Anyone still develop B&W by hangers and Tanks?

[brian steinberger]

I'm currently using this prcedure, but am thinking about switching to trays, either by hand or with a slosher. Alot of stuff that I've read in here indicates the use of BTZS tubes, or Jobo machines. I looked into it, but decided against it. I'd like to stick with something cheap. Is anyone still using the hangers and 1/2 gallon tanks?

And what are some advantages of tray development? Is minimum agitation still possible?

[Brian Sims]

Yup. Why mess with a good thing. I've never liked the idea of one piece of film touching another in trays. The economy of using a lot of developer has never been a problem because I usually have a fair amount of film to process in one session.

[Michael Graves]

I use sloshers for 5x7 and 8x10. I only just recently acquired a 4x5 and in the same week picked up a King Concepts 4x5 inversion tank that holds 8 sheets of film. I've developed two batches of film with it and will never use a slosher for 4x5 now that I have that. But I have problems with uneven development using hangers.

[Eric Rose]

I've used hangers and tanks for years and had no problems. Most uneven development issues are related to putting to many hangers into the tank IMHO. That and maybe taking the film in and out of the tanks to fast.

[Ron McElroy]

I still use 1/2 gallon tanks and hangers for 4x5. I've never seen any uneven developemt problems with them. Ignorance on my part may be bliss. When I develope 8x10 its always in a tray.

[Harold_4074]

Sure. One-quart tanks, four 4x5 hangers in a liter of PMK. Ilford FP4 Plus, with a one-minute presoak in water with a dash of Photo-Flo to prevent air bells. No problems with nonuniformity, using the standard lift/tilt/repeat agitation. The tanks will probably take six hangers, but it is hard to get more than four out and back in without having one drop down outside the tank.

For experimenting with the Zone System, divided D-23 in gallon tanks worked very well, since successive single sheets didn't deplete the chemistry enough to matter, and the developer is cheap anyway. The small surface-to-volume ratio of the tanks, particularly with floating lids, keeps oxidation down as well, so the solution lasts long enough for multiple experiments.

As noted in a recent thread on temperature control, tank development offers certain advantages in that regard as well.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I use hangers and tanks often for 4x5" and 5x7", sometimes the Nikor tank for 4x5", and trays for small batches of 4x5", 5x7", and all my 8x10" and 11x14" processing.

Hangers and tanks work best for large batches of film and for replenishable chemistry, so I keep a tank of Acufine going all the time and can use it no matter how many sheets or rolls I'm doing, but if I'm planning to use PMK or ABC pyro or RAF pyro-metol, I'll go to trays for just a few sheets, and the tanks if I've got enough film to justify mixing up a big batch. If I do mix a large batch of ABC pyro or RAF pyro-metol for use in tanks, I find I can put three batches of film through it reliably, because the tank holds a larger volume of developer per sheet than one normally uses in a tray, and less surface area is exposed to the air. PMK I use one-shot.