Good quality siphon for fixer

[jp80874]

Good quality siphon for fixer

In making B&W fiber prints I am moving up from 11x14 size to 16x20”. When it is time to clean up after work the stainless steel trays of fixer are too heavy for me to safely lift and pour into a storage bottle. I usually have between one and 1 ½ gallons of fixer per tray. I bought the Jobo siphon and was disappointed. The plastic is too hard to work properly. Can someone recommend another brand of siphon or other method that is available by mail order in the USA?

Thanks,

John Powers

 

[Jeremy]

Good question, John.

Can I make an addendum that the siphon be cleanable so that you can use it for different chemicals?

 

[titrisol]

Have you tried the siphons used for gasoline/fuel that are sold at hardware stores?
If you can tilt your tray just a little to have some liquid at all times they should work.

Otherwise a 3/8" hose should be good enough. Fill it with liquid, then cover one end and put that end in the bottle. That should do it.

 

[jp80874]

Good question, John.

Can I make an addendum that the siphon be cleanable so that you can use it for different chemicals?

In case there is some question the Jobo siphon I have tried is part #4045 Saugpumpe.

Thanks Jeremy. My present need is to transfer fixer because that is the only chemical I save. I was specific in case there were siphons that would work for fixer and not other chemicals. We certainly can open the question to other chemicals as long as we don’t rule out a tool that would work best with fixer.

Thanks Titrisol. I didn’t know if fixer would be a problem for a siphon designed for gasoline. I think the bare tube method might be a little messy. I have to wear gloves when I work with Pyro. I don’t really want to expand their use if I don't have to.

Thanks,

John Powers

 

[titrisol]

fixer is not particularly corrosive to plastics, so basically any plastic syphon may work.

 

[thedarkroomstudios]

I've been using one of the above mentioned hardware store ones for a couple years now... but I splurged on the Battery Operated one Takes a couple of "D" cells and they last forever. No muss, no fuss and after each use I run at least a gallon of 170F (about as hot as my hwh gets it) water through it as a rinse. My primary use is to transfer from 10G mixing tank to more mobile 2G & 5G spouted jugs on the shelf.
-Brad

 

[dancqu]

Can someone recommend ... or other method ...

You've a really pour way of processing large prints.
Give yourself a break.

Add 24 ml of A. Thio. concentrate to 1 lt. of water. Give it
a stir then into the fix tray. Fix for three minutes constant
agitation. Good for 1, 16 x 20.

After you've dumped the fix rinse with 1 lt of water, hypo
clear with 1 lt. of 1% S. Sulfite, rinse again then hold or
wash.

Although I'm not yet doing anything close to 16 x 20s, I
do use all chemistry one-shot. BIG PLUS with that very dilute
one-shot fix; single bath Archival results.

Quarter the amounts and see how it goes with your
materials and methods. Dan