Originally posted by germar Since this is now a grain/development thread, I'll ask a follow on.....
I see TONS of lab gear on my local craig's list. Is it cool to buy used tanks and reels? Or am I better off buying new stuff. Take it for granted I probably don't want to by second hand chemicals... but I might be able to save a bit on hardware, if it's a good idea.
What say you all?
germar
AFAIK used stuff
should be fine, as long as you rinse it
thoroughly, as you don't want whatever was the last chemical to be used in the tank to contaminate what you put into it--especially if it's a different process.
I would not be surprised if the stuff we use to develop was as old as the photography program itself (at least five years now). Granted, it's all black and white, but it sees heavy use.
Likewise I would not be afraid in the least to use my dad's old processing gear, which is all at
least from the '80s (he had a complete working darkroom way back when.) That said I would be sure to rinse it thoroughly, as he did lots of color slide stuff (process E-6) and I'd be using it for black and white.
Also, as a general tip: Verify each chemical before you pour it in your tank. I've heard horror stories of people pouring in fixer before developer, which naturally removes the undeveloped silver from the film... which would be
ALL the silver in this case!
I haven't had the misfortune of doing it myself.... yet!
You can't dump expended fixer down the drain because it's full of silver. It's an environmental hazard. But the are silver reclamation machines that can pull the silver out of the fixer, and you might even get money for it. Sometimes college darkrooms have them.
Last edited by Stevopedia; 08-01-2008 at 01:32 PM.
Reason: typo!!