Want to Buy Kodak Process thermometer, also large dial thermometer

Starting up a new darkroom, I would like to find a Kodak process thermometer (type 3) or similar, and also a nice large dial thermometer (similar to a Weston?) for B&W (so I don't need the higher temp range of color).

I could use some empty sheet film boxes as well.

Thanks,
Keith

If you ship a mercury containing thermometer be sure to check the shipping regulations to avoid serious fines. I respect the performance of the Kodak Process Thermometer. (I had responsibility for them as a product.) Be aware that if you ever break a mercury containing thermometer in a darkroom it will be difficult to decontaminate the room. Silver halide materials are very sensitive to mercury. I would use an electronic thermometer with a .1F readout for convenience and frequently check its accuracy with a glass alcohol thermometer at the process temperature. Dial thermometers aren't good enough for me. www.makingKODAKfilm.com

Take it from someone who cleans up mercury spills, avoid having mercury in your home. When spilled it’s extremely difficult to remove and the vapors are very toxic. I could tell you horror stories about mercury spills all day long, just from my experiences. Children with brain damage, death, homes torn apart or condemned…

I have a Kodak Process Thermometer type 3. PM me if you're interested. Of course there is the problem of shipping it.

Chan Tran said:

I have a Kodak Process Thermometer type 3. PM me if you're interested. Of course there is the problem of shipping it.

Click to expand...

Pack it good and pretend you are stupid... I doubt if the even will find out and else you didn't realise there was Hg in it.
At my work we accidentelly air shipped some cans of spray paint. Really didn't think about it. We got an official warning from the inspection of the ministery of transport. But yeah, people can make mistakes.

In school, we used to take mercury (which we called quicksilcer) out of a thermometer and roll it around in the palm of our hands. It was a jelly like ball of flexible metal. That sort of exposure is not that bad, you get very little absorption through the skin. You could ingest it and it would probably go through your system.

The issue is when it goes from liquid to gas you won't know it, and the room can fill up w/ the vapor because you can't see it or smell it. That's the dangerous part of mercury. OSHA has permissible exposure limits to it, there are worse substances to be around, people just need to be aware of the dangers. I worry more about asbestos and lead poisoning in the USA.

BAC1967 said:

Take it from someone who cleans up mercury spills, avoid having mercury in your home. When spilled it’s extremely difficult to remove and the vapors are very toxic. I could tell you horror stories about mercury spills all day long, just from my experiences. Children with brain damage, death, homes torn apart or condemned…

Click to expand...

When I was a kid, (I;m 77 now) we use to play around with mercury from thermometers even in school. I seem to recall coating coins (nickel?) with mercury and playing with their interesting flow characteristics. I;m not saying mercury is good for you. But, it seems like it was a very common product back then.

Google the origins of "mad hatter".

Some years ago I was in a mercury mine in Slovenia. Most of it was bounded in minerals, but between some rocks you could see tiny droplets of mercury. Also the floor/paths in the mine were shinny, all very small pieces mercury. Nice to see.

I have found the 9" Patterson certified thermometers to be just as accurate as my Kodak process thermometer.

Ernst-Jan said:

Some years ago I was in a mercury mine in Slovenia. Most of it was bounded in minerals, but between some rocks you could see tiny droplets of mercury. Also the floor/paths in the mine were shinny, all very small pieces mercury. Nice to see.

Click to expand...

It's rare to see pure mercury like that at a mine unless the ore has been processed but it does happen with very rich ore. I've worked on the cleanup at several mercury mines, one had very rich ore like that. They also had a very inefficient smelting operation that rained mercury down on all the workers. One story from an old miner was about the workers that had to clean out from under the smelter. They would only work them a few weeks until they started getting the shakes from the mercury exposure. They would send them home and replace them with other worker until the shaking stopped. That's some serious exposure.

Alan Edward Klein said:

When I was a kid, (I;m 77 now) we use to play around with mercury from thermometers even in school. I seem to recall coating coins (nickel?) with mercury and playing with their interesting flow characteristics. I;m not saying mercury is good for you. But, it seems like it was a very common product back then.

Click to expand...

I did the same thing in school, there's a reason they don't do that anymore. It was a common product that had a lot of great uses but almost all those uses have been replaced with modern technology.

Beads of elemental mercury are not as bio-available as vapors or mercury oxide. Mercury boils at 674 F but, like water, it evaporates at room temperature. Those toxic vapors, besides being poisonous to breathe, will move around your house and condense on cold objects like windows or cold walls. Trying to clean a house contaminated with mercury is like chasing a ghost. It gets into porous objects like wood, concrete, carpet, furniture, bedding, clothing, etc and those items can't be cleaned. We send contaminated items like that to a hazardous waste landfill. Sometimes heating them can drive off the mercury but that's rarely successful. We often have to pull up carpet and take out sub flooring. I've seen it go through the carpet, carpet pad and sub flooring, we found beads on the plastic vapor barrier in the crawl space. I once sent an entire vehicle to a landfill because someone spilled mercury in it. I've seen very sick children that were exposed and had to spend a lot of time being treated in the hospital. They likely suffered permanent brain damage to some extent. It's amazing how often we get called out to cleanup someones home and it's often devastating to the families. It's not just children, adults break thermometers or spill a container of mercury that they found in the garage. it's just best not to have it in your home, it's not needed and accidents happen.

Curious to know how to tell if a Kodak thermometer has mercury in it?

Patrick Robert James said:

Curious to know how to tell if a Kodak thermometer has mercury in it?

Click to expand...

The measurement column will appear silver in color.

BrianShaw said:

The measurement column will appear silver in color.

Click to expand...

I've got one that is black. What is in it? Just curious.

Patrick Robert James said:

I've got one that is black. What is in it? Just curious.

Click to expand...

It's usually alcohol dyed black (or blue, or red, etc), wiki here. For reference to the op (and other posters), Fedex ground will ship mercury 'as long as it is contained within a device and under 1lb in weight' and 'mercury, when properly packaged and prepared, does not require hazardous material shipping papers, etc...', so pack it well, and you're good. Traceable has high accuracy digital thermometers if one wishes to avoid mercury in their house

Dirb9 said:

It's usually alcohol dyed black (or blue, or red, etc), wiki here. For reference to the op (and other posters), Fedex ground will ship mercury 'as long as it is contained within a device and under 1lb in weight' and 'mercury, when properly packaged and prepared, does not require hazardous material shipping papers, etc...', so pack it well, and you're good. Traceable has high accuracy digital thermometers if one wishes to avoid mercury in their house

Click to expand...

Yes if it's alcohol they dye it in red or black for easy to see. You can't dye the mercury so although mercury is more accurate it's difficult to read.

Dirb9 said:

It's usually alcohol dyed black (or blue, or red, etc),

Click to expand...

I have some with blue dyed alcohol. They’re very cool (no pun intended). Under safelight the blue turns almost black, and under yellow light, a very dark blue. Very easy to read.

A few years back there was a Type II in a box of stuff I was buying from an old photographer. Never used it and after this thread, it’s with the other items headed for hazardous waste disposal. My repaired Thermapen works well enough.

madNbad said:

A few years back there was a Type II in a box of stuff I was buying from an old photographer. Never used it and after this thread, it’s with the other items headed for hazardous waste disposal. My repaired Thermapen works well enough.

Click to expand...

I wouldn't, if I had a good place to keep it.
It will serve as a calibration reference for the rest of your photographic life. That is how I use mine. The cheap kitchen digital thermometers are for everyday use. They get checked periodically against each other and the reference Kodak Process Thermometer.

MattKing said:

I wouldn't, if I had a good place to keep it.
It will serve as a calibration reference for the rest of your photographic life. That is how I use mine. The cheap kitchen digital thermometers are for everyday use. They get checked periodically against each other and the reference Kodak Process Thermometer.

Click to expand...

It's still in the original box and wrapped in many layers of packing cloth. It's been stored upright since I brought it home. We're in the midst of cleaning out three rooms in preparation for a remodel, maybe I put it in the box with the photo chemicals and decide later. Thanks for the advice.