Photoflo in JOBO Drum

[Paul Mongillo]

Simple question. I used photoflo in my Jobo drum a time or two a couple of year s ago before I realized you were not supposed to do it. The scum seems to build upon itself even though I no longer put photoflo into the drum. Has anyone put a Jobo drum and reel into a dishwasher and lived to tell about it ?

[J. P. Mose]

Paul,

I posted this question a while ago and received some good answers. In case you can't open the following webpage, go to section "Darkroom: Film Processing" and look for "OOPS, Photoflo in the Jobo":

http://hv.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=007gg3

[Paul Mongillo]

Thanks JP, but the responses don't really address what to do once you have got the residue.

[Thilo Schmid]

Paul,

a dishwasher is most likely not a good idea. The cleaner contains tensides which may adhere to the plastic of the drum and/or reel. This is also the reason why rinsing agents should be used outside the drums. I would recommend Jobo's Processor Clean for that purpose.

Regards,

[Andre Noble]

Paul, are you sure your buildup is not calcium deposits from using tap water to mix your chemicals and for your rinse water you operate inside your JOBO drums, and not your minimal use of photoflo?

My impression was that the disadvantageous photo flo effect was more chemical, than a physical buildup? I may be wrong.

[Paul Mongillo]

Thanks for your comments. I contacted Jobo and got the following response.

"If you use your dishwasher, you will never use those reels or tank again. DON'T DO IT!!!!

Instead soak the reels in a 50/50 solution of Clorox and water. It could even be done in the tank to clean both at the same time. After about an hour of soaking, remove the reels, use a moderately stiff tooth brush on them, and that should clean them up. For the tank use a paper towel to clean the inside as much as possible.

Obviously follow up with a VERY THOROUGH series of rinses.

Ken Owen"