Can anyone recommend a leak-proof table top developing tank?

[Ian David]

Hewes (in Bedfordshire - www.hewes.co.uk) will supply you with excellent SS reels for about £10 each if you contact them directly. They might also be able to tell you where you can find tanks. I suggest you also try Silverprint and Retro Photographic if you haven't already... (Retro certainly had SS tanks on their website when I last looked).
I think it is worth persevering - in my opinion stainless steel tanks/reels are preferable to plastic ones.

 

[MattKing]

It might also be worthwhile to consider subscribing to APUG too - that way you can use the Want to Buy listings in the classifieds .

Matt

 

[JDP]

This is a bit old now, but just to update:- I eventually got another plastic tank (couldn't find SS) - Paterson Super 4 (as opposed to my old 'system 4'). The Super 4s are better designed than the system 4s,I think. So far, so good, 'burping' the tank I have not had any leaks. Thanks again for the comments.

 

[MartinP]

I tried a battered "old" version of the Paterson tank, with small grey cap and large sealing flange thingy, in the darkroom at college nearly 30 years ago - it leaked. Therefore I then bought the "new" version of the Paterson tank, with the large black lid and no separate sealing flange and found that it didn't leak. That lasted a very long time and found it's way to my sister who also used it for years. I now have multi-roll Paterson tanks instead, but still the big-lid design.

The old and new designs are actually not even remotely the same and the newer version works fine without leaking in inversion agitation (when "burped", as someone mentioned earlier, using the sandwich-box seal method). The twiddle-stick agitator is a hangover from prehistoric bakelite tanks whose lids stayed on mainly through gravity and inertia. When twiddling, the outer bits of the film move at a higher speed than the inner parts, so results may well be irregular, unless you go crazy with it possibly.

PS. Good to hear, JDP

 

[craigclu]

All of my stainless tanks weep at least a little. In the labs (not photo) at work, we use 3M 33+ (a very soft, black electrical tape) to seal sieves when Ro-Tapping particles to various sizes. I decided to try it in the darkroom and haven't developed a tank without it since. It is soft enough to conform to the varying surfaces on my tanks and doesn't allow any fluids past the barrier. It also removes easily without residue.