I use one of these almost every day of the working week. Great for roll film. I've had issues with the sheet film holder. Even with the emulsion not touching anything I see contact marks from time to time. I now only process my sheet film with Jobo equipment. Kind of a shame because the SSK is super easy to use for walk away processing.
I fired it up for the first time last night. Before doing a test run, I checked the temp calibration. It was 99.6, so I left it alone, as 100 is the target. Then I ran a Tri-X program with no film. The chemistry was approximately 73 degrees but the heater heated it to 81.6. I backed off on the calibration screw on the side of the unit with no luck. Then I found a temp adjustment on the circuit board however it was already turned down all the way. I found a new temp sensor but not sure if that's the part that needs to be replaced. I bought it anyway and am keeping my fingers crossed. I contacted someone named Jerry and he has a few used stock 4x5 holders but I also orderd the Ilford Mod 54 Mk27 Processor 4x5" Film Sheet Adapter for Paterson so maybe it will work better.
Can you tell me what parts need replacing the most? I would like to purchase some spares before everything is gone. At this point everything seems to be working except the temp.
Ok first,
Your approach is a bit flawed here. First, reprogram the calibration sensor to 100 or as near as you can make it. The SSK heats the chemistry over the target to compensate for the temperature loss that will occur when it's pumped into the drum. It's completely normal that your machine heated the chemistry beyond your target number. The reason why the calibration mode works the way it does is that you know a temp sensor is bad when it gives erratic results. Meaning you'll measure let's say 100 after a beep, then after the next beep it will be something else. If it's a consistent 100 +/- .3 degrees or so it's working ok. Both the drum and the SSK have temp sensors, it's a very smart machine. It heats the chemistry so that when it is actually developing your film it's the correct temp, and the drum sensors plus dryer help with this. (The air dryer comes on more when you run color films, higher temps).
It's not a bad thing to have another temp sensor, I've heard of users replacing them but I've never had to. Pumps are off the shelf, no reason to expect them to disappear. Same with the tubing. Rotator valves 'could' go bad but I've not heard of it happening. They do sell replacements but they're expensive.
There is a facebook group for SSK users, I would join it.
I have an SSK-4 and use it exclusively for C41. I agree Jerry is the man when it comes to Phototherm. He's not only an expert at diagnosis, I think he engineered the incremental improvements they made to things over the years (the 4x5 holders for example - I have 3, one is from a later revision they made, but he showed me how to update the older 2 to match, and why).
For spares to acquire: I'd think a spare drum, spindle and 4x5 holder, ideally. Maybe a few other things too? In general they are reliable machines, I've never had to mess around with mine as far as calibration and such. I have 3 sets of drums/spindles/4x5 holders so it's nice to be able to load up 3 sets and just run things back-to-back, speeds up processing a lot.
For the touching/marks on 4x5 - the latest version of the holder solves inconsistencies like that - I saw those a couple times on my older holders, but even there it was rare (< 5% of the time).
I doubt the Mod 54 would work, the film would likely not stay in position.
Agreed that it's more robust than any Jobo I have seen or used, and parts are less expensive and easier to come by (the standard ones like tubing/etc. - the custom parts are still not cheap). All in all the best film processor out there, I think. A shame they are no longer being made. :-/
Enjoy!
-Ed
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