GravityWorks / Calumet print washer questions

I was just about to order the parts to make a 16x20 print washer similar to the VersaLab when I found a gently used GravityWorks / Calumet print washer for a very reasonable price. Tried it out last night and --that washer is a work of art. It's beautifully made and nicely engineered.

After letting the washer drain, I noticed a fair amount of water remains in the bottom compartment and even after tipping it a bit, there was still water inside. And tipping a 60 lb washer is no treat! Is there an easy way to drain or siphon out all the water? Do you just have to tip the thing and let the rest evaporate? I'm worried about stuff growing in there if I leave any water standing.

I'm also curious about what everyone is using for a flow rate and washing technique. I hate to waste water, so do you think some flow alternating with stand and soak periods will be sufficient with this design? Thanks.

Barry

I've got the same washer. To properly drain it, you need to tip the thing over, with the drain hose disconnected, so all the water gets out, or it gets pretty funky pretty fast. I don't have a flow meter on mine so I'm not sure what flow rate I get, but I let my water flow through as slowly as possible once the tank is full, then let it run for an hour before removing prints. You just need to be careful to not forget prints in the washer for more than overnight - I once made some prints on a thursday, forgot to pull them out, and went away for the weekend. When I went back in to the darkroom on Monday, well... I had some nice white pieces of paper and a layer of sludge on the bottom of the tank.

Thanks Scott. I may rig up a small pump with tubing that I can use to empty the washer. My printing sessions usually end up at 2 am with me dog-tired, so I'm an accident waiting to happen.

Barry,
You can pick up a siphon pump at the local hardware for not a lot of $$. The one I've got was destined to transfer kerosene from a larger container to a heater or lamp.

I don't have that washer but I use an aquarium pump with vinyl tubing to extract most of the water from a large tank before I can dump it. They are really cheap.