Low tech drum film processing

stevebrot · 01-01-2018, 09:30 PM

I ran across this gadget today courtesy of a post by a Facebook friend. The inventor claims compatibility with a wide range of Patterson-type and Jobo tanks. Whether it is worth the trouble and expense to determine times and speed is hard to say, but I do think it is interesting.

In operation:

Youtu.be

Youtu.be

Description and order information:

Bounet-Photography | B's Film Development Processor

Steve

(...no relation to Bounet or sale of this device...)

**Digitalis** · 01-01-2018, 11:27 PM

I'm lazy as hell... when I use a drum I use a laboratory heating plate* that also has magnetic stirring capability where you can dial in the desired bath temperature and RPM for stirring - though the biggest problem with using these is preventing cavitation bubbles, I found that Star shaped stirring bars work better at low RPM than typical rod shaped ones.

* I finally got one where the heating plate works. I still use my old one for standing developers, they benefit from slow agitation.

sqrrl · 01-02-2018, 12:35 AM

I'm not so much lazy as i just get bored easily and don't enjoy developing film so much as printing, I long since developed a method using four, four reel tanks simultaneously - I can develop 30+ rolls of film in an hour just by keeping my hands busy (plus some wash time, which I don't have to be there for).

That's a clever design, nice and simple, and I can pretty well see how it's made. I may just print up something for my 8x10 patterson tank, I'm pretty sure all of my other (stainless steel) tanks would leak like crazy if I put them on something like this.

**Digitalis** · 01-02-2018, 07:39 AM

Originally posted by sqrrl

I'm pretty sure all of my other (stainless steel) tanks would leak like crazy if I put them on something like this.

Which is why I use my method. Plastic tanks have their virtues. The reels on the plastic tanks however....

tuco · 01-23-2018, 07:39 PM

I have a larger version of that packed away that was made by Jobo, I think, to do prints (up to 16x20). You'd put them in a tube and you could fill and drain it like a daylight tank. Except this machine reversed direction every 180 degree to help prevent laminar flow.

I'd exercise caution and test for the right speed for film development. Continuos rolling in one direction can cause laminar flow across the boundary layer of the film thereby exhausting the developer in that boundary layer and creating uneven development.

01-01-2018, 11:27 PM	#2
Digitalis Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Melbourne, Victoria Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,694	I'm lazy as hell... when I use a drum I use a laboratory heating plate* that also has magnetic stirring capability where you can dial in the desired bath temperature and RPM for stirring - though the biggest problem with using these is preventing cavitation bubbles, I found that Star shaped stirring bars work better at low RPM than typical rod shaped ones. * I finally got one where the heating plate works. I still use my old one for standing developers, they benefit from slow agitation. Last edited by Digitalis; 01-01-2018 at 11:34 PM.

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01-02-2018, 12:35 AM	#3
sqrrl Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Otago, New Zealand Posts: 422	I'm not so much lazy as i just get bored easily and don't enjoy developing film so much as printing, I long since developed a method using four, four reel tanks simultaneously - I can develop 30+ rolls of film in an hour just by keeping my hands busy (plus some wash time, which I don't have to be there for). That's a clever design, nice and simple, and I can pretty well see how it's made. I may just print up something for my 8x10 patterson tank, I'm pretty sure all of my other (stainless steel) tanks would leak like crazy if I put them on something like this.

01-02-2018, 07:39 AM	#4
Digitalis Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Melbourne, Victoria Photos: Gallery Posts: 11,694	Originally posted by sqrrl I'm pretty sure all of my other (stainless steel) tanks would leak like crazy if I put them on something like this. Which is why I use my method. Plastic tanks have their virtues. The reels on the plastic tanks however....

01-23-2018, 07:39 PM	#5
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,029	I have a larger version of that packed away that was made by Jobo, I think, to do prints (up to 16x20). You'd put them in a tube and you could fill and drain it like a daylight tank. Except this machine reversed direction every 180 degree to help prevent laminar flow. I'd exercise caution and test for the right speed for film development. Continuos rolling in one direction can cause laminar flow across the boundary layer of the film thereby exhausting the developer in that boundary layer and creating uneven development.