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The HW17F is VPI's automatic, state of the art vacuum
cleaning solution. Many music lovers and record collectors
have collection running into thousands of titles. In
the case of a collection of this size, it is useful
to have a faster machine designed from the outset for
a higher duty cycle, that machine is the HW17F.
The principle of a vacuum machine is simple. The record
is placed on the platter, the cleaning solution is applied
to the surface of the record which is then worked into
the grooves, this solution is crucial as it has to be
an effective degreasing agent to remove grease which
binds detritus to the surface of the vinyl without harming
the long term stability of the vinyl itself, this solution
must then hold the dirt in the solution, this solution
must then be completely removed from the vinyl by vacuum.
The quality of the electric motors in a machine such
as this is critical to it's performance and long term
durability. This machine was designed to be used hour
after hour cleaning large batches of vinyl without a
break, and as such the motors are of the very highest
quality with integral fan cooling, ensuring a long working
life. The platter drive motor rotates at 18 RPM and
is bi directional. The bi directional function was installed
in this machine, to ensure that dirt which had been
driven into the bottom of the groove in one direction
could be loosened by cleaning in the opposite direction,
this ensures that the cleaning operation of the HW 17F
is the best currently available. Similarly the vacuum
motor is very high powered and means the machine lifts
the fluid with the suspended detritus more effectively
than almost any other record cleaning machine, meaning
records come off the machine needing only a few minutes
air drying before being ready to play.
The fluid is applied to the vinyl via a pumped cleaning
fluid reservoir built into the machine. This fluid applicator
has been designed to apply a very even layer of fluid
across the record without risking contamination of the
label. The twin arms on top of the machine contain a
vacuum slot and a cleaning brush, both of these arms
are self adjusting allowing optimal operation on a variety
of vinyl thicknesses without user intervention. The
brush profile has been designed in such a way that the
fine bristles can reach the bottom of even the most
tightly packed grooves, loosening dirt to be suspended
in the cleaning fluid, whilst the vacuum arm has to
run close enough to the records surface to ensure complete
removal of dirty cleaning from the grooves, whilst ensuring
no damage occurs to the vinyl itself.
This critically acclaimed machine is standard equipment
in record libraries such as the US Library of Congress,
and is undoubtedly one of the finest record cleaning
machines in the World.
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