Drying plastic reels quickly...tips?

[Ari]

Hey everyone,
I have a small conundrum: I am processing every day at this point, and I've amassed a decent backlog of negs waiting to be processed in a very short amount of time.
The main hindrance to continuous processing is waiting for the tank and reels to dry; this usually takes until next morning to be sure that there is no water left anywhere. I'm using a Jobo tank with two reels, developing 12 sheets at a time.
Does anyone have any method of getting these things dry in no time flat?
I thought of using a hair dryer, but I'm afraid to melt something.
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Ari

[jwaddison]

You might try a plastic tube/pipe with the same or a little bigger diameter than the jobo tank that you can put the reels in, and mount a hair dryer on one end with flexible foam. If you put the hair dryer on air only, the air only gets warm, not hot. You could make the tube longer to keep the reels away from the dryer. This is basically how I dry my 35 mm film, in the reels. Takes about 40 minutes to dry 5 films and reels this way.

[Greg Lockrey]

I used to place my reels in front of a large room fan. They dry faster than you think (especally when you aren't watching them dry). I'd be wary of using a hair dryer unless you stay on top of it.

[Walter Calahan]

Put them in your freezer, then tap the ice off. No fear of melting, but there is a fear of cracking. HA!

[vinny]

I give them a couple hard shakes first. That gets all the big drops off. Then the fan treatment.

[jp]

I've got extra reels. I'm sure you can get them (probably with the tanks too) for not much money on Ebay or craiglist, etc.. I go for the Paterson tanks/reels.

[Ari]

Thanks to everyone.
Seems like the fan is the way to go; extra reels are also in my near future.
Thanks again,
Ari

[panchro-press]

Take the time, learn to load them, switch to stainless steel. You'll feel better for it.

-30-

[BradS]

either buy extra reels or, load the reels under water. Don't laugh until you've tried it. it works perfectly everytime....and there's no need to wait at all.

[Allen in Montreal]

Your timing is off Ari, I just threw away a setup as described below a week ago. :(

Cheap, easy to make, takes no space. We used these at the wires for years too.
I made mine with a step PVC so the hair dryer fit right into the top, drill a small hole and slip a stopper through the width at the bottom end. I made mine so that the top roll was several inches from the hair dryer, it worked great.


You might try a plastic tube/pipe with the same or a little bigger diameter than the jobo tank that you can put the reels in, and mount a hair dryer on one end with flexible foam. If you put the hair dryer on air only, the air only gets warm, not hot. You could make the tube longer to keep the reels away from the dryer. This is basically how I dry my 35 mm film, in the reels. Takes about 40 minutes to dry 5 films and reels this way.

[Heroique]

either buy extra reels or, load the reels under water. Don't laugh until you've tried it. it works perfectly everytime....and there's no need to wait at all.

Under water! Now that's thinking outside the reel. Especially when time is of the essence.

However, I'd be worried if I ran into loading difficulties, fearing the wet emulsion was becoming more & more fragile by the second, and increasingly vulnerable to my handling.

Perhaps Jobo is easier than I imagine...

[Don Hutton]

I have a low profile plastic storage container into which I place my reels and drums after shaking them out - I put it directly under one of my A/C vents and it dries them in about 20 minutes... And in Hotlanta at this time of year, I can be pretty certain that the thermostat won't have the A/C stopped for too long.

[Jim Galli]

Move to Nevada, USA. 8% humidity and a mild breeze. Dry in 5 minutes. I live at 6,000 elevation so the temperatures are lovely in the summer.

[Mark Sawyer]

Put 'em on a six foot piece of string and spin 'em around outside. Or blow 'em off with an air compressor.

[Drew Wiley]

Elementary, Watson ... it's called an air compressor and a blowgun. Every darkroom
needs one.

[Ari]

Wow, some great ideas here; thanks everyone. I'll probably rig up a fan contraption tomorrow, and hope that some extra reels become available soon.
Many thanks again.:)
Ari

[Wallace_Billingham]

after you develop the film, shake off all the water you can, then soak the wet reels in some cheap rubbing alcohol for a few seconds. The alcohol will dry much faster than water will

[Nathan Potter]

The alcohol trick is very fast and elegant. I used that in an industrial setting for quick drying a lot of fixtures including developer reels. A dip in an isopropyl alcohol bath then a blow dry with an air gun does the job in a few minutes. Acetone is an even quicker evaporant for metal fixtures but is highly flamable and attacks many types of low grade plastics.

Nate Potter, Washington DC.

[Ari]

I would think that any alcohol would cause plastic to deteriorate, if not immediately then at a faster rate. However, I will bow to experience in this matter.

[Arne Croell]

I would think that any alcohol would cause plastic to deteriorate, if not immediately then at a faster rate. However, I will bow to experience in this matter.
Actually, Tetenal used to sell an alcohol-based product for drying film fast, called "Drysonal", it was essentially denatured ethanol. Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) should work too. Stay away from acetone, it dissolves many plastics.

[bvstaples]

I rinse my plastic reels off, give 'em hard shake or two, and then dry them off with a hair dryer. Never had a melt problem, actually, never even got them hot enough to not be able to hold. Move to stainless and this method works even better, as you get the metal a little warm, it conducts the heat, and the water dissipates right off.

[HMG]

I've never had a problem with using a hair dryer on the low heat setting. I keep the reels about a foot from the nozzle of the hair dryer.

[Keith Pitman]

I use an oil-filled electric radiator to heat my darkroom (below grade). Above the radiator is a wire storage shelf. After shaking off plastic reels, I place them on the wire shelf above the radiator (about 12 inches above). They are usually dry by the time I'm ready for the next group of films. If I'm using stainless reels, I place them right on top of the radiator.

[Howard Barron]

I cut the top from a soda pop bottle and made a funnel. I stick the neck of in in the hose of an old hairdryer and put the reel inside the funnel. They dry in just a few minutes. You might need to rig something in the way of a hose for your hairdryer, but I have been using this for years. Its cheap and practical.