Freezing Film in the Bulk Loader??

Ok, so here's the deal. I've got an expired 100' roll of Fuji MS 100/1000 that has been in the freezer. I'd like to load it and start using it but I want to keep it as stable as possible — so I figured I'd just toss the loader (Watson Model 66B) back into the deep freeze between uses. Has anyone ever done this? Just concerned about the plastic breaking from the cold. This is the old (good) Watson loader made of that hard Bakalite plastic.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mark

Well,

I don't have any watson loaders in the freezer right now, but do have 3 Lloyd loaders in the freezer loaded up with Velvia, so I can take out and let it acclimatize, then load when I need to, have been doing it for years, just make sure and let it thaw, before loading film and don't drop or bump hard while it is still frozen and you should not have any problems.

Dave

Just a question, Would you be putting the loader into a 'Plastic Bag' before leaving it in the freezer ?....Cheers Barrie B.

HI Barrie,

as I live in a very low humidity area, I never have put them in a plastic bag, but imagine in the higher humidity areas this would be something you would want to do.

Dave

I think condensation would be a serious problem in this climate. Especially with multiple in-out-in cycles.

If the loader is in fact phenolic (aka Bakelite) freezing won't hurt it a bit -- it's just as brittle at room temperature as it is straight from the freezer.

The issue of freezing unsealed film is one that seems to have many answers -- the biggest problem seems to be condensation, and on that count I'd be inclined to suggest it's better to freeze the cassettes (in a sealed bag) after loading than to freeze the loader -- the loader has much more air space inside, hence more humidity available to condense and water damage the film. Even if you get no ferrotyping (on color film, likely the case since the emulsion is so hard), water can remove sensitizing dyes, possibly even redeposit them elsewhere, and leave you with streaks and blotches.

So, what I'd suggest is to load it all into cassetted, bag the cassettes a half dozen or fewer per bag, and freeze them that way (with dessicant in the bags if you're in a damp climate). I've done that with the Tri-X I bulk load and get excellent results.

Use a bag

I would use a bag to store to loader with film and not take it out of the bag until unthawed. I believe that the freezer itself is probably very low humidity.