http://www.quill.com. I don't know what their shipping may be like to parts of the world outside of North America, but I do know of one person who got a shipment made to Australia (don't know how he wrangled that, however). If you can't get the Hepastat 256, then pure quats as used in the beauty supply industry will supply the needed anti-static benefit. They won't provide the anti-bacterial and fungicide benefits that help keep your tank, lines and valves free of "yucky stuff" however. For suggestions on quats, I recommend you search the Audiokarma thread I listed in the original letter to David.

If you leave the Hepastat 256 out of your solution entirely, you'll still get good cleaning results. It is not critical to the cleaning process, per se. I recommend it if you can get a source for it, of course.

Regarding not operating ultrasonic tanks at full power, I've seen this comment too, but I can't speak to it. I use my 40kHz tank full power (no other choice) and have never observed a problem. Few tanks I've seen offer a way to change the power output of the ultrasonic transponders.

And for those not yet ready to dive into ultrasonic cleaning, but looking for a better manual cleaning process, this same cleaning formula mixed up at 3X strength does a great job with manual cleaning. Just be sure to rinse well.

A final note: my wife and I have made a commitment to downsizing as we move into retirement years. With this change, we simply will not have space for over 7,000 records and all the rest of an all-analog audio system. So, I've now sold all of my records and all of my vinyl gear, including my ultrasonic cleaning rig. This means I won't be doing any more experimentation with cleaning LPs, so I hope others of you will carry that flag and keep reporting your results. I will be making the journey into high resolution digital - I'm told there is music after vinyl after all. 🙂

Best wishes,
Rush

I think the place was called dufferin cleaning supply, not sure now.

U can prolly find something closer to the city instead of Orangeville tho

I just searched cleaning supply supplier something like that

Lemme know if u have any luck

I Think hepastat 256 is best if poss but i don’t really know the diff

I'm in Toronto too, where did you find the Epquat?

Got this on Vancouver Island. Very similar to Hepastat.

http://catalog.acmesupplies.ca/g/DIV54332-CS/Diversey-Virex-II-256-Disinfectant-Cleaner-32-oz/

I saw the earlier Fremer interview with Kirmuss, so the link you sent was new to me. The Kirmuss method may be as good as it gets, but certainly contains a lot of controversial concepts and assumptions. If the performance of the Kirmuss does turn out to really be state of the art, then the $800 would be a bargain. Your method of using the Okki Nokki followed by the DYI ultrasonic should be good enough, if you ask me. Unfortunately the house rebuild will take another 6 months, I'm guessing. So my music is strictly digital from my computer. Mostly hi-res via Sennheiser cans and a Schiit Magni headphone amp, I do miss the analog option for sure. Harold Albert

Albert - In case you didn't see this in the latest Analogue Planet post: https://www.analogplanet.com/content/if-charles-kirmusss-record-cleaning-machine-and-regimen-correct-everyone-elses-wrong.

I suspect that some of the high-end ultrasonic machines only need one cleaning but $4,000US is too rich for my blood. I've seen references to the Kirmuss machine but nothing about performance. Good luck with the renovations - I hope they end quickly and look the way you want them to look.

Interesting, though it sure would be easier if there was a simple, all-in-one solution. There is a new ultrasonic machine from Kirmuss that is quite promising, at $800us in the same price range as the DIY approach. Can't imagine it's available in Thailand as yet. My house renovations still have another 6 months or so to go, so I won't have access to my LPs for some time, I'm afraid.

I've been using my ultrasonic cleaner for a short while now. All I can say definitively is that when I use the Okki Nokki first and then the ultrasonic cleaner, the ultrasonic cleaner gets additional "stuff" from the grooves. When I reverse the process, the same thing happens. On several older records that I cleaned with the Okki Nokki more than several months ago but had background noise, benefitted from an ultrasonic cleaning. So, I'm going to continue to clean each used using both since each gets out "stuff" the other didn't.

I'm having a tough time finding Hepastat 256 in the Toronto area. Will any quat do? I found Epquat by Lawrason local to me which apparantly does all the same germ/virus/bacteria killing that Hepastat does.

Would Epquat be ok, and what are the differences if anyone knows?

Thanks guys!

Hello All,
I have very recently bought a Cleaner Vinyl ultrasonic record cleaning system and am quite amazed to hear some of my old records which sound so good after the ultrasonic bath. Very excited... I also implemented an external filtration system reading Rushton's post above where I have a question. The liquid in the tank which is a combination of Reverse Osmosis water and Tergitol doesn't look very clean even after the pump is on for 5 mins or so. I have a 6L tank and I put about 1.25 Gallon of solution to clean records, 3 at a time. I have connected the pump just the way it was shown in the picture above i.e tank to pump to filter back to tank. Do you guys see any obvious issue here which could compromise the filter quality?
Thanks.

My house is off of Prachachuen Rd and I work at ISB, just a short distance from Changwattana Rd and not far from PRS Modify. I have had PRS Modify do a number of small repairs for me over the years and find the service very reliable and reasonable.

Do let me know how the ultrasonic cleaning goes.

I go out to Pakkret from time to time. PRS Modify is located there and I use Khun Paitoon's services for hifi repair whenever the need arises. He does excellent work and his charge is very reasonable. In fact, I have an old, heavily-modified cd player at his shop now.
I have several records that I cleaned on the Okki Nokki that still have a lot of pops and clicks; I'll clean them in the first ultrasonic batch and see if there's an improvement. I'll let you know my results.

My house is in Pakkret, but currently living off of Nawamin Rd due to the renovations. With everything in storage I'm afraid that this interesting endeavor will be on the back burner for some time. For the past ten years or so I've used a EV-1 from KABUSA to clean records, a manual system with vacuum cleaner that is pretty effective. The move to ultrasonic would have to be a step up, I'm guessing.

No bother at all. I have all the ingredients but inertia has kept me from doing the final set-up. I currently use an Okki-Nokki cleaner and continue to do so. The recent acquisition of a tonearm and cartridge for mono records has rekindled my interest and will probably be using it within 2 weeks. Where are you located? If you're close to Bangkok, I'd be happy to give you some of the ingredients because minimum purchase sizes cause me to have more than enough of some items.

Sorry to bother you so long after the fact, but I also live in Thailand. Did you ever get your ultrasonic cleaner up and running? My LPs are currently in storage due to house renovation, but I am interested in getting such a set-up once the house is ready to go.

Might any member look this over and tell me if this is correct.

I realize that the formula is broken down into ML and it seems it was for 4 2 gallon tanks.

I
am just wanting to keep it simple for a 256 oz tank. Wanted a easier
way to add the solution. like converting the Ml to Oz or teaspoon or
tablespoon.

My other question is I bought a 1 rpm motor that seems to turn 1 revolution in 1-2 minutes. I could not find a slower motor.

Is
it better to let the record sit in the solution for about 5 -8 minutes
while working, then turning it 1/4 turn and letting it sit there another
5 - 8 minutes... etc.. until it completes a full revolution. Or

Seems
I have been reading that many viewers let the record sit in 1 spot
while the ultrasonic can really get in the vinyl.. then having it spin
even slow.

wondering what people think about this.

I appreciate anyone that can help.

I
Own the Hepastat 256 and the inner cap is a pain to get off.. dont try
and pry it it can spill.. Seems like it is meant for some device
commercially. when I finally got it opened I added about 1 tablespoon
to 256Oz

I also own the Triton XL and it seems like 4 - 8 drops is light for 256Oz.. should this be more?
the 91% iso I added about 1 cup and a 1/2.

Formula breakdown.
I am wondering if Rushton or someone would have the exact formula for a 256 oz ultrasonic tank. My Tank can hold 2 gallons of distilled water. My question though is what would be the breakdown for how much:
Hepastat to add - 1 tablespoon?
Triton XL - I added 6 drops or would you do a teaspoon
91% alcohol - I added 1 cup and a 1/2.

Might any member look this over and tell me if this is correct.

I realize that the formula is broken down into ML and it seems it was for 4 2 gallon tanks.

I am just wanting to keep it simple for a 256 oz tank. Wanted a easier way to add the solution. like converting the Ml to Oz or teaspoon or tablespoon.

My other question is I bought a 1 rpm motor that seems to turn 1 revolution in 1-2 minutes. I could not find a slower motor.

Is it better to let the record sit in the solution for about 5 -8 minutes while working, then turning it 1/4 turn and letting it sit there another 5 - 8 minutes... etc.. until it completes a full revolution. Or

Seems I have been reading that many viewers let the record sit in 1 spot while the ultrasonic can really get in the vinyl.. then having it spin even slow.

wondering what people think about this.

I appreciate anyone that can help.

I Own the Hepastat 256 and the inner cap is a pain to get off.. dont try and pry it it can spill.. Seems like it is meant for some device commercially. when I finally got it opened I added about 1 tablespoon to 256Oz

I also own the Triton XL and it seems like 4 - 8 drops is light for 256Oz.. should this be more?
the 91% iso I added about 1 cup and a 1/2.

thank you