Cold Developer

[mdarnton]

Is your darkroom cold, like mine? I used to use a waterbath to heat up the developer in my 8x10 film tanks, and it took too long. I'm using Vinnies 6X tanks, and that plastic takes a long time to pass the heat through! So I got one of these, and used it for the first time, just now. Cold to just right in 2 minutes. Well worth the ten bucks!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PFZFK78/

[dsphotog]

Great idea... As Paris Hilton says, "That's hot."

[axs810]

Cool but geez that does not look safe to use lol...

[dsphotog]

I'd suggest a GFCI electrical outlet, near any wet area.

[Dan O'Farrell]

Would it be safe ( or even practical ) to run this appliance through some kind of dimmer, in order to have some control over the temperature?

[Jac@stafford.net]

My approach does not heat the bath quickly, but it is certainly safe.
Aquarium heaters. They have built-in thermostats.

[Peter De Smidt]

Like Michael, my darkroom can get pretty cold in winter. I have used a Kaiser photographic hotplate, aquarium heaters, a Dev-Tek heater, and silicone heating pads to kep tanks and trays up to temp. My favorite is the Kaiser. I'd buy more if I could. As we all know, anything electric in water that we'll put our hands in is a danger. Definitely use a quality GFCI. Having run reef aquarium for a number of years, aquarium heaters, even expensive ones, will eventually fail/leak and'll put current in the water. Temp drop is mostly an issue for the print developer, as it has to stay at temp for a long time. If it get's too cold, then hydroquinone, in particular, will shut down.

[Will S]

This is a cool solution: http://makezine.com/projects/make-31/monkeysailors-photo-lab-2/ I bought a 4 slot Nova and it has been worth every penny.

[mdarnton]

Would it be safe ( or even practical ) to run this appliance through some kind of dimmer, in order to have some control over the temperature?

If you had a strong enough dimmer, which would cost much more than the heater, probably. But I wouldn't use it by putting it in and leaving it. I wanted it just wave it around in the developer to bring things up to temp fast. I learned my darkroom techniques long before GFI, so I always wear rubber-sole shoes in the darkroom and never grab anything with electricity at the same time as anything else. Just putting that in the tank and walking away would certainly violate my personal darkroom rules, though I guess some people get off on flames and sparks.