On Tuesday, February 19, 2008 3:34 PM, Kurt Nauck wrote:
>
> It appears that Tergitol can only be purchased by the
> 55 gal drum. So I guess now I'm a Tergitol dealer!
I've been purchasing Tergitol by the quart from Talas
(www.TalasOnline.com) for $32.85. I think they still sell it.
In any case, a little Tergitol goes a very long way. We're
talking dilution ratios of 1:400, so a quart each of 15-S-3
and 15-S-9 could produce as many as 100 gallons of cleaning
solution - that's less $0.70 per gallon. Which is why it is
so cost effective for dealing with large projects.
You need to mix your Tergitol VERY accurately, carefully and
thoroughly, otherwise it comes out of suspension and instead
of cleaning the disc it leaves behind a residue that is
*difficult* to remove. The 15-S-3 floats on water, and
the 15-S-9 sinks in water - you practically have to emulsify
the Tergitol and water (a bit like mixing oil-vinegar salad
dressing).
The biggest mistake that I've found in the field is that people
will use too much Tergitol in their cleaning mixture (ie. 1:200
instead of 1:400) because they believe that a higher
concentration will clean better, only to find the opposite is
true.
There are those who do not advocate the use of Tergitol because
it can leave a residue. I've not had this problem, but only
because I use it quite judiciously and mix it carefully and
thoroughly (forgive me if I'm repeating myself, but this is
important).
I generally mix 1:400 (not 1:100 or 1:200 as others recommend)
to avoid the Tergitol from coming out of suspension. So to
mix a 600 ml batch, I would use 1.5 ml (measured with a
precision dispenser) of 15-S-3 and 1.5 ml 15-S-9.
Which for all but large projects, I generally recommend Duane
Goldman's Disc Doctor solutions which are far easier to mix
and don't present the risk of residue like Tergitol if you
mix incorrectly.
Eric Jacobs
The Audio Archive, Inc.
tel: 408.221.2128
fax: 408.549.9867
mailto:EricJ@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx