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Thread: Help! I can't open my new B&W King 4x5 tank...

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jun 2008
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    ottawa/gatineau
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    Help! I can't open my new B&W King 4x5 tank...

    Hello from snowy Ottawa.
    I just received my new 4x5 B&W-King 4x5 developing tank, yesterday.
    I can’t open it. It does not allow the slightest bit of movement between the lid and the tank body.
    I can keep a good grip on it when I’m trying. To try to loosen it up a bit, I have tried hot water, then ice water….
    Surely I’m missing a way.
    Email to B&W King was just returned as "undelivered".
    Thanks!

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  2. #2
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Help! I can't open my new B&W King 4x5 tank...

    Try tapping the lid edge on wood, just like a stubborn jar of jam

    My NIKKOR version is also tight, which controls leaks
    Tin Can

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Newbury, Vermont
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    Re: Help! I can't open my new B&W King 4x5 tank...

    You might try using an old trick to remove stuck lens filters...wrap a length of electrical cord (heavy duty/larger gauge in this case) around the cap, and grasp the two ends together very firmly and apply twisting force. The idea here is that you distribute this force evenly about the circumference of the lid, allowing it to maintain its roundness...whereas simply grabbing the lid itself by hand concentrates the forces to smaller areas of the rim, which could distort the rim and thus keep it locked up.

    Maybe try the above after heating up the lid a bit?

  4. #4

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    ottawa/gatineau
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    Re: Help! I can't open my new B&W King 4x5 tank...

    Thanks; just tried that. No go.
    Just trying some penetrating fluid. (!)


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    Quote Originally Posted by Tin Can View Post
    Try tapping the lid edge on wood, just like a stubborn jar of jam

    My NIKKOR version is also tight, which controls leaks

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Posts
    1,579

    Re: Help! I can't open my new B&W King 4x5 tank...

    Did you buy off eBay? If so, did you try contacting the seller there?

    The lid on my B&W King 4x5 tank can, occasionally, be difficult to remove; especially if my hands are wet and/or the least bit slippery. If you have someone else available to hold the tank, have one person hold the tank while the other pulls/twists the lid with something that won't slip on the metal; I use a rubbery mat material used to line drawers and cabinets.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jun 2008
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    ottawa/gatineau
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    Re: Help! I can't open my new B&W King 4x5 tank...

    Thanks; tried it but it didn't work.
    I stopped at H Depot to try to find a pair of strap wrenches, none to be found.
    Next best thing, didn't budge with 2 people holding/pulling:

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    Quote Originally Posted by John Layton View Post
    You might try using an old trick to remove stuck lens filters...wrap a length of electrical cord (heavy duty/larger gauge in this case) around the cap, and grasp the two ends together very firmly and apply twisting force. The idea here is that you distribute this force evenly about the circumference of the lid, allowing it to maintain its roundness...whereas simply grabbing the lid itself by hand concentrates the forces to smaller areas of the rim, which could distort the rim and thus keep it locked up.

    Maybe try the above after heating up the lid a bit?

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Jun 2008
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    ottawa/gatineau
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    Re: Help! I can't open my new B&W King 4x5 tank...

    Yes, off eBay. Message sent earlier to seller, before starting this thread (same person whose email wasn't working earlier). Reply pending.
    Thanks.

    Quote Originally Posted by Alan9940 View Post
    Did you buy off eBay? If so, did you try contacting the seller there?

    The lid on my B&W King 4x5 tank can, occasionally, be difficult to remove; especially if my hands are wet and/or the least bit slippery. If you have someone else available to hold the tank, have one person hold the tank while the other pulls/twists the lid with something that won't slip on the metal; I use a rubbery mat material used to line drawers and cabinets.

  8. #8

    Join Date
    Jun 2008
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    ottawa/gatineau
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    Re: Help! I can't open my new B&W King 4x5 tank...

    Penetrating fluid again, wouldn't move. Lid then heated, wouldn't move. Then, shocked with cold spray (in case any corrosion or adhesive that should crack from the expansion then contraction). No luck.
    And there is no distortion of the tank/lid after all this; I've been careful in that regard.

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  9. #9

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    ottawa/gatineau
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    Re: Help! I can't open my new B&W King 4x5 tank...

    Someone's going to tell me that there's some little niggly trick that I'm missing...
    I hope.
    Because I'm stealing glances at my sledgehammer.

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Posts
    1,579

    Re: Help! I can't open my new B&W King 4x5 tank...

    Hmm...it's starting to sound like you simply need a new tank sent. One last idea... Did you try using a flat-blade screwdriver or some means to gently pry around between the bottom of the lid and the lip on the tank?

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