Very small film dryer

[Jim Andrada]

I live in Arizona - usual problem is things drying TOO fast. Sort of like the problem of the "cold" water getting to 85 in the Summer. I've been thinking of a humidifier to slow down drying.:<))

[eddy pula]

hmm, I like it the other way around... I use carboard boxes I get from staples with fishing line and clips, and I put it right next to my boiler... maybe put it next to a humidifier? But make sure the mist isn't spraying on the film itself. An idea

[eddy pula]

You know those dessicant packs people put in shoes or beef jerky? Is there an opposite of that?

[Lachlan 717]

You know those dessicant packs people put in shoes or beef jerky? Is there an opposite of that?

Yep, the shoes or beef jerky prior to the desiccant packs.

[eddy pula]

Lachlan! LOL dude totally, so we should dry all our film with beef jerky from now on! I can't stop laughing!

[eddy pula]

konakoa you have impressed the sheets out of me dude... thats amazing, build me one! but for reals my cardboard boxes work almost as good and only take 5 mins!

[eddy pula]

But I went to mississippi and shot 700 sheets of hp5 over 6 weeks, and when I came home I lived in my darkroom and made like 6 carboard box drying boxes and souped and dried like 56 sheets on a good day. This is two of the pics. 2 dirty contacts the negs are fine though!

[Lenny Eiger]

I see no need for these devices. Film dries normally in the air. I have some wire that I run across the room and I use binder clips that I get from an office supply place, the number 0 or 1's to clip on the the edge of the film.

I would also say, to those that think it should go slower, that I like leaving the film in the wetting solution for about 3 minutes. I find that it actually works properly when I do that, and doesn't when I just dip it, or leave it for the recommended 30 seconds...

I hope this helps, or at least saves someone some $$....

Lenny

[Light Guru]

I see no need for these devices. Film dries normally in the air.

Yes film will dry in the air. The two big reasons for these devices are 1 to prevent dust from getting on the film and drying there and 2 to speed p the drying process.



Simple to build and works much better then simply hanging them just anywhere.

[Louie Powell]

Peters Valley Craft Center got one of the Durst film dryers - it worked very well, but the plastic bag was a hard to use. Eventually, someone got the idea to use the heater/blower components with a DIY cabinet. That was a great solution, and served both roll film and sheet film.

A few years ago I made my own DIY dryer along the same lines. I built a cabinet using MDF, with a plexiglass insert in the door to see what was happening inside. The blower is a small computer-style muffin fan. The heat source is a 200w incandescent bulb. Air flows through two filters - one is a sheet of the flexible filter material intended for window air conditioners, and the second is a conventional pleated paper furnace filter. I used a scrap of Closet-Maid wire shelving to create a rack from which I hang film using a variety of clips. It works very well - film dries in about 20 minutes, and there is no dust.

I don't see why you couldn't come up with a similar design for sheet film only. The biggest challenge would be in devising a means to hold the film in place for drying so that it isn't blown around by the flow of air, and the sheets don't touch each other.