Don't buy used SS reels without checking them first.

mshchem said:

Was this a rubber lid on a stainless tank? I've had a Kindermann lid crack. It was sitting on a shelf. I think it may be better to store the lid off of the tank??

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Rubber on a steel tank.

Lid is who knows how old stored who knows how. These things are old. I have metal lids that I'm replacing it with. The metal lids tend to leak though.

Cholentpot said:

Rubber on a steel tank.

Lid is who knows how old stored who knows how. These things are old. I have metal lids that I'm replacing it with. The metal lids tend to leak though.

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That one lid is the only one I've had fail. Never had any other problems. I'm a Jobo guy now. I used Paterson for decades, best way for the money. MHOFWIW.

mshchem said:

That one lid is the only one I've had fail. Never had any other problems. I'm a Jobo guy now. I used Paterson for decades, best way for the money. MHOFWIW.

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I moved to Jobo a decade ago based on what I Iearned from. All my film processing, black & white and color by Jobo.

Sirius Glass said:

I moved to Jobo a decade ago based on what I Iearned from. All my film processing, black & white and color by Jobo.

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Yep, hard to beat if you can afford such a nice machine . I started with a old used one. I bought a new CPP3 a couple years ago, the old one still works great, still no reason not to buy a new one

mshchem said:

Yep, hard to beat if you can afford such a nice machine . I started with a old used one. I bought a new CPP3 a couple years ago, the old one still works great, still no reason not to buy a new one

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The consistent good processing and convenience alone is worth the price of a new one.

Cholentpot said:

...However, I did have a rubber lid crack on me yesterday which messed up a roll of film. Top roll had some 'artistic' light leaks all over it. Never happened to me with plastic yet.

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Occasionally I would buy a dozen or so plastic lids for or SS tanks -- students were pretty rough on them removing them from the tanks. They tend to use fingers to push the center down to pry the edges of the lids off the tank. This stresses them and all the lids would eventually crack.

I have SS lids for mine and fortunately little or no leakage.

When I buy reels online(used) I buy a small batch and expect some are bad. If you can inspect, roll them across a flat surface, "Weebles Whobble" I have filled half a tote over the years, think I will make a lamp.

It is interesting that photographers' experiences with stainless steel (and plastic) reels can be so varied.

faberryman said:

It is interesting that photographers' experiences with stainless steel (and plastic) reels can be so varied.

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Metal 16mm reels are far better than plastic as far as I've come across.

When using metal reels for the first time DON'T forget to practice loading them in daylight before attempting to load in a changing bag.

A couple of days ago I had 5 x 35mm films to process and did the first 4 in my 2 Paterson Universal tanks, easy. Because the tanks and reels were wet and I didn't want end my developing session I reached for a metal tank and my new Hewes reel which I have never tried before. I had a quick look at the Hewes reel and identified the orientation needed to hook up the film on the pegs at the centre of the spool.

Once in the changing bag I had a problem getting the film to hook up in the reel. I suspect I had it skewed at the point and I didn't get the same pair of film sprocket holes hooked up properly. After hanging up the film I had 4 or 5 areas on the film that obviously hadn't been touched by developer or fix. B*gger!!!. Took the film down, Loaded it CORRECTLY in daylight and refixed the film. Lost about 6 frames.

In over 40 years of developing 35mm in Paterson tanks this is the first major developing failure I have had with 35mm. The last minor problem I had many years ago was with air bells along one edge of the film. Learnt that Paterson's instruction for 290ml solution is very tight to ensure film is covered. I usually process with another 20 - 30 ml. (HC-110 at dil H is 1+63, or 5+315 = 320ml). I also learned about tapping the tank to loosen air bubbles. Hah, the first time I tapped the tank I banged it hard on the counter top and chipped the bottom of the tank. Thus my oldest tank, about 47 years old proudly wears a battle scar from that encounter with the bench.

faberryman said:

It is interesting that photographers' experiences with stainless steel (and plastic) reels can be so varied.

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I expect different people find different solutions work for them. I began using steel reels and never had an issue, except with 35mm reels that got bent out of alignment. The thing that still puzzles me, though, is that I always get some leakage with the blix when I'm doing C-41. Developer is well-behaved but the blix always seems to find a way out of the tank! (New rubber lids--they shouldn't leak at all but they do...)

I bought a lot of used reels when getting into the hobby 5 or so years ago Among them are West German-made Kindermann reels which still work wonderfully.

I practice with all new to me reels in the daylight multiple times before a load them in either in a darkroom or in a changing bag. Do not bother to ask me why. You already know the answer.

Practice makes perfect...

Tel said:

Practice makes perfect...

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Proper Practice Produces Perfect Performance...
along with, Proper Planning Prevents Piss-poor Performance

And alliteration makes pronunciation difficult...

My reels are from many vendors, I bought nearly all of the used except for a few that only fit my King Concept processor (work in progress) and one LPL knockoff of a Hewes. Years ago I had some really light weight reels that bent if you gave them a hard look and yeah, I've dropped and bent a few. I accidentally fixed that problem when I put a rubber anti-fatigue mat in my darkroom. Today I only use my Hewes reels in Kindermann tanks.