Use of Jobo Expert Drums, filling & emptying

[Erik Larsen]

I've thought about making something like that, but doesn't the hose cause more problems than it solves? For example, you have to remove the hose after pouring in the chems. Then you have to rinse it or it is dripping chems or flushing them back in with the next pour. Not a huge deal but just one more thing.

I use a water stop which rinses the hose before the fixer and the water I run through it while washing the film washes out the fixer from the hose. It's no different than using my cpe2 as far as I can tell. I haven't noticed any problems after 100's of sheets of 8x10 yet.
Regards erik

[Jim Cole]

Another vote for a funnel, flexible tube and filling while the drum is spinning. Simple and easy. I start my timer 10 seconds after I start filling (usually enough to get most of the fluid in), and start dumping 10 seconds before the timer goes off. That's how I did all my film tests, so my results are always consistent. Make sure you use a minimum of 500 ml of liquid or you will have issues. The stated minimum on the drum is too low.

[LF_rookie_to_be]

Ed, you can go mad and glue a cup on the underneath of an Expert lid. I did so and all sheets developed so far came out fine - including several runs of critical (read: someone else's) Velvia 50. A spare lid can be found for a reasonable amount (http://www.lumiere-shop.de/index.php...duct&info=3158 or the auction site). The cup on the first, finished, lid holds 420 ml and the prepared cup for the second one, to be used on a 3004 drum, holds 750 ml. Tip: use very strong marine-grade epoxy and polyurethane. You have to tape the edges to prevent leakage, and the second one will require extending the rim with plastic rings seen in the images. This way I can simply roll the drum on a table and fill it in vertical position. Precise digital meter/timer with audible signals and titanium aquarium heaters solve time & temperature issues. For me, this was much, much cheaper than obtaining, transporting and babying a CPA or CPP. Madder, too.

[Ari]

One other thing, if you do a pre-soak, just for one minute, then your developer will coat the film more gently and evenly.
I do two one-minute pre-soaks.

I don't use the funnel method outlined above, just pour in and pour out, and haven't had any problems.