Degritter ultrasonic record cleaner

Hi y’all, just a few words on what I think is a worthy alternative to the Audio Desk Systeme and KLAudio ultrasonic cleaners.

http://degritter.com/media-kit/

I’ve been a beta tester on the Degritter for the last few weeks, and am happy to offer my opinions and answer any qs for those interested.

I believe official launch is in early May, and at this stage after a couple of quibbles in day to day use, I’m planning to keep my unit, it’s been a pretty good success, and invaluable addition to day to day life as a vinyl addict.

 

I am not sure if this is the thread for this, but this is my experience with Audio Desk Systeme ultrasonic cleaners. They are a marvelous record cleaner and sure do a good job of cleaning records. My first one lasted approximately 2 years before the water pump motor stopped working and I was informed that they were unable to be repaired because they are glued together. I live in Australia and freighting it back to the manufacturers was not an option, so I'm using it as a boat anchor. I did like the job it did on the records so purchased the new improved Pro Version. Now after a further two years the motor that drives the scrubber brushes has decided to no longer work. So, I now have an anchor for the front and back of the boat. $10,000 is expensive for anchors.
I will never purchase another one and am trialing the Kirmuss system.
So, a word of warning about reliability!!!

You're doubt is warranted - this is not the thread to complain about an RCM that is not the Degritter, which this thread is about.

There is thread here dedicated to the Audio Desk. Problems with that RCM, especially early models are pretty well known.Generally it did the job but had a higher failure rate than it should have had. I owned one, it worked fine. I do give Rainer Gläss credit for his pioneering work in developing an automated record cleaner.

There is a thread here about the Kirmuss RCM and there are comments about it in other threads in this section.

​

 

I agree the machine is great when it’s working but completely unreliable and of course can’t be repaired. Audio Desk will offer a discount on a replacement but who wants to throw good money away on an un repairable record cleaner. Tried to buy parts from them but they don’t answer E mails either. Gone back to a loricraft does a great Job with a great backup service.

 

I am not sure if this is the thread for this, but this is my experience with Audio Desk Systeme ultrasonic cleaners. They are a marvelous record cleaner and sure do a good job of cleaning records. My first one lasted approximately 2 years before the water pump motor stopped working and I was informed that they were unable to be repaired because they are glued together. I live in Australia and freighting it back to the manufacturers was not an option, so I'm using it as a boat anchor. I did like the job it did on the records so purchased the new improved Pro Version. Now after a further two years the motor that drives the scrubber brushes has decided to no longer work. So, I now have an anchor for the front and back of the boat. $10,000 is expensive for anchors.
I will never purchase another one and am trialing the Kirmuss system.
So, a word of warning about reliability!!!

No it’s not the place but there is a thread on Audiogon about repairing them when the pump motor fails which you might like to seek out.

Back to the Degritter and I’ve had no such problems.
There was recently notice if a firmware update. I’ve missed a few as updating involves an SD card and a windows computer and I down to just an ipad these last two years since retiring.
If anyone’s updated their Degritter recently, is it noticeably improved on version 2.2.16v8.

 

There was recently notice if a firmware update. I’ve missed a few as updating involves an SD card and a windows computer and I down to just an ipad these last two years since retiring.
If anyone’s updated their Degritter recently, is it noticeably improved on version 2.2.16v8.

You don’t need a Windows computer. I did all my updates via a MacBook.

 

Send Aleks ar Degritter an email and he will mail you an SD card with the new OS written to it.

 

I had sold a rare copy of “Supertramp’s crime of the century”. The buyer complained it made a lot of noise. I told him to return and I would refunded his $225. At the time of the sale and refund I did not have a vinyl setup or an RCM or a UCM. I had sold it all, the rack, turntable, phono stage, sut, cart, RMC, etc. I was going digital only(extreme music server). I had 1600 plus albums and I was selling them all. Well I Missed vinyl so 300+record sales later, I built a new system. One of the first albums I played was Crime of the century. To my surprise the buyer was correct. So after much consideration I bought a degritter, Under the condition(my wife) that it solved the issues with the supertramp album that appeared to be MINT. After the degritter arrived this past week and I understood how to operate it properly, I dropped Crime of the Century into the degritter on HEAVY and cleaned it. The buyer had said he had cleaned it several times. Once the Degritter completed its cleaning I place it on the turntable and dropped the needle…….. Heaven! No noise to be heard, just Great sounding music. I recorded the parts he said sounded the worse and texted them to him. He just said he needs One. Needless to say I am keeping the DEGRITTER.

 

I feel I must update my degritter review. After owning for a few weeks I hand an issue with my cartridge. It was gummed up. What was occurring is the water you wash with you rinse with as well. Leaving soap to be dried to the vinyl. The solution is to buy a second water reservoir and swap after washing. The problem with that is I wanted a fully automatic cleaner. I also had an issue with the rubber seal that surrounds the entry point of the vinyl. It kept coming off. Very annoying. So back it went. I hope you aren‘t having the same issues.

 

I feel I must update my degritter review. After owning for a few weeks I hand an issue with my cartridge. It was gummed up. What was occurring is the water you wash with you rinse with as well. Leaving soap to be dried to the vinyl. The solution is to buy a second water reservoir and swap after washing. The problem with that is I wanted a fully automatic cleaner. I also had an issue with the rubber seal that surrounds the entry point of the vinyl. It kept coming off. Very annoying. So back it went. I hope you aren‘t having the same issues.

I have not had these issues with the Degritter. You have to be careful to use a very tiny amount of soap, far less then a full syringe.

 

The rubber seal is a bit of a pain. On mine, as the rubber aged over some months, the seal no longer gripped the Dergritter well and sort of fell in on itself. So I used some tape to hold it in place.

If you're gumming up the cartridge then its almost certainly user error - too much surfactant.

Small niggles for what is an amazing machine.

 

Your right sometimes I wash my hands with to much soap. Then I rinse them off with clean water. I did not knock. I just pointed out the solution. I was just not willing to make that effort. Your ok with it. Great. Enjoy.
Your a better person then me.

 

Does anyone know if it is possible to reset the Degritter so it shows 0 wash cycles? I am asking because I found a used Mark I and the owner claims he ran under 300 cycles in the past 3 years which I thought was not a lot. Is it normal? Has the machine been reset, I am wondering?
Regards
Vilius

 

Does each cycle equate to cleaning 1 LP?

 

Does each cycle equate to cleaning 1 LP?

Yes, which means under 300LPs in 3 years. I was just wondering if the machine was reset and even if it is possible.

 

Yes, which means under 300LPs in 3 years. I was just wondering if the machine was reset and even if it is possible.

I don’t think 100 LPs per year is a small amount.

 

As far as I know there is no way for the user to reset the wash count - I've not read of anybody doing so in the many Degritter forums I'm in. But I bet Degritter know how to, meaning I suspect it must be possible if you know how...

 

Does anyone know if it is possible to reset the Degritter so it shows 0 wash cycles? I am asking because I found a used Mark I and the owner claims he ran under 300 cycles in the past 3 years which I thought was not a lot. Is it normal? Has the machine been reset, I am wondering?
Regards
Vilius

I can’t imagine these machines not being robust enough to handle well over 100 cleaning cycles a year. Mine is accomplishing that and then some. My former VPI 16.9 was easily handling these numbers (though it was me that was wearing out from this routine). I bought my Degritter to be a workhorse, not to sit around looking pretty. With a lifetime collection of LPs it is busy almost daily.

 

I can’t imagine these machines not being robust enough to handle well over 100 cleaning cycles a year.

Many anecdotal stories would suggest otherwise. Units failing in first few days, first few hundred cycles and so on. My first unit failed at 2700 cycles, the second at 1100. I've seen a few around 5000 and even one still going at 10000+ cycles. But there definitely seem to be some weak points in the machine - the transducers the main one - and most "good" units seem to fail somewhere between 2000-3000 cycles.

 

Many anecdotal stories would suggest otherwise. Units failing in first few days, first few hundred cycles and so on. My first unit failed at 2700 cycles, the second at 1100. I've seen a few around 5000 and even one still going at 10000+ cycles. But there definitely seem to be some weak points in the machine - the transducers the main one - and most "good" units seem to fail somewhere between 2000-3000 cycles.

I"ve not kept track of Degritter MTBF, so this is interesting.

How is the tank itself holding up? I don't know how well the Degritter tank walls (side walls?) that hold a transducer can be seen. Ultrasonic tanks are disposables -- the tank material takes a beating from the cavitators. I speculate all tanks are made of some grade of stainless steel. The symptom is development of a small greyish area where the transducer is attached, eventually becoming larger and the the metal is no longer shiny. This is different from the failure of a transducer.

I've run somewhere around 1500 cycles with my wash tank. That is with 5 records at a time, so roughly 7500 single-slot cycles.

 

How is the tank itself holding up?

I've noticed no problems with my tanks, but I've never inspected them that closely - just a casual glance inside now and then to check rollers etc. I should have taken a closer look at the failed Mk1 with four years of usage...

 

I've noticed no problems with my tanks, but I've never inspected them that closely - just a casual glance inside now and then to check rollers etc. I should have taken a closer look at the failed Mk1 with four years of usage...

Okay - thanks for the follow-up. Good luck going forward.