Ilford darkroom tent coming soon?

[digital_archivist]

Is there a facility to install a fan?

If the tent gets blown up by the fan one might wonder if there is any air exchange. And any blown out air then likely would remain in the room and finally would be blown into the tent again.

I believe there's a vent in the top rear of the tent to exhaust the air. Haven't tried it yet.

 

[xtol121]

There is a large 8” vent at the bottom and a 4” (I think) vent at the top. I used a 6” inline blower from Amazon, search VIVOHOME Black Round Inline Exhaust Duct Fan with Variable Speed Controller for Indoor Garden Ventilation (6Inch). At it’s lowest setting it moves 188 cfm, the tent is only about 128cfm so it changes the air every minute.

I have my tent in front of my window AC unit so I assume the AC does a good job at changing the air in the room. Prob not ideal if I was sulfide toning but it hasn’t been an issue with normal printing and leagues ahead of where I was printing in my bathroom with that vent. I used the stinky Kodak indicator stop bath (I usually use citric acid stop) and didn’t tell my girlfriend. She didn’t notice and even when I asked her she could not tell a difference until she got into the tent. Works for me!

I run a power strip in the bottom vent underneath the fan. I wish the tent had a cable guides up one of the back corners, but you can just Velcro strap to the bottom of the enlarger column too. I found it difficult to be neat and tidy with the wiring but not impossible.

Hope that helps!

 

[digital_archivist]

Hope that helps!

That helps a lot - thank you!

One other thought: do you filter the air going into the blower? My tent is in my basement, and while I keep the dust down it still a concern.

Thanks again!

 

[xtol121]

No problem. I do not filter at all since the dust in my room is pretty minimal if I keep my windows closed. I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to fashion a filter to the intake of that fan. It’s plenty powerful.

 

[digital_archivist]

I just ordered the fan you recommended from Amazon. We shall see.

 

[MattKing]

I run a power strip in the bottom vent underneath the fan. I wish the tent had a cable guides up one of the back corners, but you can just Velcro strap to the bottom of the enlarger column too.

I bet @Harman Tech Service would appreciate receiving that feedback from you

 

[FrancoisM]

Hi guys, I just received my pop-up darkroom. Very well built and easy to setup
I bought a 6" VivoSun inline blower and used the 8" bottom vent to pass an extension cord
There's a thin layer of oil on the interior of the tent, including the ground mat
Can I just wipe that oil off ?
@xtol121 and @digital_archivist : How did you manage to get rid of it ?

 

[ags2mikon]

Harman deserves a good round of applause. I don't need one but others do. Thank you Harman!

 

[AgX]

There's a thin layer of oil on the interior of the tent, including the ground mat
Can I just wipe that oil off ?
@xtol121 and @digital_archivist : How did you manage to get rid of it ?

First time I learn of an oil layer on a virgin textile. There should not be such.

 

[xtol121]

@FrancoisM Very strange! Mine did not have any oil or wetness at all. The inside of my wall is a dry smooth coating. I'd reach out to Ilford through their website and let them know of this. I'm assuming it's a manufacturing defect in the coating.

 

[digital_archivist]

Mine was dry as a bone. Surely sounds like a manufacturing defect to me.

 

[Roger Cole]

My Ilford Darkroom Tent showed up a few weeks ago. I have it set up in the corner of my bedroom and no matter how tiny 4’x4’ seems, it’s a whole lot bigger when it’s a big black tent in your bedroom. Not exactly great as decor… As far as usability it does exactly what it says. I’ve used it to print black and white, color, and to load and develop film.

There are very tiny pinholes along the seams but they do not add to exposure over the 20ish minutes it takes to process film. I processed one test roll of 400TX with my normal Harrison bag and then another roll in open tanks in the Ilford tent. Both films had a base fog of 0.18. Seems safe to me?

I started with my Leitz Focomat V35 enlarger but just upgraded to a Saunders/LPL 4550 because I found a good deal and I love making bad decisions. The LPL 4x5 enlarger does fit and surprisingly the baseboard footprint is similar to the V35. The column is tall though and pushes at the top of the darkroom tent. I cut a 10” circle out of cardboard and stuffed it on top of the column to distribute the pressure. Works fine for now.

I have enough room for 3 8x10 trays on a tray ladder. I have a 4th tray on the table that I use to walk the print out of the tent and down the hall to a holding tray. I also have 2 small tables that fit under my main table to keep paper boxes and paper safes, as well as a binder of negatives I’m working on at the moment.

My Arista safelight and a daylight LED bulb are hung from the loop at the top of the tent. The cable then runs down the back of the enlarger. I wish the tent hard a few more loops up the edges for cable routing.

I also have an inline duct fan installed. When in operation with the tent zipped up it actually inflates the tent so the interior grows about 8-12” all around. It feels much roomier and gives about 6 feet of space which is much more comfortable to move around in.

I have been using my bathroom for the past 3 years and it’s enough of a struggle to set up that more often than not I just don’t print. Putting up and taking down to print with the Ilford tent would probably be a similar amount of work, but gives me a space I enjoy being in more, and it keeps my bathroom in a normal state. My bathroom layout is awkward, might not be the case for others. I wish the tent was around when I started printing, it’s a really neat piece of gear and I think it’s well made for the price. Living in a small apartment, it’s made printing less of a chore.

Assuming the intake air is filtered that will have huge advantages for dust mitigation too. Your tent is pressurized and will push dust out replacing it with filtered intake air, not pull dusty air in.

Edit: I just noticed where you said you didn’t filter it. I wage an ongoing war against dust and I’ve used positive pressure in a previous dedicated dark room so that was my first thought. Anyway, if someone wanted to do it that would be an excellent anti dust measure as well as ventilation.

I don’t need one of these - yet. But if I were to start traveling with LF needing to load film holders on the road this is what I would use if space allowed. I won’t load holders in a changing bag at all for this reason - dust. It’s annoying in printing by vastly more so on loaded sheet film.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Hi guys, I just received my pop-up darkroom. Very well built and easy to setup
I bought a 6" VivoSun inline blower and used the 8" bottom vent to pass an extension cord
There's a thin layer of oil on the interior of the tent, including the ground mat
Can I just wipe that oil off ?
@xtol121 and @digital_archivist : How did you manage to get rid of it ?

Time to update the title.

 

[FrancoisM]

I wrote last friday to Ilford UK and Ilford CA about the problem, no answer yet
I can't say that I'm impressed by the support
Did I just threw 368CAD trough the windows ?

 

[logan2z]

I wrote last friday to Ilford UK and Ilford CA about the problem, no answer yet
I can't say that I'm impressed by the support
Did I just threw 368CAD trough the windows ?

Who did you buy it from? Can you exchange it for another with the seller?

 

[FrancoisM]

Who did you buy it from? Can you exchange it for another with the seller?

From amplis.com, the official canadian Ilford vendor (Buying from B&H was just too expensive)
They don't answer to emails

 

[AgX]

Then write a registered letter and claim a new tent that is flawless.

 

[Roger Cole]

If I knew a dealer didn't reply to email then the first time I discovered that would be the last time I dealt with that dealer.

Good luck getting it sorted out. Seems clearly defective.

 

[MattKing]

Telephone Amplis.
They aren't actually an "official Canadian Vendor". They are actually the Canadian distributor for Ilford branded products, and run a web store on the side. The Ilford black and white line of products is just one of many they distribute, and most likely they are staffed and resourced more as a distributor than a retail outlet.
They are probably better set up to deal with product issues brought to them by the retailers they supply.
They probably can and will help you - just don't expect the same sort of response to communication times that a store with full time staff would be able to offer.

 

[Roseha]

I have a question on the tent - I am thinking of possibly using one for loading film or exposing prints only in my apartment front hall way (then developing in the bathroom) but the space isn't 4 feet wide, closer to 3 feet.

Is there a way to set up the tent in a more narrow space? Is it adaptable?

 

[AgX]

Telephone Amplis.
They aren't actually an "official Canadian Vendor". They are actually the Canadian distributor for Ilford branded products, and run a web store on the side. The Ilford black and white line of products is just one of many they distribute, and most likely they are staffed and resourced more as a distributor than a retail outlet.
They are probably better set up to deal with product issues brought to them by the retailers they supply.
They probably can and will help you - just don't expect the same sort of response to communication times that a store with full time staff would be able to offer.

I do not get your point at all..

If one offers retail than one is a retailer, including all legal implications and customer expectations. If cannot fulfill these then one must not start doing retail.

 

[logan2z]

From amplis.com, the official canadian Ilford vendor (Buying from B&H was just too expensive)
They don't answer to emails

Using B&H's currency converter, the tent is CAD$350. It looks like they also offer free shipping to Canada for orders over $99. So it seems like it would have been the same price (or a little cheaper) from B&H. I'd return your tent to Amplis for a refund and buy from B&H where you'll get some customer service if you need it.

 

[MattKing]

I do not get your point at all..

If one offers retail than one is a retailer, including all legal implications and customer expectations. If cannot fulfill these then one must not start doing retail.

My point is that they are likely to be slower to respond to emails than a larger operation with more on site sales staff.

 

[FrancoisM]

Hi folks,

Thanks for the different advices
Contact has been established yesterday, I will return the defective and they will send me a new one

@logan2z : When I include the Duties and Taxes, the total is around 475CAD

 

[FrancoisM]

I have a question on the tent - I am thinking of possibly using one for loading film or exposing prints only in my apartment front hall way (then developing in the bathroom) but the space isn't 4 feet wide, closer to 3 feet.

Is there a way to set up the tent in a more narrow space? Is it adaptable?

4 feet is inner dimension, you have to add the exoskeleton wich makes it around 4.5 feet