Eco Pro 2 disc repair machine... where was this 20 years ago?

[heavyharmonies]

 

My last exposure to supposed disc repair/cleaning machines was years ago with the "Skip Doctor"...

 

And then later the Venmill Skip Away...

The problem with both is that they grinded down the disc and left tell-tale circular abrasion marks. Sure, they made nonfunctional discs playable, but you could always tell when a disc had been run through one of these machines.

A few weeks ago I was out Blu-Ray hunting and visited several stores of the midwest "Disc Replay" chain (think Gamestop but no PC games, just used consoles, console games, Blu-Rays, and DVDs). When I was checking the blu-rays I was planning to buy, a couple had smudges and a few had scratches. The store staff just threw the discs into an "Eco Pro 2" for 30 seconds, and damned if the discs come out spotless and looking brand spanking new... and you couldn't tell anything had been done.

So I started looking into this a bit more. Had I had one of these back in my fulltime CD hunting days, I could have made a fortune.

The machine is made by ELM USA, located in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. They make a range of disc cleaning and repair machines ranging from US$395 up to US$20,000.

All of the DIsc Replay stores have two units:

1. Eco Pro 2 ($1,595). Sits on the counter for easy access by staff

2. In the back room for bulk clearning/repair, either an Eco Master ($21,995) or Eco Autosmart ($6,000).

The latter two are obviously beyond consideration, but the first one, after seeing it in action and also watching Youtube videos, seemed viable for someone that either has a huge collection or does a lot of trading/flipping.

I purchased a factory refurbished unit for $995 and it got here in 2 days. It comes with a supply "kit" consisting of a bottle of cleaning compound, 4 resurfacting pads, and an electronic key card. The kit is good for 800 minutes of cleaning in 30-second increments. When the time on the key card runs out you have to get a new supply kit, which runs about US$90 (5.6 cents per 30-second cycle). That might seem a little draconian, but it forces you to get new supplies, thus ensuring you're not skimping on pad usage or thinning out compound... it's a way of ensuring supply replacement (and also tying you to come back to them for supplies).

So, what is the verdict?

It has 2 settings, one for blu-rays and one for CDs and DVDs (since blu-rays have a different surface composition from CDs and DVDs). I found the performance on blu-rays to be "ok". It works, but requires extensive wiping off of dried residue with a micro-fibre cloth afterwards. I wouldn't use it to clean blu-rays, just in the event of scratches.

For CDs and DVDs though.... holy CRAP! This thing works wonders. Seriously, it removes surface-level scratches completely and the discs look brand new. Now, for discs with many scratches you might have to run it through 2-3 cycles, but I found that most discs were considerably improved just with a single cycle.

The only thing it cannot do anything for are very deep scratches or gouges. The higher-cost units will do better with deeper scratches, but that's one hell of an expense.

Still, I was able to run through a bunch of discs I had listed on eBay and then go back and adjust the listings and raise the disc conditions I had given them.

The nice thing about this unit compared to the higher-end more expensive units is that it is self-contained and doesn't need waste/runoff containers; it's a small tabletop footprint, roughly a 1-foot cube.

So if you can pick up a refurb or a unit on the secondary market, I wholeheartedly recommend. It's still a hefty chunk of change, but depending on how much buying/selling/trading you do, it can salvage some discs that would otherwise be dead.

Here is the link to the factory refurbs:

https://www.elm-usa.com/products/copy-of-eco-pro2-factory-refurbished-demo

Supply kit:

https://www.elm-usa.com/collections/ecopro-supplies/products/single-800-minute-pack

 

 

 

 

 

[KarpetRydOFunk]

Looks cool. But like you said, why did we not know about this years ago? 

[nyoilers]

I'd have to see this with my own eyes so if you want to send it to me I'll give it a whirl 

[heavyharmonies]

Umm... no, but if anyone wants to send me some scratched up CDs, I'm happy to see what the machine can do and ship them back. PM me if interested.

[Darkstone]

There was a time for me when I would've had to have purchased one of these. Not so much now though. 

For traders and CD collectors though, this sounds essential. 

I don't like the way they force you to purchase the supply kits however.

Is one 30 second cycle enough to clean/repair one disc? If so then the 800 minutes would give you enough time/supplies for 400-ish discs. That's pretty good. I'm guessing even the most ardent trader/collector would take a while to eat through those 800 minutes.

It would be nice to have a back up supplier of the pads and compound though, just in case. 

[heavyharmonies]

21 minutes ago, Darkstone said:

There was a time for me when I would've had to have purchased one of these. Not so much now though. 

For traders and CD collectors though, this sounds essential. 

I don't like the way they force you to purchase the supply kits however.

Is one 30 second cycle enough to clean/repair one disc? If so then the 800 minutes would give you enough time/supplies for 400-ish discs. That's pretty good. I'm guessing even the most ardent trader/collector would take a while to eat through those 800 minutes.

It would be nice to have a back up supplier of the pads and compound though, just in case. 

I found thus far that most discs need only one 30-second cycle. Badly scratched discs could use up several though.

Not to be pedantic about maths, but at 30 seconds per, the 800 minutes would clean 1600 discs.

[Darkstone]

17 minutes ago, heavyharmonies said:

I found thus far that most discs need only one 30-second cycle. Badly scratched discs could use up several though.

Not to be pedantic about maths, but at 30 seconds per, the 800 minutes would clean 1600 discs.

Ha! Yes of course, 1600! That makes the $90 supply kit great value then.

Hey, it's 6:00 in the morning here and i've just woken up.

I'm just glad you picked that up before Karpet did!

Edited February 17, 2021 by Darkstone

[Stefan]

28 minutes ago, Darkstone said:

 

 

Quote

I'm just glad you picked that up before Karpet did!

Yes he's anal about these things. 

KarpetMuncher that is... 

Edited February 17, 2021 by Stefan

[KarpetRydOFunk]

41 minutes ago, Stefan said:

 

Yes he's anal about these things. 

KarpetMuncher that is... 

What? I would never!

[KarpetRydOFunk]

45 minutes ago, Darkstone said:

Ha! Yes of course, 1600! That makes the $90 supply kit great value then.

Hey, it's 6:00 in the morning here and i've just woken up.

I'm just glad you picked that up before Karpet did!

No worries. Math's hard. 

[Darkstone]

3 minutes ago, KarpetRydOFunk said:

No worries. Math's hard. 

I was waiting for it.  

[nyoilers]

4 hours ago, Darkstone said:

I was waiting for it.  

It would've been a lot easier if you just let him edit your post

[KarpetRydOFunk]

1 minute ago, nyoilers said:

It would've been a lot easier if you just let him edit your post

Look at you proliferating!

;}

[nyoilers]

7 minutes ago, KarpetRydOFunk said:

Look at you proliferating!

;}

I didn't think that anyone noticed

[KarpetRydOFunk]

46 minutes ago, nyoilers said:

I didn't think that anyone noticed

I always notice. 

[nyoilers]

16 hours ago, KarpetRydOFunk said:

I always notice. 

That you do.Nothing gets bayou

[KarpetRydOFunk]

2 hours ago, nyoilers said:

That you do.Nothing gets bayou

 

[heavyharmonies]

Would you children go play in traffic please? Sheesh...

[AlphaMale]

I got a damn PS3 disc from Game Stop that doesn't work. GTA5

Does your machine do PS3 discs?

[heavyharmonies]

It should. How scratched up is the disc? As long as the data layer isn't mucked up (the top of the disc), it should clean up.

If you want to send me the disc, I'll give it a shot. No charge (although covering return shipping would be appreciated).

That goes for any other regulars here who want to see what this machine can do. Send up to 5 discs to:

Heavy Harmonies
PO Box 17158
Urbana, IL 61803

U.S. folks only, as the international shipping costs are just stupid. Please include a slip of paper with a clear return address.

If you like the results and want to work out an arrangement for a larger number of discs, we can talk rates. 

Seriously though, the local Disc Replay stores offer walk-in disc cleaning/repair as a service, but they charge US$2.50 per disc, which I think is a bit steep.

I'm kinda curious to see just what this machine can and can't fix.

[AlphaMale]

14 minutes ago, heavyharmonies said:

Would you children go play in traffic please? Sheesh...

I don't pay attention to either of those assholes. They both are on my ignore list now.

And they wonder why all the good posters left. 

[AlphaMale]

7 minutes ago, heavyharmonies said:

It should. How scratched up is the disc? As long as the data layer isn't mucked up (the top of the disc), it should clean up.

If you want to send me the disc, I'll give it a shot. No charge (although covering return shipping would be appreciated).

That goes for any other regulars here who want to see what this machine can do. Send up to 5 discs to:

Heavy Harmonies
PO Box 17158
Urbana, IL 61803

U.S. folks only, as the international shipping costs are just stupid. Please include a slip of paper with a clear return address.

If you like the results and want to work out an arrangement for a larger number of discs, we can talk rates. 

Seriously though, the local Disc Replay stores offer walk-in disc cleaning/repair as a service, but they charge US$2.50 per disc, which I think is a bit steep.

I'm kinda curious to see just what this machine can and can't fix.

The scratches are very light. It starts to load but freezes every time at a certain point.

[AlphaMale]

9 minutes ago, heavyharmonies said:

It should. How scratched up is the disc? As long as the data layer isn't mucked up (the top of the disc), it should clean up.

If you want to send me the disc, I'll give it a shot. No charge (although covering return shipping would be appreciated).

That goes for any other regulars here who want to see what this machine can do. Send up to 5 discs to:

Heavy Harmonies
PO Box 17158
Urbana, IL 61803

U.S. folks only, as the international shipping costs are just stupid. Please include a slip of paper with a clear return address.

If you like the results and want to work out an arrangement for a larger number of discs, we can talk rates. 

Seriously though, the local Disc Replay stores offer walk-in disc cleaning/repair as a service, but they charge US$2.50 per disc, which I think is a bit steep.

I'm kinda curious to see just what this machine can and can't fix.

That's awesome! Thank you and I will pay for return postage. 

[Doggy]

On 2/17/2021 at 4:14 AM, heavyharmonies said:

 

My last exposure to supposed disc repair/cleaning machines was years ago with the "Skip Doctor"...

 

And then later the Venmill Skip Away...

The problem with both is that they grinded down the disc and left tell-tale circular abrasion marks. Sure, they made nonfunctional discs playable, but you could always tell when a disc had been run through one of these machines.

A few weeks ago I was out Blu-Ray hunting and visited several stores of the midwest "Disc Replay" chain (think Gamestop but no PC games, just used consoles, console games, Blu-Rays, and DVDs). When I was checking the blu-rays I was planning to buy, a couple had smudges and a few had scratches. The store staff just threw the discs into an "Eco Pro 2" for 30 seconds, and damned if the discs come out spotless and looking brand spanking new... and you couldn't tell anything had been done.

So I started looking into this a bit more. Had I had one of these back in my fulltime CD hunting days, I could have made a fortune.

The machine is made by ELM USA, located in Buffalo Grove, Illinois. They make a range of disc cleaning and repair machines ranging from US$395 up to US$20,000.

All of the DIsc Replay stores have two units:

1. Eco Pro 2 ($1,595). Sits on the counter for easy access by staff

2. In the back room for bulk clearning/repair, either an Eco Master ($21,995) or Eco Autosmart ($6,000).

The latter two are obviously beyond consideration, but the first one, after seeing it in action and also watching Youtube videos, seemed viable for someone that either has a huge collection or does a lot of trading/flipping.

I purchased a factory refurbished unit for $995 and it got here in 2 days. It comes with a supply "kit" consisting of a bottle of cleaning compound, 4 resurfacting pads, and an electronic key card. The kit is good for 800 minutes of cleaning in 30-second increments. When the time on the key card runs out you have to get a new supply kit, which runs about US$90 (5.6 cents per 30-second cycle). That might seem a little draconian, but it forces you to get new supplies, thus ensuring you're not skimping on pad usage or thinning out compound... it's a way of ensuring supply replacement (and also tying you to come back to them for supplies).

So, what is the verdict?

It has 2 settings, one for blu-rays and one for CDs and DVDs (since blu-rays have a different surface composition from CDs and DVDs). I found the performance on blu-rays to be "ok". It works, but requires extensive wiping off of dried residue with a micro-fibre cloth afterwards. I wouldn't use it to clean blu-rays, just in the event of scratches.

For CDs and DVDs though.... holy CRAP! This thing works wonders. Seriously, it removes surface-level scratches completely and the discs look brand new. Now, for discs with many scratches you might have to run it through 2-3 cycles, but I found that most discs were considerably improved just with a single cycle.

The only thing it cannot do anything for are very deep scratches or gouges. The higher-cost units will do better with deeper scratches, but that's one hell of an expense.

Still, I was able to run through a bunch of discs I had listed on eBay and then go back and adjust the listings and raise the disc conditions I had given them.

The nice thing about this unit compared to the higher-end more expensive units is that it is self-contained and doesn't need waste/runoff containers; it's a small tabletop footprint, roughly a 1-foot cube.

So if you can pick up a refurb or a unit on the secondary market, I wholeheartedly recommend. It's still a hefty chunk of change, but depending on how much buying/selling/trading you do, it can salvage some discs that would otherwise be dead.

Here is the link to the factory refurbs:

https://www.elm-usa.com/products/copy-of-eco-pro2-factory-refurbished-demo

Supply kit:

https://www.elm-usa.com/collections/ecopro-supplies/products/single-800-minute-pack

 

 

 

 

 

The shop which I help out or be pest at try the Skip Away end bin it , wasn't good what says on instructions says.

So they ( the shop ) end open wallet and bought similar  Eco Pro 2. Which looks a mini washing machine.

The guys at Dixons , remember them Darkstone, which is recycle music store was so impress the owner bought two.

[heavyharmonies]

I've got a Skip Away sitting on a shelf. Piece of garbage. Absolutely nothing like the Eco Pro 2.