How big are 16x20 trays?

[BetterSense]

I'm building a darkroom sink. I don't have an 16x20 trays but I might want to make it big enough to fit them. How big are 16x20 inches across the short dimension, including the littel spout protrusion? Does anyone have any they could measure?

 

[Tim Gray]

These say 18 x 23". It probably depends on the brand too. My Arista 12x16" trays from Freestyle are 15x20".

 

[BetterSense]

So it looks like if I made it 20" it would probably fit 16x20 trays. How deep should I make it? I've heard some people say 6" but I'm thinking more like 4". I've never had a proper darkroom sink.

 

[mwdake]

I have a set of Paterson 16x20 trays.
The external dimensions including the spout are 19 1/4 x 23 1/4 x 3

 

[jp498]

My patterson's are 19.5" wide with the corner that stick out a little. Best to budget 21+ inches and have room around them to get your fingers in there to pick them up or to account for overflow/splash when you use one or more for temperature stabilizing something or washing something.

Either amount of sink height is fine really.

As far as how far back to go, I have about 30" which allows room for the trays and room for chemical bottles behind them.

 

[Rick A]

If you have the space for it, I would go ahead and make an eight foot long sink, minimum. Also, I think 26" inside from front to back should allow ample room for fingers and trays. Depth is up to your personal taste. My last sink was made from 2x8's and a sheet of 3/4" plywood. I dadoed a 1/2" deep groove one inch up from the edge of the 2x and inserted the edge of the plywood into it. I then ripped some 1"x1-1/2" stiffeners and mounted them to the bottom every six inches so there would be no sag. I used the left over plywood to make a backsplash and mount faucets. I recommend urethane adhesive(Gorilla Glue) to assemble one of these if you are fabing out of wood. Epoxy floor paint makes a durable finish.

 

[jeffreyg]

My sink is also made with 3/4in plywood. We made it 10in deep and the top edge is counter high. There is an additional back-splash that is 4in back from the sink with a shelf. That is offset so the front and back walls of the sink are level and will support three pieces of the plywood that can be placed over the sink giving me more counter space when not using the sink. It was all glued with marine epoxy, the seams were covered with fiber-glass cloth and the sink, counter-top, etc was painted with marine polyester. Not one leak in 35 years.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

 

[Jim Jones]

My old Cesco trays are 19.75x24".

 

[brian d]

Rick made a good point. I have a 6 foot sink and its not even close to being long enough when I want to print 16x20. I end up with 3 tray's in the sink and 1 on a shelf near the sink.

 

[jeffreyg]

For 16x20 trays I use tray stackers. I use 6 trays and my sink isn't long enough for that many. The stackers are metal and permit three trays in the footprint of one. I got them from Calumet.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

 

[ROL]

So it looks like if I made it 20" it would probably fit 16x20 trays. How deep should I make it? I've heard some people say 6" but I'm thinking more like 4". I've never had a proper darkroom sink.

All about a sink.

 

[BetterSense]

I have a 6 foot sink and its not even close to being long enough when I want to print 16x20. I end up with 3 tray's in the sink and 1 on a shelf near the sink.

If I can fit 3 16x20 trays in the sink it will be big enough. I don't want the sink to take up my whole room, which is only 8x10 feet. I never use 16x20 trays, in fact I don't even have any right now, but I didn't want to build the sink so that a 16x20 tray just barely didn't fit when I could have made it just a bit bigger and they would fit. At first I was thinking 18 inches wide but it looks like I can make it 20 inches wide and then it will accomodate 16x20 trays if I ever want to.

I'm having a hard time finding a paint/sealer to use. All I can find at Lowes and so on is garage floor paint, which I'm not sure if that will work or not.

 

[MattKing]

If I can fit 3 16x20 trays in the sink it will be big enough. I don't want the sink to take up my whole room, which is only 8x10 feet. I never use 16x20 trays, in fact I don't even have any right now, but I didn't want to build the sink so that a 16x20 tray just barely didn't fit when I could have made it just a bit bigger and they would fit. At first I was thinking 18 inches wide but it looks like I can make it 20 inches wide and then it will accomodate 16x20 trays if I ever want to.

I'm having a hard time finding a paint/sealer to use. All I can find at Lowes and so on is garage floor paint, which I'm not sure if that will work or not.

If I was building a sink right now I'd try to incorporate the ability to put wire shelving inside the sink, to raise the trays off the bottom.

Shelving like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/Storage-Organization-Closet-Storage-Complete-Storage-Systems-Wire-Shelves-Accessories/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbcf0/R-202104723/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

As for the paint, do I assume correctly that Dallas Texas may not be a great place to go for marine grade paints?

 

[jeffreyg]

Try a boat supply. As I mentioned before I used polyester resin. There are coloring agents that can be added. It comes with two parts - base and catalyst. It can be applied by brush and as many coats as you feel necessary for thickness.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

 

[jeffreyg]

Check the following website.
http://www.fiberglasssite.com

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

On the depth of the sink, I would make it deeper rather than shallower, especially on the sides and back. Splashing is all too common, especially if you're handling a big tray with a lot of heavy liquid in it. I'd have the front edge of the sink no less than 6" tall, preferably 8". The sides and back I'd make at least 12"-15", maybe even 18".

 

[holmburgers]

One time I asked, "When does March Madness start?" and all my friends laughed at me. I guess it's kinda similar to asking 'how big are 16x20" trays'.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

One time I asked, "When does March Madness start?" and all my friends laughed at me. I guess it's kinda similar to asking 'how big are 16x20" trays'.

Actually in this case, not. A 16x20 tray is roughly 16x20 on the interior dimension. The exterior dimensions are a different story altogether. Depending on how much wiggle-room the manufacturer has molded in to the interior, plus any lip and/or spout they've added to the exterior, a 16x20 tray could very well have a total footprint of 18x24, or even more.

 

[holmburgers]

No, I completely agree. That's the funny thing about it; when I asked 'when does March Madness start?', I really meant what date exactly. I'm sympathetic to his question, not criticizing.

 

[removed account4]

bettersense

i would make your sink about 6" wider than a 16x20 tray
and have high sides, front and a back.
i read your thread on the lf site seeing this is going to be UPSTAIRS
the last thing you want is a splash+leak+ruined walls and ceilings below.

when i used a wood sink, boat plywood and fiberglass resin +cloth sheets of fiberglass.
and 4x4s double strapped to make sure it can handle all the weight of
a huge wood sink filled with 200lbs of water.

have fun !
john

 

[MattKing]

For the interior of the sink you may also want to consider a spray-on truck bed liner - I know some people have had great results from them.

 

[BetterSense]

i would make your sink about 6" wider than a 16x20 tray

I don't want to make the sink to accomodate 16x20 trays. I only wanted to know how big I need to make it so that it will BARELY accommodate them IN CASE I ever use them. I have decided that 19.5" should be as small as I can make the sink and still have it fit 16x20 trays sideways.