Jobo CPP-2 Running with water only on the top ?

Hi Folks,
I tend to process a lot by hand as filling, settling and dumping the water bath in my CPP-2 is a chore unless I have to run it a lot.

As I'm processing HP5+, which is relatively temperature insensitive, I was thinking I could fill the top bath with water, keep the valve pointing up to prevent it from pouring into the main bath and not load the main bath with water.

I'd keep the heater and pump 'off' and just run the motor to rotate the drum. This will allow me to use reduced chemistry quantities as well, as compared to manual inversion.

Make sense ?
Thanks,
Ron

I don't know how it will affect the Jobo, I have never done this on mine. HOwever, using reduced quantities of chemicals is somewhat foolish. The drums use so little they sometimes are onthe verge of exhaustng the developer before the processing is completed. An effort to save a few pennies may well cost you some ruined negatives.

What I meant was rotary uses less chemistry than manual inversion.

shoot6x7 said:

I was thinking I could fill the top bath with water

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What "top bath" ? ? ?

I've developed hundreds of rolls in my CPP-2, and only know of one water bath, the one with the heater.

- Leigh

I do not put water in my Jobo processor when I process black & white film, I process the film at room temperature and all the chemicals are at room temperature. Even the water for rinsing is at room temperature.

I only fill the Jobo processor with water when I do color development, film and paper.

Sirius Glass said:

I do not put water in my Jobo processor when I process black & white film, I process the film at room temperature and all the chemicals are at room temperature. Even the water for rinsing is at room temperature.

I only fill the Jobo processor with water when I do color development, film and paper.

Click to expand...

+1 If you are developing at ambient temperature you don't need to fill the bath. Jobo cautions that this is bad for the rollers, I've never had a problem. The level control on the top bath isn't water tight so you will still have water get to the bottom.
Mike

With respect to using a Jobo with B&W, I do the same and the reduced quantity of chemicals is a major factor. It uses half the chemicals of my Paterson tanks. That adds up quickly.

Also, the temperature control is very useful in the winter when ambient is too cold.

I get good results pre rinsing HP5+ for 5 minutes. Reducing dev time by 15% without a rinse never worked out well for me.

I've had good results with ID-11 both stock (+10% dev time per roll) and 1:1.

I don't have a CPP, my Jobo is a CPE2+ and has only one bath, but I always use it filled with water. its getting colder here and mains water temperature has already dropped significantly so the temperature control of the Jobo becomes a huge benefit.

Sirius Glass said:

I do not put water in my Jobo processor when I process black & white film, I process the film at room temperature and all the chemicals are at room temperature. Even the water for rinsing is at room temperature.

I only fill the Jobo processor with water when I do color development, film and paper.

Click to expand...

+1

I am not aware of any added value from the water except for temperature control.

klownshed said:

With respect to using a Jobo with B&W, I do the same and the reduced quantity of chemicals is a major factor. It uses half the chemicals of my Paterson tanks. That adds up quickly.

Also, the temperature control is very useful in the winter when ambient is too cold.

I get good results pre rinsing HP5+ for 5 minutes. Reducing dev time by 15% without a rinse never worked out well for me.

I've had good results with ID-11 both stock (+10% dev time per roll) and 1:1.

I don't have a CPP, my Jobo is a CPE2+ and has only one bath, but I always use it filled with water. its getting colder here and mains water temperature has already dropped significantly so the temperature control of the Jobo becomes a huge benefit.

Click to expand...

I am fortunate to have a big fiberglass sink when I need to use my Jobo I just set it in the sink and set my thermostatic mixing valve to the desired temperature fill it with tempered water. I set the exact temperature I'm after turn on the pump and let it stabilize. I use these minutes to load my reels and tank. I always use a pre-rinse(s) to bring the tank and contents up to temperature and off I go. I don't reduce the development time and have always had great results with everything out there.
I have run black and white before several times without filling the bath. I find it doesn't save me much time, as I still have to clean up and dry the machine.
Since I have the luxury of my big sink and mixing valve I don't wait till I'm done to start to drain the processor. While I wash the film, I turn off the pump/heater and open the drain valve and let the bath drain simultaneously. If I am using a big expert tank I do all the washing on the machine with the lift. If I am doing roll film in a smaller tank I wash off the machine in the tank with a Jobo Cascade "type" washer (I just stick a rubber hose down the center column) with several fill and dump cycles.
I always clean, drain and dry my machine after use, I pick it up and tip it over to get all the standing water out, dry with an old t shirt and set it away on it's shelf.

It's a lot of fooling around but I really enjoy using this machine after 30 years of every 30 seconds, inverting 3 times and tapping, it doesn't waste chemistry, results are always the same it works with every color and black and white process I have used.
Best Regards Mike

RauschenOderKorn said:

+1

I am not aware of any added value from the water except for temperature control.

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With lesser Jobos (CPE2+ for example) you need to have water in it at all times as the element can be damaged if it's not submersed. And whilst you can turn the temperature down, there's no separate power switch for the thermostat.

mshchem said:

I always use a pre-rinse(s) to bring the tank and contents up to temperature and off I go. I don't reduce the development time and have always had great results with everything out there.

Click to expand...

That's been key for me. Reducing development times by 15% hasn't worked well for me, but a 5 minute pre-rinse works every time and I've not noticed any uneven development issues.

Thanks everyone for their comments ...
The only reason for my thought on keeping some water in the top is to keep the friction down and provide cooling for said friction between the rollers and the canister and it's own axle.

Perhaps you need a longer hose for filling or draining. I keep mine dry and never thought twice about filing it or draining it. Even for a single 35mm roll, it fills in the time it takes to wind the film on the reel in the dark. If you fill it with tempered water, it is ready to go.