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Anyone ever use this type of cheap Jobo drum rotator?

bags27

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There are lots of these types on ebay. for around $150 and wondering whether they do the job. I don't need temperature control, and I'm not processing larger than 120 film. I know Jobo's coming out with their own version in October, but it'll be around $450.

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Sirius Glass

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I had a CPE before I upgraded to a CPP2, does that count.
 

Nicholas Lindan

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I use an old roller base. I can't see why the above units wouldn't work. The supply of old bases will dry up - they weren't built exceptionally well and many are 50 years old.

A problem with Jobo tanks and bases is that the tank will drip at the lid end and it will try to walk off the base. If the lid end hangs off the end of the base then a small tray can catch the drips. I use a pair of bricks to keep the tank on the base - it looks like these units have little buttons to keep the tank on track but they may not have enough adjustment range for long tanks.
 
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bags27

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Sirius Glass said:
I had a CPE before I upgraded to a CPP2, does that count.
Click to expand...

. Hardly. I'm talking about cheap aftermarket stuff. Don't need water warming, as I'm fine with 3.5 minutes of color developer unheated. Otherwise, it's more of a pain than a help.

Thanks. Really helpful. I have a lot invested in Patterson tanks and off-market Patterson-compatible reels. But when I have to develop 8 rolls in a day, it gets really tedious standing over the sink.
 

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I am only familiar with the larger Expert Drums on a Unicolor motor base (with auto reverse disabled). Thanks for the info. They look interesting and simple enough. Not a heavy load on the motor with the smaller tanks, which would be the first thing to go, I suppose.

Expert drums I refill while they rotate on the motor base...so moisture protection is important. These smaller units are hopefully sufficiently moisture-proof.
 
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bags27

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I just snagged the last one of these from an American importer for around 1/2 price with a 60 day return policy, so not much to lose. I'm going to try it out with my Patterson kit first. I'm sure the Patterson tanks are too narrow, so I'll just bulk them up with electronic tape at the point they meet the rollers. Always fun to try something new.
 

MattKing

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What version of Paterson tanks do you have. The Super System IV ones they have been selling for the last 1/3 of a century are slightly bigger than the AP tank showing in at least one of those illustrations.
My Beseler agitator is the same as the one in this borrowed internet image works fine with my Super System IV tanks, as long as I add a couple of thick rubber bands placed to keep the tanks from wandering off.
 
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bags27

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Thanks! I just assumed the Pattersons were thinner (not having a Jobo), because to use the new Filomat Light, designed for Jobo, with Patterson tanks, you need an adapter that looks like it adds greater thickness to the rollers.
 

RalphLambrecht

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will work fine and so will a couple of rollerskate wheels mounted a rigid board.
 

Kilgallb

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RalphLambrecht mentioned roller skating wheels. On ebay there is a guy selling such a contraption for about $30. Take a look.

I bought one of these a while back at a higher price, these really work for manual processing and can be immersed in a tempering bath. The wheels can be adjusted to many tank sizes.

 
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bags27

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Thanks for these. I need a motorized processor, since the idea is to be able to do other things while it's processor. So, I bought a cheaper with a motor. But I may buy this as well, only for color developer, where temp. is more critical.
 

mshchem

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Everyone selling these things from China claims that they have "last one" . Maybe it will spin a small tank.
 

Randy Stewart

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Nicholas Lindan said:
I use an old roller base. I can't see why the above units wouldn't work. The supply of old bases will dry up - they weren't built exceptionally well and many are 50 years old.
Click to expand...
I've used a Unicolor (bi-directional) roller base, bought new around 1980. It gave me some trouble about 25 years ago. I think the problem had something to do with not reversing direction when rolling a drum. I popped it open and fixed whatever it was in about 5 minutes. There is very little complication inside those things to go wrong. I bought another for about $20 when everyone was going digital, but I've never had to use it. Mine gets used for the occasional color print drum, but mostly for processing E-6 and C-41 film in a Unicolor Film Drum. Wouldn't trade that setup for a Jobo if given free.
 

mshchem

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The Unicolor drum rollers are great very durable. The Beseler units have a flaw, a little plastic thing that activates the reversal switch, these all break
 

Vaughn

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I opened up my Unicolor motor base and disabled the reversing mechanism (I bent the arm that would go around and hit the switch that reversed the motor.) With the larger diameter of the Expert Drums (I have the 3005 and 3006), I found that I did not get a full rotation with the Unicolor before it reversed direction.
 

mshchem

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I use a Jobo processor for my Expert drums. Very good point about reversing with an Expert drum, one way would work fine in terms of agitation with an Expert drum and put less strain on the roller.
 

Vaughn

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mshchem said:
I use a Jobo processor for my Expert drums. Very good point about reversing with an Expert drum, one way would work fine in terms of agitation with an Expert drum and put less strain on the roller.
Click to expand...
About very minute I pick the drum up and put it back on the motor base facing the other direction -- basically reversing the rolling direction. Gives me something to do and I can keep an eye on it to make sure the drum does not walk off.
 

mshchem

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Vaughn said:
About very minute I pick the drum up and put it back on the motor base facing the other direction -- basically reversing the rolling direction. Gives me something to do and I can keep an eye on it to make sure the drum does not walk off.
Click to expand...

This is a good practice. I once developed a couple 8x10 sheets of TXP in a 2 sheet Jobo 2830 print tube, I got some pretty pronounced streaking from bromide drag. 2 things I discovered use plenty of developer and pick the tube up every minute or so and tip it back and forth and set it back to run the other way.
 

Kilgallb

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I learned a long time ago to not do other things while the drum is on the motor base. You still need to concentrate on what you are doing or something bad may happen, like the time the drum fell off the base, or the time I processed for double the time.
 
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