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coops
14-Aug-2008, 15:39
Just got a used print washer, the kind that allows for about 10 11x14 prints, and am suprised at how big it is, and heavy once filled with water. Really did not think about it when I ordered it.
Anyway, it,s too big for the kitchen counter. I could put it on the floor in the garage, use a garden hose, a large floor fan to perhaps keep the water temp a little lower, and it has a lid. The overflow can water my roses.
I live in florida, so my garage is on the warm side. Is water temp. still fairly critical at this time? I don't know how much difference there will be between the water in my home and that coming from the garden hose.
Any thoughts?

Thanks

willwilson
14-Aug-2008, 20:01
The temperature of the water is important. Fiber prints wash faster and more efficiently in water that is around 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything warmer than that starts to soften the emulsion, which makes handling without damage (especially in a vertical washer) more difficult. I wouldn't wash in water warmer than 80-85 degrees.

Good luck! -=Will

Greg Lockrey
14-Aug-2008, 20:12
I always used hypo-clearing agent to reduce the time and volume of water needed to wash the prints. Water does get expensive over time.

Brian Schall
14-Aug-2008, 20:18
Some water facts for you:

Water weighs 8.34 lbs/gal and there are 7.48 gal/cubic foot.

You can figure out how much that washer weighs full. It will surprise you.

coops
14-Aug-2008, 21:00
The twash faster and more efficiently in water that is around 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit. Anything warmer than that starts to soften the emulsion, which makes handling without damage (especially in a vertical washer) more difficult. I wouldn't wash in water warmer than 80-85 degrees.

Good luck! -=Will

Thanks. The water straight from my tap is about 76-77 degrees. I will do a run without prints and keep checking the temp for the duration of the wash and see if it stays around 75 degs or creeps on up.

davemiller
15-Aug-2008, 00:00
Some water facts for you:

Water weighs 8.34 lbs/gal and there are 7.48 gal/cubic foot.

You can figure out how much that washer weighs full. It will surprise you.

Why is water so much heavier in England?

Greg Lockrey
15-Aug-2008, 00:14
Why is water so much heavier in England?

Yeah, I always heard it as "a pint is a pound as the world is round".:) :)

Alan Rabe
15-Aug-2008, 04:18
I'd think twice about watering your roses with your rinse water. It is contaminated with fixer and I doubt that any plant will enjoy such a drink.
Also it has been proven that the effectiveness of a rinse is more a factor of the prints contact time with the water as opposed to the volume of water. So you really just need to have a flow of what I refer to as a fast trickle. Any more and you are just wasting water. The water replaces the fixer in the print and it has to be in contact with the print to do so.

W K Longcor
15-Aug-2008, 05:02
Yeah, I always heard it as "a pint is a pound as the world is round".:) :)

8 pint in a gal. = 8 lbs / gal --- but, I was sure Brian was wrong with the 7.48 gal/ cubic ft. -- looked it up & he is correct - wow! That weight adds up FAST.

IanG
15-Aug-2008, 05:16
But there's only 6.661378823 pints (UK) in a US Gallon, as it's short measure :D

W K Longcor
15-Aug-2008, 07:49
But there's only 6.661378823 pints (UK) in a US Gallon, as it's short measure :D

No - full 8 (US) pints in a (US) gallon. The Brits just try to stuff more into the jug!:D

cyrus
15-Aug-2008, 08:40
The "washing" of prints happens through diffusion, and diffusion is function of concentration of hypo in water, which changes according to temperature (warmer=faster diffusion) the volume of clean water (which creates the diffusion gradient) and time (for the hypo concentration in the clean water to and print to equalize.)

The problem with the print washers is that it continuously dumps water in which more hypo could still have diffused.

Brian Ellis
15-Aug-2008, 10:21
Despite what you sometimes read, IMHO high temperatures within reason aren't a problem with wash water. The only potential problem hot water creates is that the emulsion may be softened and damaged but I never had anything like that happen and the water out of my Florida tap was in the low 80s much of the year. I also don't think I'd worry much about fix in the wash water harming your roses - the proportion of fix-to-water in a washer big enough to wash 11x14 prints is infinitesimal especially after the initial quick rinse that should be done before the final wash in order to improve the efficiency of the final wash.

My darkroom was in a Florida garage (actually an outdoor pantry) for several years without any problems other than it getting so hot in there in the summer with the door closed that sweat used to drip from me into the chemical trays, which I used to worry would dilute the chemicals. But if all you're doing is washing prints you don't need to keep the door closed so hopefully the water will stay more or less around its tap temperature. Good idea to check though, as you mention.