- Fri Jan 11, 2019 7:15 pm
#113673
I recently was gifted the Vinyl Vac 33 which is essentially a PVC tube with slot cut out and pads on either side of the slot, essentially what you are getting on the Record Doctor but this is an attachment for a wet/dry vac. I picked up a $20 1HP wet/dry vac from Walmart and a bamboo 12" lazy susan for $10 on Amazon. I drilled a hole in the center, glued a dowel the size of a turntable spindle in the middle and cut a piece of rubber mat I use in the bottom of my tool boxes to go on lazy susan. A big roll can be bought for $5-$10 at Lowes/autoparts store/walmart. It works really good for cleaning dust and the solution off of the records. It comes out dry and clean. I will probably build a stand/holder for the Vinyl Vac itself so I can focus on turning the record. This may be more work than the Record Doctor but it was worth it to me to save the $150. Now I feel to get the dirt and grime out of the grooves neither the Vinyl Vac or Record doctor will achieve this which is probably why you are seeing recommendations for the Spin Clean, as that seems to do a good job at getting the deeper stuff out. This is actually something I wondered about the $500 units too, I don't see the Okki-Nokki getting that deep in the grooves but I don't have one so I can't really speak to how well it gets that gunk out (mind you this is really only for the old really dirty records, newer stuff shouldn't really be an issue). You can also circumvent this by cleaning the records by hand with brushes/clothes and solution before doing the final wash/vacuum.
https://www.vinylvac.net/vinylvac33.html
This has led me to something that I wish I discovered a few months ago and that's the discovery of the Squeaky Clean, this looks like a better version of the Vinyl Vac that some guy makes himself with a 3D printer. It's $125 and you still need to buy a wet/dry vac if you don't have one but the cleaning brush, turntable and vac hook up are all one unit. It looks pretty great and the few people I talked to on reddit who had one were pretty happy.
https://www.squeakycleanvinyl.com/produ ... nyl-mk-iii
It would be nice to just be able to grab an Okki Nokki and call it day but then I'd have to stop actually buying records for a few months and I don't want to do that :)
I hope some of what I said makes sense and helps. I'm not trying to sway you towards any one thing, as I think they all could use improvements but to relay info I have and wish I had before making a purchase.
reddye6 wrote:For those of you with the Record Doctor V, I've seen some Amazon reviews that discuss using the Spin-Clean first on albums and then using the RDV for a final drying and vacuuming. Do any of you replicate this process? Is it overkill?So I do not have the Record Doctor V but I'm going to give my opinion on why I chose not to buy it. First and foremost the price, it is $200 for an particle board box wrapped in cheap vinyl. It looks very poorly constructed. 2nd I read reviews of folks who had mold growing in the box itself after using it. I'm not sure if this is easily avoided or a common occurrence but that turned me off big time. There are other little minor issues I have with it but those the two that pushed me away.
I'm finally looking to pull the plug on a record cleaner (well, asking for one for my birthday). I was thinking about the RDV but then saw the Spin-Clean mentioned in relation.
I recently was gifted the Vinyl Vac 33 which is essentially a PVC tube with slot cut out and pads on either side of the slot, essentially what you are getting on the Record Doctor but this is an attachment for a wet/dry vac. I picked up a $20 1HP wet/dry vac from Walmart and a bamboo 12" lazy susan for $10 on Amazon. I drilled a hole in the center, glued a dowel the size of a turntable spindle in the middle and cut a piece of rubber mat I use in the bottom of my tool boxes to go on lazy susan. A big roll can be bought for $5-$10 at Lowes/autoparts store/walmart. It works really good for cleaning dust and the solution off of the records. It comes out dry and clean. I will probably build a stand/holder for the Vinyl Vac itself so I can focus on turning the record. This may be more work than the Record Doctor but it was worth it to me to save the $150. Now I feel to get the dirt and grime out of the grooves neither the Vinyl Vac or Record doctor will achieve this which is probably why you are seeing recommendations for the Spin Clean, as that seems to do a good job at getting the deeper stuff out. This is actually something I wondered about the $500 units too, I don't see the Okki-Nokki getting that deep in the grooves but I don't have one so I can't really speak to how well it gets that gunk out (mind you this is really only for the old really dirty records, newer stuff shouldn't really be an issue). You can also circumvent this by cleaning the records by hand with brushes/clothes and solution before doing the final wash/vacuum.
https://www.vinylvac.net/vinylvac33.html
This has led me to something that I wish I discovered a few months ago and that's the discovery of the Squeaky Clean, this looks like a better version of the Vinyl Vac that some guy makes himself with a 3D printer. It's $125 and you still need to buy a wet/dry vac if you don't have one but the cleaning brush, turntable and vac hook up are all one unit. It looks pretty great and the few people I talked to on reddit who had one were pretty happy.
https://www.squeakycleanvinyl.com/produ ... nyl-mk-iii
It would be nice to just be able to grab an Okki Nokki and call it day but then I'd have to stop actually buying records for a few months and I don't want to do that :)
I hope some of what I said makes sense and helps. I'm not trying to sway you towards any one thing, as I think they all could use improvements but to relay info I have and wish I had before making a purchase.