Processing with the reels on a lift rod

[Al Kaplan]

I was thinking that rather than pouring developer, stop, fix, etc. in and out of a tank through the lid it might be more convenient to just use a series of tanks, put the SS reels on a lift rod, and develop in the dark. I used to do this years ago agitating by lifting clear of the solution and putting it back with a swirling motion. You can read the GraLab timer in the dark.

I've started playing around with Diafine again, and with the short 3 minute time in both solutions A and B it'd save a lot of time in draining and filling a tank through the lid.

Is anybody still developing with the lift rod in open tanks anymore? They wouldn't even have to be SS tanks. Any plastic container of the right size would work.

 

[Tom A]

It works - but you need to stabilize the tanks!! I had them fall over - Domino style! I used to do that with D23/waterbath for controlling contrast. I made up a set from the old "floating lid" Kodak rubber tanks (the sheet film style) and used a stainless steel reel-rack. Rather messy though!
Advantage was that you could put "floating lids" on the tanks and keep solutions for 24 hours - which was good as they took 1 gallon each!

 

[David William White]

Sort of. My cottage regimen (I just returned from the cottage) is low-rent, but quick and convenient when I've got a backlog to do. I mix up a gallon of D-76 (1+0) in a large widemouth juice container. I used to drop the loaded reels right in, but the last couple of summers, I just unfurl the film into the container -- 4 or 5 rolls at a time. Stir them gently with a wooden spoon, kind of like a pot of spagetti, then fish them out and drop them into the fixer. Nothing but nice negatives so far.

If my cottage darkroom were a little more equipped, I'd have those fancy liftrods and a tank with a float.

For sheet film, I use those plastic containers that hold the quart bags of milk.

P.S. For those that don't like contact with developer and find latex gloves too slippery to use, try Nitrile gloves. They stay tacky when wet. I tried them this year, and love them. I got mine at an automotive supply shop. I think mechanics use them to change slippery oil filters and suchlike.

 

[payasam]

Dripping, overflowing liquids in absolute darkness are not my chalice of chai. I have seen large scale processing outfits where the open tank procedure is used, sometimes partly automated.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dear Al,

Nova made hand-lines in temperature-controlled water-baths. I used to use them for E6, in 35mm, 120 and 5x4, and found them better than Jobo. The only drawback was that they required 1200 ml of chemistry at each step. The current version is not a process-in-the-dark hand-line, though. The trick for time control in the dark is a tape recorder (MP3 now, I guess) with agitation and transfer times recorded on it.

This is also how Ilford hand-processed films in their research and QC labs: dropping the reels (on a rod) into a daylight tank (in the dark) meant near-simultaneous and rapid wetting. You can then drain the tank; remove the lid; life out the film; and drop it into the fixer. Astonishingly, this does not fog the film, possibly because the induction period for developing the new exposure is longer than the time before the developer is neutralized. This used to be something of a party-piece.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Ronald M]

Works fine Al. I learned it from my friend who had a wedding business and processed 150 rolls a week for himself and a bunch who worked for him.
He used 8 reel tanks held in a fixture.

Immerse, lift reel height, rotate 1/4 turn, lower, raise again, rotate opposite, back down.

I have also used a 4x5 tank after I was done with the sheet film. Same scheme or you can lift out and tip-drain, reimmerse. Rotate as you pull up so as not to pump developer thru the holes.

I send you a pic of my set up later this morning via e-mail.

 

[bsdunek]

Sort of. My cottage regimen (I just returned from the cottage) is low-rent, but quick and convenient when I've got a backlog to do. I mix up a gallon of D-76 (1+0) in a large widemouth juice container. I used to drop the loaded reels right in, but the last couple of summers, I just unfurl the film into the container -- 4 or 5 rolls at a time. Stir them gently with a wooden spoon, kind of like a pot of spagetti, then fish them out and drop them into the fixer. Nothing but nice negatives so far.

I am really suprised you don't have film damage from this method. Just goes to show, you don't know until you try.

 

[Al Kaplan]

Thanks to all for your answers!

Someplace in one of my boxes of "junk" I have a set of 1 gallon 4x5 tanks with floating lids.

Just a reminder: You can float your stop bath tray in your print developer tray and use it as a floating lid. It won't keep overnight once diluted but it works great if you're just running out for lunch.

 

[bkrystad]

Developing in the dark has been working for me. Well, I should say stopping and fixing in the dark. I load my reels, place them on a lift rod, and drop them in my stainless tank in the dark, then put the lid on and turn on the light for stand/agitation sequence.

Then I turn off the light with 30 seconds of development remaining and start counting: reels out of the stainless tank to drip for bit, then into a plastic liter pitcher with stop for 15 seconds, then into the fixer for 2 minutes of agitation. I turn on the light with less than two minutes left on the clock for the fixer and prepare the stainless tank for rinsing in the sink.

The containers are in 8x10 trays side-by-side, and I can find them easily in the dark. Haven't knocked over anything yet. The transitions between chemicals just seems more controllable than pouring/draining the tanks. And cleanup is easy, no panic, I can take my time.