pump for basement darkroom sink?

[pesphoto]

The darkroom Im building is in my basement and the drain for the washing machine is about 4ft off the ground. So I need a pump of some kind to get the water up to the drain level. Any suggestions on what kind of pump to use?
I guees I would need to set up a holding tank or tub under the sink and have the pump sitting in there to pump the water up to the drain.
Thanks

 

[BJ Bignell]

A small pump designed for an outdoor fish pond or fountain might be a good solution, something that's designed to run off of 120V with a simple switch. It would be a good idea to have a holding tank under the sink, and if you could rig it to use a level switch with manual override you'd be set. It would automatically start pumping as necessary, but you could force it to pump nearly dry with a clean water flush at the end of each session.

I don't know if the chemicals would cause a problem with seals.

 

[tbarker13]

I used one of those sump pumps when I built my former darkroom. Because of grade issues, it was going to cost several thousand dollars to get a regular line.
The sump pump was a much cheaper solution, and one that worked quite well.

 

[pesphoto]

Thanks Tim,
What size holding tank did you use under your sink? It makes me a little nervous to leave the darkroom, if I need to, while its running in case of overflow, but I get it shouldnt overflow.

I used one of those sump pumps when I built my former darkroom. Because of grade issues, it was going to cost several thousand dollars to get a regular line.
The sump pump was a much cheaper solution, and one that worked quite well.

 

[RF-Addict]

I use a sump pump for my ATL3 processing machine. All the water (not the chemicals) used in the machine for heating/cooling and rinsing runs into a plastic bucket (I just bought a big plastic trash can) and is being pumped via a hose to the washing machine gray water inlet. It is a very simple set-up that has worked for me very well. The bucket fills until the sump pump float activates the pump and the water is then very rapidly pumped out. Yes, it is noisy, but so what!

 

[RF-Addict]

Mine is not covered - no need for that really.

 

[pesphoto]

Thanks! But I can only fit only so big of a bucket or trash bin under my sink. If I got myself a 55 gal trash bin and it was to sit beside my sink I guess I could cut a hole on the bottom of the trash bin just big enough for the drain from the sink to fit in , Then have the pump in that with a hose that goes up ,out and up to the washer drain. Sound right?

I use a sump pump for my ATL3 processing machine. All the water (not the chemicals) used in the machine for heating/cooling and rinsing runs into a plastic bucket (I just bought a big plastic trash can) and is being pumped via a hose to the washing machine gray water inlet. It is a very simple set-up that has worked for me very well. The bucket fills until the sump pump float activates the pump and the water is then very rapidly pumped out. Yes, it is noisy, but so what!

 

[tbarker13]

Mine was only about 5-10 gallons. It was pretty small. I was always a little leery of just walking off for long stretches of time. At the same time, it never failed. My darkroom wasn't the largest thing, so space was sort of at a premium.

 

[pesphoto]

Mine was only about 5-10 gallons. It was pretty small. I was always a little leery of just walking off for long stretches of time. At the same time, it never failed. My darkroom wasn't the largest thing, so space was sort of at a premium.

Thanks Tim, I think I might try and go for the largest tub I can possibly fit under the sink so it will have less chance to overflow if the pump fails. And with my luck............hmmm...tub?...bathtub.....could it work?

...Tim, nice work by the way.

 

[tbarker13]

One thing I do wonder about with a larger bucket is the idea of all the chemicals just sitting there until you hit the drain level.
The way mine worked was that (let's say it was 5 gal capacity) once the fluid level reached the 5 gallon mark, it would empty itself out.
Maybe there's a way to manually make the pump empty itself once you finish for the day/night/week. If you had a 55-gallon container, for example, I'm just not sure you'd want 40-50 gallons of various chemicals just sitting in there. At least in terms of the odor.
Then again, it might not be a bother at all. Just blabbering here.

 

[pesphoto]

Thats a good point. I really dont know actually. Will take some expreimenting Im guessing. From what I have heard one can set the pump to pump out the water at different levels? I wouldnt want to wait until a 55 gal tub filled all the way in case something went terribly wrong.

One thing I do wonder about with a larger bucket is the idea of all the chemicals just sitting there until you hit the drain level.
The way mine worked was that (let's say it was 5 gal capacity) once the fluid level reached the 5 gallon mark, it would empty itself out.
Maybe there's a way to manually make the pump empty itself once you finish for the day/night/week. If you had a 55-gallon container, for example, I'm just not sure you'd want 40-50 gallons of various chemicals just sitting in there. At least in terms of the odor.
Then again, it might not be a bother at all. Just blabbering here.

 

[tbarker13]

Just looked at the photos of your darkroom project. That should be pretty nice when you are finished with it. I'm jealous. We recently moved, and while I love the new (quite old) house, I just haven't been able to figure out a place to put a permanent darkroom.

 

[pesphoto]

Just looked at the photos of your darkroom project. That should be pretty nice when you are finished with it. I'm jealous. We recently moved, and while I love the new (quite old) house, I just haven't been able to figure out a place to put a permanent darkroom.

Thanks, We moved into our house 1 year ago almost to the day so it' s taken me a while to get to this point with all the other work we've done on the house. Im sure you can squeeze in a darkroom somewhere.
Mine measures about 14ft X 7.5ft. and takes up maybe about 1/4 of the basement. I havent done any printing in about 1 1/2 years so Im getting anxious for sure. I plan on doing some printing soon even before it is all finished.

 

[tbarker13]

Well, I haven't totally given up. Printing is the one thing I really miss. Film developing - I can take it or leave it.
But nothing in the digital world will ever replace - for me- the magic of watching an image appear on a piece of photo paper. Always makes me smile.

 

[pesphoto]

Well, I haven't totally given up. Printing is the one thing I really miss. Film developing - I can take it or leave it.
But nothing in the digital world will ever replace - for me- the magic of watching an image appear on a piece of photo paper. Always makes me smile.

....exactly why Im doing my best to get this done for myself. Also, it's just nice to have a spot to go to for a few hours and shut out the world.

 

[Yammerman]

....exactly why Im doing my best to get this done for myself. Also, it's just nice to have a spot to go to for a few hours and shut out the world.

Amen to that brother.🙂

 

[pesphoto]

Maybe a dumb question but I was wondering....

.....if the sump pump is submersed in my big rubbermaid holding tub with the lid on, how does one plug it in?😕

 

[pesphoto]

I found a pump on my local craigslist for $20. The drain from the sink connects right to the pump and then it pumps it out and up to the house drain 4 ft above. I havent set it up yet, but I was sent this pic by another photog that is using this exact pump in his darkroom. HE says it works like a charm. The middle PVC pipe is for the vent.

 

[pesphoto]

wondering if anyone could post pics of their pump set up.