cmedin
Well-known
Question for those in the know.. at what point does ambient temp become too much of an issue in a darkroom? The closet I'm looking at can hit mid-high 70s in the summer, and probably stays in high 60s during the winter. I don't really have a desire to mess with heating/icing chemicals so if I do this I just want to work with the chems at ambient temp, adjusting as needed for the season.
What I'm wondering is, are the summer temps too high?
What I'm wondering is, are the summer temps too high?
markinlondon
Elmar user
Mid 70s (24C?) should be OK. You can even cut your developing times but as paper is usually developed to completion anyway I wouldn't bother. For b&w printing it's not really an issue.
Finder
Veteran
If you let your chemicals come to ambient and then develop based on that temp you should be fine. The only issue is when the temperature becomes to high to give a long enough development time. I do not see the 70s being an issue - but check the recommendations for you film developer combo.
cmedin
Well-known
Thanks guys. It looks like I can get away with D76 1:1 on TriX without going too short on the dev times. I'll just have to tweak the times according to ambient, and markinlondon pointed out that paper dev shouldn't be a problem.
I was spoiled back in the days when I had my 1 bedroom apartment, easy to keep at a constant temp year 'round.
It'll be fun getting back into it -- thanks for the advice!
I was spoiled back in the days when I had my 1 bedroom apartment, easy to keep at a constant temp year 'round.
It'll be fun getting back into it -- thanks for the advice!
MartinP
Veteran
If you are developing 1:1 you can always put an ice-cube in there to lower the temperature (after testing with plain water to see if that is practical !). Having the tank in a washing bowl of water at the right temperature can keep it cool, just as well as keeping it warm. I'd say knocking a few degrees off the ambient temperature for the film-developer to get it down to standard would be "best", but not to worry for printing.
Bryce
Well-known
I've used the ice cube treatment to good effect in a tempering bath. It works just like you'd expect it to.
I suspect you may have trouble with your developer going inactive if your closet temperature gets far below 68/ 20 degrees. In that case you should be able to warm it with a tempering bath, or maybe use a small, portable heater to warm your working space enough to get the job done?
Happy printing!
I suspect you may have trouble with your developer going inactive if your closet temperature gets far below 68/ 20 degrees. In that case you should be able to warm it with a tempering bath, or maybe use a small, portable heater to warm your working space enough to get the job done?
Happy printing!
FrankS
Registered User
My darkroom is a spare bedroom in an old, poorly insulated house. Ambient temps are too high in the summer and too low in the winter. I have had no problems with ambient temps affecting my developing and printing activities. I mix my chemicals at 20C and the amount of drift (up or down) during processing has had no discernable effect. Go for it!