Drying Expert drum

[wiggywag]

Hi!

How do you dry your expert drum? I use the spong, but I dont feel it gets perfectly dry. How dry does it have to be before it is safe to load new film?

Stig

[Jay DeFehr]

It needs to be dry enough that the water doesn't run, or pool in the bottom. The sponge works fine, when used properly.

[emh]

I use the sponge, followed by a blow-dryer, if I need to use it again quickly.

[wiggywag]

It needs to be dry enough that the water doesn't run, or pool in the bottom. The sponge works fine, when used properly.

So your saying it can be some moisture there? Yes the sponge stops the water, but it is still moisted after use. Is there a problem to load new film while it is that way?

[vinny]

Put a whole piece of paper towel over the sponge before you use it. Works wonders. Buy a second drum.

[wiggywag]

Put a whole piece of paper towel over the sponge before you use it. Works wonders. Buy a second drum.

Good idea :)

[Alan Gales]

You can buy extra sponges on ebay but I think Vinny's paper towel idea would work fine.

[Lachlan 717]

You can buy extra sponges on ebay but I think Vinny's paper towel idea would work fine.

Except if t leaves fibres/lint.

[timparkin]

BE VERY CAREFUL WITH A BLOW DRYER!!

I wrecked an expert drum when I dried it with a hair dryer - I assumed the plastic inside the drums was as thick as the plastic at the top - it isn't! It's very thin blown plastic and shrinks with heat so that the drum touches the back of the film.. Very annoying. However, I do now have two drum tops and they're the most difficult to dry.

I use high quality kitchen roll pushed into the drum using the sponge and then use a separate high quality sponge to get rid of the last drops (or at least to 'spread' them enough to evaporate quickly). I then put them in the airing cupboard next to the immersion tank. Normally it's dry within ten minutes or so..

As for the lid - hold it firmly and spin it around fast for a while and the water gets centripetally emitted :-) ten minutes in the airing cupboard and all is well..

I also dry the nozzle in my ATL2300 before I attach the drum - you can get drips from it if you're not carefull

Tim

[Jay DeFehr]

So your saying it can be some moisture there? Yes the sponge stops the water, but it is still moisted after use. Is there a problem to load new film while it is that way?

Yes, that's what I'm saying. As long as there's not enough water to get on the front of the film before the presoak or developer gets to it, there's no problem. You can test my claim with RC photo paper to satisfy yourself it's safe.

[Chauncey Walden]

I load wet with full tubes and only dry it when I'm through.

[emh]

BE VERY CAREFUL WITH A BLOW DRYER!!

I wrecked an expert drum when I dried it with a hair dryer - I assumed the plastic inside the drums was as thick as the plastic at the top - it isn't! It's very thin blown plastic and shrinks with heat so that the drum touches the back of the film.. Very annoying. However, I do now have two drum tops and they're the most difficult to dry.

Tim

Tim- I use the blow dryer on the cold setting. Haven't had any problems.

[Sal Santamaura]

...I use the spong, but I dont feel it gets perfectly dry...Drying efficacy of the sponge rods depends on how old yours is. Early production used natural sponges, which are highly absorbent and, when starting with a dry sponge, leave the chambers perfectly dry. They even have enough capacity left to dry the top surface (where chamber tops connect.

Later production sponge rods use synthetic sponges. They are close to worthless, saturating after wiping out just a couple of chambers, even if the drum is inverted and all chambers drained of water to the maximum extent possible. Fortunately, I have a two early sponge rods to use with all my Expert drums.

[Jay DeFehr]

Fortunately, I have a two early sponge rods to use with all my Expert drums.

That is fortunate! Otherwise you might be forced to try attaching a sponge to a stick, and that seems like an insurmountable technical challenge.:rolleyes:

I don't worry about getting my chambers perfectly dry, and I've never had a problem.

[jeroldharter]

If you don't get the chambers dry, the film can stick when inserting it.

When I use the sponges, I look into each tube and have to tilt the sponge in order to smear any water droplets. The sponge does not absorb all the water, but it can break the surface tension of the droplets so they evaporate much more quickly.

Paper towels are compressed dust. I know some people have good results, but I won't use them.

Not all blow driers have a setting with no heat. If I resort to a blow drier, I never use heat because of the delicate nature of the inner drums and because I don't want a heated drum when I am developing film.

For BTZS tubes, you can wrap a flour sack towel (no dust) around a dowel rod and jam it in there. I would never do that with a Jobo!

[polyglot]

I roll up a cotton lint-free teatowel ("glass cloth"), stuff it in there and wind it around a bit. Or just stick the film in wet and do a prewash so that it's completely wet.

[jonreid]

Can I slightly hi-jack this topic and ask if caffenol developer will harm my Jobo 3005 drum?

Jon

[J. Fada]

Can I slightly hi-jack this topic and ask if caffenol developer will harm my Jobo 3005 drum?

Jon

It will make the drum smell like sh$t and make you want to throw up, but other than that you should be ok. :)

[jonreid]

Hmm,
Ok. Glad I asked.

[RPHOTOGRAPHER]

Hello Tim.

I also have an ATL 2300, my question for you....you mentioned you use the expert drum, does it fit right on the 2300?? or is there some things you need to change??

thanks for the info !!

Ralph

www.ralphduke.com

[Kimberly Anderson]

I load wet with full tubes and only dry it when I'm through.

This is exactly what I do too.

I fill up the drum to the top, load the sheets, replace the cap then drain out about 80-90% of the water while I rotate the tank at a 45-ish degree angle in the sink (not on the JOBO). It drains the water, acts as a pre-soak and I don't have to wait any time at all to use the drum.