Which JOBO: Expert Drum (3006/3010) or 2521 tank

[Diane Maher]

Ron,
I have used the Jobo for 8x10 with a unicolor roller. The only thing I would say is you have to stay around and make sure the tank doesn't tip and spill the developer on the floor.

I had this happen once over at my parents' house in their bathroom (mine has a window, and theirs doesn't). I stepped out to get something else ready in the kitchen and when I came back, I found a mess. However, despite all this, I went ahead and finished developing after I cleaned up the mess as best I could, and the film came out fine - it was FP4+.

I just fill and empty the tank like I would using a Patterson tank, i.e. manually. I use a tray to do my final rinse with photoflo before hanging up the film in the shower.

I have never actually gotten the foot pump to get the lid off. I must not pump for long enough. I have managed to get it off if I am wearing tennis shoes and hold the tank with my feet while pulling around the edges of the lid. I will try some of the suggestions on here the next time I develop LF.

[mark blackman]

I used to use the 2509 reels, but have switched to the Expert drums. The main reason was because of difficulties I had loading up the reels, experience taught me not to fully load them with six sheets (several times I got film-to-film contact). I found it incredibly difficult to load them up, and the film guide was useless for me being left handed. Since swapping to the Expert tanks (I use a 3010 and 3006) I have never had any problems with development, all films are completely and evenly processed with no scratching.

I process both B&W and E 6 (3 step) on a jobo CPA-2 unit, I use the same timings as I found suited me as I used for the 2509 reel.Timing starts when I start filling and stops once I use the lift to empty the drum. Given that chemicals will remain on the film until the next bottle has been emptied, I find this corrects for starting timing as soon as I begin filling the tank.

On my Jobo I have to hold the level that selects which cog is driving the tank (there are two, one for the 2500 sized tanks & one for the expert) as I've found that when lifting up to drain the tank chemicals can leak out of the unused spout into the water bath.

I keep a reservoir of water at 39 degrees in a picnic cooler, filling up bottles in the Jobo as I empty them. After knocking out one my front teeth puling the top off, I now use the foot pump.

[wfwhitaker]

For 8x10 I use the 3005 drum with the Jobo manual roller base and rotate the drum by hand. I did experience some streaking and unevenness at first, but since incorporating an alkaline pre-soak the results have been excellent.



I second the recommendation to purchase the pump for getting the lid off easily and without damage.

Best,
Will

[Eric Woodbury]

You can fill an expert drum with a right angle funnel. I made one with a regular funnel and some pvc pipe. Cut a short length of pipe and warm it in the oven on low. Turns into a noodle when you do this. Then form it to the funnel and put a right angle in it and then freeze the pipe with a wet cloth. Glue the two together. Now you can pour the liquids in the drum while it rotates. For eveness, this can be important.

[Gary Frost]

For those having problems getting the lid off of Expert Drums:

I use the tap water pressure. (fit the hose with a suitable rubber fitting, in my case I used a sink stopper with a hole drilled in the middle for the hose) When the tank is filled with water (which is not compressable) the water pressure gently eases the lid off. It works great! I occasionally put some type of dry lubricant (silicone/teflon) on the lip to make it easier to put on.

[Nick_3536]

Don't know about the expert but the 2500 work wonderfully on a unicolor setup. The only time I had a problem was when I didn't make sure the thing was level. Then yup it fell off but I was there to catch it. I don't have any problems now that I take the few seconds to make sure the whole setup is reasonably level. It's wonderfull to just flip the switch on the timer and let it roll for it's time.

[Bruce Watson]

I've been using a 3010 for a couple of years with a CPP2. Thousands of sheets. Before that I had the BTZS tubes. Before that tray processing.

I never got the hang of trays. Always had scratching problems, and inconsistent development. The BTZS tubes were much better for me. Still got some inconsistent development, and I didn't like how the negatives stuck in the tubes and had to be manhandled out.

The 3010 is a dream. Easy to load. The chemistry gets to both sides of each sheet so the anti-halation backing comes off. No sticking in the tubes. I've never had a single sheet with a development problem (other than my own fault).

YMMV, but you can't have my 3010 until you pry it from my cold dead hands!

[Bob._3483]

Can't speak on the Expert drums, but I have been using the 25xx series reels & tanks for over a year on my CPE-2 (recently added the Lift, which makes life easier & timing more accurate). Loading them does take a bit of getting used to, but once you have worked out a system, it's fairly quick & easy. I notched one side of the edge of the reels so I know which side to load 1st (there are no marks on the reels to distinguish which of the two sets of 3 slots is which). I have never used the special loader that Jobo sell.

One point, while loading on the darkroom table is fiddly, loading them in my Harrison Pup dark tent is *really* awkward (but possible) so if you are unable to blackout a room and have to use a changing bag, forget anything smaller than the Pup tent.

Cheers,

[Ron Bose]

Thanks all for your responses.

After careful consideration, I think I'll save up for a CPA/CPP unit and maybe find a used one ?

I started researching the processors and was immediately tempted at the thought of doing my own E-6 4x5's ...

Thanks again, Ron

[ZoneIII]

I know that this thread is old but, for the benefit of anyone who reads it in the future:

Michael Kadillac wrote:

"The lids come off of the unit with pressure from a foot pump applied to the center light tight opening and the sheet films are put into the tanks emulsion side out."

That's not correct. You load the film with the emulsion side IN. When talking about a curved object, "in" refers to the inner or concave side. I'm sure Michael knows that the emulsion should go IN, which is obvious, and he probabaly just made a mistake when posting the message. It's surprising, though, that nobody noticed it.