35mm Film dev tanks: Patterson vs Jobo?

[browncycle]

no contest...

no contest...

Jobo fo' sho'. If nothing else, it leaks less when agitating. Very easy to load. A good buy I made many years ago.

 

[Ronald M]

Don`t get Photo flow on plastic reels or they will not load. They get sticky.

That leaves me with squirting it on hanging film which does not please me.

Buy quality used Nikor reels or new Hewes. Off brand crap is just that. I inherited some stainless Brooks brand and I can`t load them with the lights on, let alone off.

You get really nice agitation with a plastic because of the empty lid space. No marks ever.

But if you put 8 oz only in stainless, and invert 5 times in 5 sec like Kodak tells you to do, you will not mark film either. Publication J78.

A two reel tank with an empty top reel and 8 oz developer will get you the same agitation as plastic.

I have been using my Nikors for 50 years now and only get in trouble if I try something experimantal that rarely works.

 

[Chris101]

No contest is right! I use cheap stainless reels. I just never enjoy developing with the plastic kind. Although I have used expensive Hewes reels (and I like 'em), I continue to use the ones I've gotten used to for the last 25 or so years. I know all their idiosyncrasies, and so my film comes out (mostly) perfect.

 

[Bob Michaels]

Don`t get Photo flow on plastic reels or they will not load. They get sticky.

I have been dunking the same Paterson plastic reels in Photoflo for over ten years with no problems. I just rinse them in hot water afterward.

On the steel vs. plastic reel debate, both work. It is just personal preference. I have used both with good results although I have used Paterson reels with both 35mm and 120 exclusively for over ten years now.

 

[Spavinaw]

Boy, am I out of step! I've been using an FR "Special" Model 2 plastic tank since the 1950's. The reel adjusts for 35mm, 127, 120, and 116 size films. Hook the film to the center post and roll it onto the reel--wet or dry. No problem. Just rotate the rod that sticks up through the center of the lid for agitation. Can't leak because you don't invert it. A double flange was available for developing two rolls of 35mm at once. Turning a tank full of liquid upside down just never sounded like a good idea to me, so I never have. To wash the film you just put a hose on the top of the hollow agitation rod and turned on the water. It went down through the rod to the bottom of the tank, up through the film, and over the top sides of the tank. Mission accomplished.

 

[Edward C. Zimmermann]

I use Jobo, Paterson, A+P/Durst as well as Kindermann, Hewes and Ilford stainless steel reels.. and Agfa... all have their advantages...With the plastic reels I sometimes prefer the A+P/Durst and sometimes the Jobo.. Important is that they are clean and dry.. and that's where its probably more important to have a large collection than any specific brand..

 

[Vincent.G]

Guys, help me out please. Recently my paterson plastic reels are giving me headaches. It ruined 2 rolls of Tri-X.. 2 weeks of effort down the drain! When I twist the reel back and forth to reel in the negative, the reel gets stuck even before half the roll has been loaded! While I try to wriggle the negative free, I got sharp bents on my negatives... I tried to redo everything ago many times but the reels just get stuck... and silly me fogged the negatives when I removed my tired and sweaty hands from the changing bag... I am not sure what's the problem here.

 

[MartinP]

Vincent, you could try the most likely answer and soak the reels in hand-hot water for half an hour then scrub out the tracks with a nail brush. After that, a few hours in a bleach-and-water solution will have them very clean.

The next main thing is having them dry of course, so if you find your hands are getting sticky (not unreasonable inside a changing-bag in Singapore) you could use a pair of those latex or nitrile examination gloves. Your hands will certainly be sticky, but the gloves should reduce the dampness in the bag.

As a last failsafe, put a couple of light-tight plastic bags (maybe the ones from 5x7 paper) inside the changing bag so that you can secure your film out of harms way if you have to open the changing-bag before the film is in the dev-tank.

 

[healyzh]

I've been known to drop 35mm film that is partially loaded in a tank when I've had to step out of the closet I have rigged for loading and unloading film.

That's some good advice on cleaning the Patterson reels, that and the comments on Photoflo explain some issues I've had with my reels. Much appreciated, I will have a go at cleaning mine. I've definitely learned to only try to load film in dry reels, as a result I've purchased several extra reels.

 

[crawdiddy]

I voted Jobo, even though I have never used them. I have used Patterson, and they leaked like crazy when they're inverted.

I actually prefer generic stainless steel tanks and reels. They leak less than Patterson. And they don't crack.

 

[Mablo]

Hewes reels are fine because I have a small Kindermann dryer for 85mm reels. I recently bought some more SS reels of the same size with the name HANSA.

 

[djonesii]

I have a cheap freestyle 2 reel tank and an expensive 1 reel jobo, When I have a bunch of film to develop, guess which one I use.

Both are light and water tight, both hold the film in a nice spiral, but the jobo does seem a bit easier to get started loading, nothing near important enough to justify the price though.

Dave

 

[Bob Michaels]

Guys, help me out please. Recently my paterson plastic reels are giving me headaches. It ruined 2 rolls of Tri-X.. 2 weeks of effort down the drain! When I twist the reel back and forth to reel in the negative, the reel gets stuck even before half the roll has been loaded! While I try to wriggle the negative free, I got sharp bents on my negatives... I tried to redo everything ago many times but the reels just get stuck... and silly me fogged the negatives when I removed my tired and sweaty hands from the changing bag... I am not sure what's the problem here.

You obviously will never know the true cause of your problem unless you are able to duplicate it. Consider loading /unloading / reloading the same reels with some junk film in the daylight. It would be interesting to see if you can duplicate the problem with reels you know are perfectly dry.

Just don't keep gambling with film you have spent hours shooting. Get some junk film, any kind will do, and work in the daylight to see what the problem is.

FWIW, I have always been able to trace any problems with Paterson reels to them not being dry. Remember it is the trapped moisture down in the trapped area where the ball bearing is that would cause the problem.

 

[Vincent.G]

Vincent, you could try the most likely answer and soak the reels in hand-hot water for half an hour then scrub out the tracks with a nail brush. After that, a few hours in a bleach-and-water solution will have them very clean.

The next main thing is having them dry of course, so if you find your hands are getting sticky (not unreasonable inside a changing-bag in Singapore) you could use a pair of those latex or nitrile examination gloves. Your hands will certainly be sticky, but the gloves should reduce the dampness in the bag.

As a last failsafe, put a couple of light-tight plastic bags (maybe the ones from 5x7 paper) inside the changing bag so that you can secure your film out of harms way if you have to open the changing-bag before the film is in the dev-tank.

Hi MartinP, thanks for the tip on cleaning up the reels. Mine needs a thorough scrub and I will try the method you suggested. The white plastic reels are turning a bit greyish on part of the threads.

You obviously will never know the true cause of your problem unless you are able to duplicate it. Consider loading /unloading / reloading the same reels with some junk film in the daylight. It would be interesting to see if you can duplicate the problem with reels you know are perfectly dry.

Just don't keep gambling with film you have spent hours shooting. Get some junk film, any kind will do, and work in the daylight to see what the problem is.

FWIW, I have always been able to trace any problems with Paterson reels to them not being dry. Remember it is the trapped moisture down in the trapped area where the ball bearing is that would cause the problem.

Bob, I have tried with a roll of junk film and same problem persists on SOME occasions and I am seriously convinced that what you mentioned could be the main cause of the problem. I have been drying my reels in the bathroom (away from the sun) recently and probably the trapped area of the ball bearings is not thoroughly dry. Wet negatives stick and that was what I experienced when I tried to reel in the negatives. The negatives just get stuck where the ball bearings are.

I will leave them near the window to dry and then try again. Apparently, that was how I dried the reels last time and there were no problems. If problems still exist, I will toss them out of the window. Thanks! 😀

 

[tj01]

I'm amazed that some of you have been using those plastic reels with ball bearings for so many years. You must be very diligent in getting them cleaned. I could never get them cleaned properly. In fact, i ruined two of them because the water was too hot when I had them soaking for too long. Even a little gunk near the bearings , especially if only one side gets stuck, you are asking for trouble. I switched to stainless steel Hewes, and have never been happier. Come to think of it, personally I wished those plastic reels were not invented.

 

[B.J.Scharp]

Jobo 2400. Don't even need a changing bag to load the film, at hardly any extra developer-cost.

 

[Pirate]

Vincent, you can also clip the corners of the end of the film that goes into the reel. Just a small clip on each corner is all you need to help it go in better. A small pair of "mustache trimmers" scissors go into my bag with me when I'm loading film. Most of the time when I'm rewinding, I try to feel for the end coming off the take-up spool inside the camera and stop there so the leader is left out, then I can trim it and cut the corners in the light, then roll it into the canister for developing later.

I use an Arista can with the plastic reels. They are heavy plastic and sturdy, with ball bearings in the reels and a tongue to help guide the film in. It's great, easy to use and feels solid. It leaks a bit when inverting but has a twist type agitation system that can be utilized. Been using photo-flo with it too, I just rinse everything with water and dry thoroughly before loading another roll and have not had a problem with sticky reels.

I recently got a Jobo 1520 tank and two plastic reels that came with it. These Jobo plastic reels are the worst junk I have ever seen. China makes better products than this. The instructions show how to rotate the sides to slide the film in (no ball bearings) but it doesn't work. You can push or pull the film in or out, rotating the sides does nothing. The rails are thin and I feel like I'm going to break it by picking it up. I'm sure adding stainless reels would help this, but you should not have to purchase extra parts to replace new parts when you buy a kit. The tank itself is cheap thin plastic and I don't expect it to last long. The only upsides to the Jobo is that it uses a smaller amount of solution to do the job and it has only leaked once, it does have a very good seal.
I just ordered a stainless tank and reels from Adorama to try out so I'll let you know how those work when they come in.

 

[Bobonli]

I keep reading that the Paterson tanks leak and the Jobos do not. Yet more people in the poll use the Paterson.

Is the leaking problem overstated or are people just content to deal with it because they like the reels?

 

[Pirate]

I for one am content to use my Arista tank because it has better reels and a better solid feel to it. You do not have to invert a tank to agitate it.

 

[_goodtimez]

I have both Jobo and Paterson but the tanks are not the problem, only the reels.
I messed up a few films with plastic reels, and when I switched to Tundra reels and tanks, stainless steel, it was like I was born again. I find the Tundra SS reels really easy.