tapping the tank to dislodge air bulbs

[phdgent]

I use to tap the film developing tank on the table to dislodge the air bubbles and avoiding uneven developing.
But my neighbour below doesn't like the noise it makes.
Is there an alternative, besides waiting till he's out of the house?
I use Kindermann and LPL SS film tanks.

[BrianShaw]

Do you have a vibrator, or could you borrow one?

You must really bang the tank to bother a neighbor. A few light taps should suffice. If that is bothersome, why not rap the tank on a potholder or cork trivet or the like?

[phdgent]

Do you have a vibrator, or could you borrow one?

You must really bang the tank to bother a neighbor. A few light taps should suffice. If that is bothersome, why not rap the tank on a potholder or cork trivet or the like?

Well, to tap the tank I just let it slide while loosening the grip of my hands from about 10 cm high, and it lands on a folded towel. But the floor is made of wood (a 19 th century building) and, I have to admit, it sounds rather hollow...
I have a lot of thick Turkish rags laying around my place, but not in my darkroom...

In the past I had those nasty bubbles marks near the edge...

[teathomas]

You could get a rubber mallet and use that to smack the bottom of the tank. Just gotta be careful to hold it tightly so as not to send the tank flying across the room.

[xkaes]

I use Paterson and Yankee tanks, and I simply hold the top of the tank with my left hand and whack the bottom of the tank a few times with the palm of my right hand. Basically no noise.

[Fred L]

I'd just tap the tank on your palm. doesn't need a super hard neighbour rattling tap.

[Vaughn]

Tap with you hand, or put down a big piece of rubber to tap the tanks on.

The secret is 'tap", not whack.

[Pieter]

I use to tap the film developing tank on the table to dislodge the air bubbles and avoiding uneven developing.
But my neighbour below doesn't like the noise it makes.
Is there an alternative, besides waiting till he's out of the house?
I use Kindermann and LPL SS film tanks.

Tap it on a thick mousepad.

[xkaes]

In short -- use your head!

[Drew Wiley]

I tap it with my fingers or fist from below.

[phdgent]

Thank you all for the advice.
I must be a moron as I never thought to invert the motion and tap on the bottom of the tank with my hand (not my head as I already had a cerebral infarction) instead of tapping the tank on the table.
The other advice to use a thick isolation like a rubber- or a cork pad is certainly to consider too.

Anyway, I will try this out.

[Fred L]

I think one key thing is to make sure you have enough chemistry in the tank. if it *just* tops the reel, then imo, bubbles are more likely to form vs having chemistry well over the reels.

[Tin Can]

I bang my tiny format SS CAN

HARD

I still LIKE GAS BURST

Large FORMAT

[John Layton]

Jeesh...usually its some kid banging on a drum set or trumpet practice. Tapping a film tank? That's a new one!

[Pieter]

Jeesh...usually its some kid banging on a drum set or trumpet practice. Tapping a film tank? That's a new one!

I would suggest moving. Either where you do processing or just another place with more tolerant neighbors.

[BrianShaw]

I would suggest moving. Either where you do processing or just another place with more tolerant neighbors.

... or perhaps easier... console the neighbor and affirm to make effort to reduce the racket, then go about business as usual. Chances are that they won't re-complain (or at least not too many times more).

[roscoetuff-Skip Mersereau]

Yeah.... I like John Layton and Pieter here... only why not suggest your NEIGHBOR ought to move. Brian is of course, a nice guy, but maybe you could just say next time ('cause there surely will be a next time), "Y'know.... it's a good thing to hear your thoughts, 'cause I'm thinking it's time I restring my bass guitar and inviting a few folks in to play.... nights. Can you handle lead or are you more a keyboard type?"

[xkaes]

Borrow a set of drums -- until the neighbor complains. Then apologize profusely and get rid of the drums. They'll never complain again.

[Drew Wiley]

Take up tap dancing on a hardwood floor.

[John Layton]

...or maybe invite them up so they can witness the magic of analog photography! Heck...before you know it - they'll probably be tap-tap-tapping right along with you!

[xkaes]

On the other hand, they just might break your camera!!!

[Drew Wiley]

Just as long no one is rapping. That is intolerable.