Film drying cabinet design

nbagno · Sep 12, 2021

I've been using a homemade cabinet for years now. It has a Jobo dryer head on top. 35m rolls like to bend due to the heat imbalance in the cabinet. Do "proper" dryers have a way to distribute a more uniform airflow? I can't put 35mm film closer than maybe 6" or they will touch. I'm thinking that I might duct the air around the cabinet, but that's a bit of work, How do real cabinets heat the air and, keep the film from flexing and touching?

mshchem · Sep 12, 2021

I have a tall metal drying cabinet, I can't recall the manufacturer, but it was made in France, original red paint.

I don't really use it much except when I have friends over and we develop a lot of film.

This machine is very gentle on the film, it doesn't draw in a lot of outside air. It's got ventilation top and bottom, so the warm moist air escapes by natural "gravity convection" the heated air enters from a plenum in the back, very gentle air stream. Works well.

RalphLambrecht · Sep 12, 2021

mshchem said:
I have a tall metal drying cabinet, I can't recall the manufacturer, but it was made in France, original red paint.

I don't really use it much except when I have friends over and we develop a lot of film.

This machine is very gentle on the film, it doesn't draw in a lot of outside air. It's got ventilation top and bottom, so the warm moist air escapes by natural "gravity convection" the heated air enters from a plenum in the back, very gentle air stream. Works well.

Ys, a very gentle airflow is l it takes. I'v seen a home-made cabinet, which just used the heat and airflow created by a 100W bulb at the bottom and an opening at he top in a chimney design; worked well and very gentle.

nbagno · Sep 13, 2021

Thanks for the replies, I think I'll do a bit of a modification.

nbagno · Sep 13, 2021

mshchem said:
I have a tall metal drying cabinet, I can't recall the manufacturer, but it was made in France, original red paint.

I don't really use it much except when I have friends over and we develop a lot of film.

This machine is very gentle on the film, it doesn't draw in a lot of outside air. It's got ventilation top and bottom, so the warm moist air escapes by natural "gravity convection" the heated air enters from a plenum in the back, very gentle air stream. Works well.

Like this one? https://cnj.craigslist.org/pho/d/somerset-film-drying-cabinet/7367306727.html

mshchem · Sep 13, 2021

nbagno said:
Like this one? https://cnj.craigslist.org/pho/d/somerset-film-drying-cabinet/7367306727.html

Yes, looks identical. It's a nice cabinet.

mshchem · Sep 13, 2021

nbagno said:
Like this one? https://cnj.craigslist.org/pho/d/somerset-film-drying-cabinet/7367306727.html

Mine doesn't have the small box with the wires on the interior.

George Collier · Sep 13, 2021

Mine is just a long enclosure with horizontal bars at the top to attach strips of film, and a different arrangement for sheet film, but no heat or fan. I just wait till the next day. No dust either.

nbagno · Sep 14, 2021

George Collier said:
Mine is just a long enclosure with horizontal bars at the top to attach strips of film, and a different arrangement for sheet film, but no heat or fan. I just wait till the next day. No dust either.

Thanks. I don't have a problem with dust, just uneven drying. I may just rig up some kind of plenum.

ic-racer · Sep 15, 2021

I think the concept of heat drying is from the commercial side of photography, where the images needed to be printed promptly. Otherwise, I prefer air drying.

gone · Sep 15, 2021

I've never needed a film dryer, which is amazing, considering that over the years I've bought literally hundreds of cameras and lenses, and I hate to tally up how much film. Recently I did have lots of issues w/ drying marks on the negs. The solution was to run the bathroom shower a while before hanging the negs in there, as well as spritzing them w/ distilled water after they're hung. This solved the issue 100%, and I use the same protocol when hanging prints to dry now.

ic-racer · Sep 15, 2021

Drying cabinet is so important in my work that my present darkroom started with just the drying cabinet and the rest was built around that. In my experience dust that settles on the negative during drying is permanent destruction.

drmoss_ca · Sep 30, 2021

One roll at a time for me, so a Honeywell Kleen Dri does the job.

John Skewes · Oct 5, 2021

Hi - I built a simple drying cabinet out of wood and painted the interior for easier cleaning.
I weather stripped the door to minimize dust.
I mounted two low volume fans, mounted on the outside.
The low fan pushes air in, the upper draws it out. Both are filtered (I dismantled a furnace filter and reused the material.)
Near the floor I have a bare light bulb to generate a little heat.
Negatives dry in about an hour with no curl and no dust.

George Collier · Oct 11, 2021

On mine, mentioned above, the bottom is open, to allow a slight convectional air movement. There are two cross bars, across which a towel is folded, just to catch drips. The doors have large elliptical cutout "windows" which are filled in with poly "silk" screen fabric, just enough air passage and to filter dust. No dust on anything in 30 some years with this darkroom. It helps that it's in the basement. There is a dehumidifier in the larger basement area, which takes care of the darkroom too, as long as I keep the door to the darkroom open when not in use.

cliveh · Oct 11, 2021

As ic-racer points out, just dry them in still air. Blowing hot air round negatives also blows dust which will embed into the wet emulsion layer. Leave them over night. Patience is a virtue.

mtjade2007 · Oct 14, 2021

momus said:
I've never needed a film dryer, which is amazing, considering that over the years I've bought literally hundreds of cameras and lenses, and I hate to tally up how much film. Recently I did have lots of issues w/ drying marks on the negs. The solution was to run the bathroom shower a while before hanging the negs in there, as well as spritzing them w/ distilled water after they're hung. This solved the issue 100%, and I use the same protocol when hanging prints to dry now.

I thought the negs should not be in contact with water again after stabilization or final rinsing.

mtjade2007 · Oct 14, 2021

How do you hang dry 220 films? They are too long to hang. I have to cut them into 2 halves. The cut has to be in between 2 frames then they are hung with those at the bottom. I can not attach a weight there since there is no room there.

MattKing · Oct 14, 2021

mtjade2007 said:
How do you hang dry 220 films? They are too long to hang. I have to cut them into 2 halves. The cut has to be in between 2 frames then they are hung with those at the bottom. I can not attach a weight there since there is no room there.

I have an extra shower curtain rod hanging from near the ceiling over the centre of our bath surround. There is enough clearance to hang a 220 roll or a ~ 40 exposure roll of 135.

mtjade2007 · Oct 14, 2021

OK, I will try to set up a few hooks above my bathtub high enough for the whole length of 220 films. Thanks.

Film drying cabinet design

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