Crazy Idea: Household Fan To Dry Film On a Reel?

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wgerrard

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This is very likely a very silly question, but has anyone tried drying a reel of wet film by putting it in front of a small household fan.

Suppose the reel rotated slowly, to allow for distrbuted air flow. Suppose there was some kind of filtration going on to catch dust. Suppose a really curly strip of negatives wouldn't be a problem.

Anyone tried this?
 
I would think that unless the air is filtered really well than you would be applying quite a but of dust to those wet negatives. Doesn't seem like the best idea.
 
A fan will work but a handheld hair dryer is faster! Used one many a time to dry film on deadline. Not on the reel, of course. As others have said, you would be trying to dry the film AND the reel that way, and it would take much longer.
 
Alternate thinking is great but I wouldn't do this personally for what Frank said in his reasons.

I destroyed a roll of Adox recently with a combination of impatience and a fan forced heater! 😱
 
I once had a device I got from somewhere that spun the reel inside itself. The combination of spinning and movement dried the film without spotting. I have also heard of using hair blow dryers inside some kind of tube. You can also hang film inside a plastic "box" like a cloths storage bag with a blow dryer.

But in front of a fan? I would think FrankS' caution is worth comment, and FormulaJay is correct that you need to worry about dust particles.

But you likely will never know until you try. Let us know if you do.
 
I can see it working best on stainless steel reels and maybe rigged with some kind of protection around the film. I knew a girl who used to do this and said she had no problems with dust and the like. I never inspected the negatives, so I can't say for sure how effective it was. I've always had the room to hang them, so I never bothered.
 
I'm using a fan to dry film on reel. It's not homemade but was manufactured by Kindermann many moons ago. It's like a shoe box with a round hole on top. You can slide in up to three 35mm stainless steel reels or alternatively two 120 s.s. reels. You just drop the reels into the air tube immediately after the last wash. I've had very few problems with dust since I found this dryer. One roll is completely dry after 45 minutes, two rolls take an hour or so. Some films may take longer, Efke comes to my mind first.
 
I would avoid that as you can stir dust particles which can stick to your film. Pop your film in Rinseaid and let it drip dry in a place where the air is not disturbed. Slow, but it works for me.
 
Well, I need to buy a fan before I try it out.

I do film at the kitchen sink, then walk the Photo-Flo'd reel, covered with a damp cloth, across a room to a small closet, where I unreel the film and let it hang at the proverbial angel. Dust is still an annoyance, as is the occasional water spot.

If film was a growing business, we might see some innovative approaches to traditional problems.
 
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