Jobo Temperature Control Box

[Sean]

I'd like to know if this would be useful in maintaining temperatures for my 8x10 sheet film chemistry, thanks!

click here for the link

 

[Donald Miller]

Sean,

I would think that depends on how you intend to process the film.

If you are tray developing then it would seem to be of limited usefulness since a large portion of the chemistry in the tray is water and that would affect what temp that you are holding the chemistry at.

If you are planning on rotary processing, then yes it would be helpful.

If you are planning on tube processing as in BTZS tubes I would think that if would be limited in usefulness.

That is my opinion and it may not be shared by others.

 

[mwtroxell]

I just use a $30 aquarium heater placed in a large tray of water.

 

[lee]

I have one that I am using right now for HOT water. I still have not run a power line to the hot water heater. So I have this thing I bought real cheap and use it for the hot water in the darkroom.

lee\c

 

[bmac]

I just use a $30 aquarium heater placed in a large tray of water.

I've got the same thing, although my heater was closer to $15. it takes days for the temps to stabilize though.

 

[Bruce Osgood]

I'd like to know if this would be useful in maintaining temperatures for my 8x10 sheet film chemistry, thanks!

click here for the link

Looks to me like it would be ideal for 35mm and roll film development. But it appears that a drum for an 8X10 neg would sit with most of the drum out of the tempered water bath. I further doubt the capacity of the containers is enough to process an 8X10 in a standing orientation.

I suggest you try and find a rotary device that will do it all.

 

[DrPhil]

I'll second the finding a rotary processor idea. However, I had great success with the fish tank heater method. The fish tank heater is kinda tricky though. I went through several until I figured out how to avoid the huge temperature flucuations. I ended up with the cheapest heater that the local petsmart had. My guess was that the more powerful heaters I had been purchasing couldn't turn on and off fast enough with my small volume of water. Thus, I suggest if you go this route, that you use exactly the volume of water suggested by the fish tank heater manufacturer. Getting the next size larger will kill fish and film.

 

[lee]

oh wait, I don't have one exactly like this one. Mine has only places for the bottles.

Sean,
If you use PMK or Pyrocat-HD or ABC you just need to have tempered water to mix the chems right before you use them. PMK is 10ml A with 20ml B and 1000ml H2O. I just mix A and B at whatever temp with the correct temp of 1000ml H2O. The PMK developer cannot be stored already mixed as it has a short life after being mixed. I think this also applies to the other pyro developers but I am unclear on this and there are better people to ask than me.

lee\c

 

[Aggie]

..

 

[harveyje]

You can also put the tray in a larger tray filled with water slightly warmer than the desired temp.

 

[GreyWolf]

Hi Sean,

Many folks have a difficult time believing that this method works.

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/unicolor/

But it does ...quite well actually. Scroll to near the bottom to see how I am able to control the temperature. A desklamp with a 100 watt bulb placed over the drum (about 2-3 inches away from the rotating drum) as it rotates keeps everything "toasty warm" as they say. If you look at the picture with the colored measuring cups, you can see the base of the lamp attached to the green shelf unit.

The lamp is an inexpensive version of this model. (search the net)

The link did not work properly. Just look up "gooseneck lamp" and you will see what I mean.

Kind Regards

 

[Donald Miller]

You can also put the tray in a larger tray filled with water slightly warmer than the desired temp.

I used this method at one time and it works. I used one of the laundry type sinks with an acquariam heater to hold the water bath at the proper temp.

I now have a stainless steel sink that I salvaged somewhere years ago into which I have cartridge type heaters installed in a sump controlled by a solid state controller that does the same thing that harveyje's method does.

I bet his method cost less and works just as well. Did someone say something about reinventing the wheel?