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Thread: Source of compressed air

  1. #11

    Source of compressed air

    You can also buy a small air tank which you can fill at a service station with the air hose for inflating tires. The amount of air needed for cleaning film etc. is minimal so one filling would last a long time. I don't know the equivalent of "Canadian Tire" in the USA but an auto parts shop should be able to help.

    Richard

  2. #12

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
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    San Joaquin Valley, California
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    Source of compressed air

    ...or just keep a politician close by----they never seem to run out of air!
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  3. #13

    Join Date
    Oct 2000
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    Source of compressed air

    Good idea John, except that it is HOT AIR !!!

  4. #14

    Join Date
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    Source of compressed air

    First I use an electronic antistatic brush for this purpose. If a spot of dust remains, I then use a rubber ear syringe to blow it off. They produce a powerful "puff". I have nitrogen available, but don't use it for that purpose, since if the first two procedures don't get it off, chances are nothing else will either.
    Alec

  5. #15

    Source of compressed air

    I would like to reiterate Donald's warning concerning the storage and use of
    large tanks of CO2 in the darkroom.

    At the medical school where I was doing my graduate work, a medical student
    attempted to walk through a small courtyard that contained a large CO2 storage
    tank. The tank's valve had been been damaged by a supplier and developed
    a small leak filling the ground level area with CO2. The medical student died
    in the courtyard due to short term exposure to high concentrations of CO2.

    There are safer alternatives.

    I don't have a dust problem since filtered air is forced into the room by
    an enclosed fan. The positive pressure of the filtered air keeps dust out
    of the room. Once a year, I wipe down all of the surfaces in the darkroom.

    Also, do not use CO2 to displace air from a developer bottle. The CO2 is
    absorbed by the solution and converted to carbonic acid, which decreases
    the pH killing the developer.

    Mike

  6. #16

    Join Date
    Mar 2004
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    Maine
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    Source of compressed air

    "I keep a cartridge-type CO2 duster in my camera bag."

    Alan, Do you have a source for this CO2 duster? I have been looking for one for a while. I will not use Dust-Off on my camera equipment.
    Thanks,

  7. #17

    Join Date
    Mar 2005
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    Source of compressed air

    I had not thought about an anti-static brush, but that might be a better alternative. How do you clean them and what luck have folks had with them? I must admit that brushing makes more sense than rearranging the dust.

  8. #18

    Source of compressed air

    I've never had need for more than a large rubber ear syringe. I think I bought my last can of Dust-off back around 1974- gave it up due to the cost. If I really wanted compressed air, I'd use one of the $20 tire filling tanks, or buy medium sized cylinders of dry nitrogen at the welding supply store. As said above, the regulator and tank will be a one time expense, then you just exchange it. Close the tank valve when not in use- the welding store should have some kind of safety rule sheet they can give you.

  9. #19
    Donald Qualls's Avatar
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    Source of compressed air

    If you want to avoid just rearranging the dust, don't blow, and don't brush. Suck instead.

    Use a tiny vacuum (like the ones sold for cleaning computer keyboards; they can be had for as little as $20), and the dust is sucked into a filter bag and trapped instead of being kicked into the air to settle somewhere else (enlarger lens, condenser glass, another negative, or worst of all, unexposed film during loading holders). And there's no chance of a vacuum cleaning suffocating you; if your darkroom is equipped with GFCIs as it should be on all outlets, there's no more electrical hazard than in operating the enlarger itself. The same vacuum can, of course, be used to clean inside bellows, film holders, etc.
    If a contact print at arm's length is too small to see, you need a bigger camera. :D

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