whats this combi-plan for?

[jhochstoeger]

hello together,

a few weeks ago i purchased some darkroom equipment from a friend who who quit with the whole analogue-story. i purchased a set of three combi-plan tanks, and use them the way it is described in an article here in the forum...i think its title was "developing 4x5 film- an alternative" or somthing like that. works great by the way ;-)

my question is: there were three normal combi-plans, and a big one, roughly twice the size, with a film holder for 12 negs up to 4x5. but this tank has no valves...so what´s it for? is it used as a tank for dip-and dunk development? maybe somebody knows what to do with it...on the lid it says "459" as part number.

thanks for any help!

[Ted Stoddard]

The 3 Combi-Plans are for 4x5 sheet film processing If you posted some pics of the equipment you might get better answers to your questions... The bigger one could probably be used for washing the film since it has no drainage system but I can only tell you more if I can see the pics and as others might be able to help with this also... Hope this helps...

[Bob Salomon]

We made 2 different Combi Plan sheet film systems as well as several 35 and 120/220 systems.

For sheet film for 4x5 and smaller we made the CombiPlan T (still made) and the CombiPlan L systems. The T was/is for daylight inversion processing. The L (L for Lab) was a line system with one film holder, non-invertible tops, a floating lid (if desired) and was for film processing in the dark room.

For 5x7 film we also made a T and L system however, due to the volume of chemistry used, it could not be filled in room light like the 45T system.

You have acquired one of the 5x7 CombiPlan tanks.

Yes it is for dip and dunk and please note, except for the film holder clip, there are no parts or accessories available for the 57 system or for the roll tank systems. They were all discontinued 25 odd years ago and all of the tools were destroyed. Only the 45 CombiPlan T system is currently made.

[jhochstoeger]

thanks for those fast answers!

i think you are right bob, it might well be a 5x7 tank.
as my tanks are labeled "krause combi-plan", and are made in germany, i suppose that they are well over 30 years of age?

[Bob Salomon]

thanks for those fast answers!

i think you are right bob, it might well be a 5x7 tank.
as my tanks are labeled "krause combi-plan", and are made in germany, i suppose that they are well over 30 years of age?

Krause invented the system and made the tools in his basement. he sold them out of the trunk of his car for several years. When he was ready to retire he sold the system and the tools to Gepe and it became the Gepe Combina system made in Sweden. In 1979, or so, Gepe switched distributors from HP Marketing to Braun. Braun was the Paterson distributor and would not sell the Combina system - even though the 35mm and 120/220 reels were much easier to load and that Combina had a sheet film system that Paterson did not have.

Since Braun would not distribute the Combina system Gepe then sold the system to us, HP Marketing Corp. and we began to make them in Newark, NJ. In 1983 HP Marketing Corp. became part of the Gepe Group of companies and after a few years wrestling with production we sent the tools back to a Gepe factory in Sweden and have had them molded there ever since.

So Krause was the original, then Gepe and currently HP CombiPlan is the name of the tank. Krause would make it well over 30 years old.

[Gem Singer]

I wrote that article almost six years ago. Glad to see someone is still benefiting from it.

Since that time, I have switched to the 5X7 format. I still use the dip-and-dunk developing technique. However, I now use 5X7 stainless steel film hangers, along with two 2-liter stainless steel tanks. One tank for developer, and the other for fixer. I obtained a large plastic container and modified it for use as a pre-soak and stop bath tank.

5X7 film is loaded into the SS film hangers and placed in the plastic container, using it as a pre-soak tank. it contains plain filtered water. After all of the hangers are loaded, I move them from the plastic pre-soak tank to the SS developer tank.

I agitate by lifting and tilting the hangers once each minute. After the developing time has expired, I move the hangers back into the plastic tank. The pre-soak water has now become the stop bath. After agitating the film in the stop bath, I move the hangers to the fixer tank. After fixing, I use a dedicated D&V film washer for the final wash.

So far, I have been experiencing excellent results.