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Are older Jobo reels compatible with newer tanks?

adelorenzo

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Whitehorse, Yukon
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Hi All,

I have an older Jobo 1235 roll film tank and plastic adjustable reels. Does anyone know if these reels are compatible with the newer 1500-series tanks? Do they use the same type of core?

Sorry if this has already been asked, I've been searching for this answer but unable to find it.

Regards,
Anthony
 

Yup those look like the same tank and reels that I have.

I have some 1500 equipment coming in the mail (from Catlabs!) so will see how they work out.
 
To my experience they (the ones Rhodes linked a photo to) are compatible with the current ones.

Here some interesting findings on the differences between both type of reels:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
 
So I got my new 1500 tank system and and reels yesterday. Took a quick look this morning and those older reels do fit in the new tank and would definitely work well for inversion processing.

However... I intend to do rotary processing and the newer reels have some small tabs on the inside that seem to grip the core whereas the older ones don't. The older style reels spin very easily on the core so I think doing rotary processing there would be a risk of uneven development. I'm not expert but I think if I was going to use them I'd have to add some material on the inside so they would grip a little better.
 
You are right! I overlooked this.

Both new and old reels have tabs that rest on the collumn.
Both reels fit stuck to the old columm.

But the old reels fit only loose on the new collumns. The most simple solution would be to wind self-adhesive tape around the new collumn. Thus enabling to use old and new reels in the 1500 series tanks with tight fit.
 
I checked it with reels and collumn made in the 70s and a reel and collumn in the most recent packaging.
The new collumn is smaller in diameter than the older one. Just wide enough to give a tight fit with the new reel, not wide enough for the old reel.
 
Ah yes, on closer inspection that is the case. The older column is slightly thicker and the new 1500 reels won't fit into the old 1235 tank.

I don't think I'll modify my old reels to tightly grip the column of the new tank, since my old system works just fine as it is.
 
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