Kreonite still in business; Refrema not?

[Henning Serger]

I used my CPP2 last night to develop 2 rolls of black and white 120. It's such a pleasure to use. The design of the whole system amazes me. These machines are expensive, but are built to very high standards. If you want precision in your work this is the best way.

I completely agree: The JOBO processors are really excellent machines! I am currently using the new CPE-3 processor, mainly for my own E6 and BW reversal processing.
But as it is light and very compact, I even use it "out-of-home" for the film development workshops I am organising. The participants are always very surprised how easy it is to develop color film perfectly by your own.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[Bob Carnie]

I too use the new Jobo rotary and in my case it is used all manual I do not hook up water to the unit.. I also recommend an inversion if shooting grey sky's or backgrounds to avoid mottling or road ruts that can come with rotary process.

 

[mshchem]

I completely agree: The JOBO processors are really excellent machines! I am currently using the new CPE-3 processor, mainly for my own E6 and BW reversal processing.
But as it is light and very compact, I even use it "out-of-home" for the film development workshops I am organising. The participants are always very surprised how easy it is to develop color film perfectly by your own.

Best regards,
Henning

I am a collector of all things darkroom. I picked up my CPP2 ,described as "for parts" $150. The machine is a later version with the newer lift. It was covered in lime, total mess. I actually took the lift apart, cleaned it inside and out. The processor wouldn't heat or reverse. I reset the thermal breaker, then disassembled the main unit and fixed the "bird foot" that fixed the reverse function. The worn out power switch fell into pieces as I was working on it. Catlabs, Omer Hecht, helped me out with a new switch, and guidance. The 30 year old machine is working beautifully, I am planning on purchasing a CPP3 in a couple years, I am so impressed by Jobo and the quality of these German Made machines.

I started with Jobo with the humble Duolab, it was a used machine sitting in the back of a camera store with a pile of print tanks. My friend the store owner said make me an offer. I got it for 100 dollars. I didn't have a clue how it worked, I cleaned it up got some advice and instructions from Catlabs. It's a great little machine. Has a 4 slot processor in back that will take 8x10 film hangers. The original preset temperatures are still perfect. I use it occasionally.

One other discovery I have made is the Jobo Thermometer. That's the best darkroom thermometer I've ever used. They look funny, but they are really well designed on closer inspection, by encapsulation of the actual thermometer the mass is reduced and the thermometer is protected from the heat of your fingers. VERY FAST RESPONSE and divisions of 0.2°C .

 

[mshchem]

I too use the new Jobo rotary and in my case it is used all manual I do not hook up water to the unit.. I also recommend an inversion if shooting grey sky's or backgrounds to avoid mottling or road ruts that can come with rotary process.

I use a thermostatic mixing valve and a "washing machine hose" to fill my machine to the target temperature, my darkroom rarely exceeds 21°C .

 

[Kino]

I have a beautiful ATL Autolab 2200 staring at me in reproach in my basement. I really hate to see it sit, but I am not able to hook it up just yet.

This is the second move for the machine. I had it working fine in the last house, but while this house has a much nicer, dry basement, it has nightmare plumbing and wiring. Added to this, a septic system rather than city sewer; it's just frustrating.

I could hook it up temporarily, but would a have to take it down again when I refurbish the basement because drywall ceilings have to come down in the area I want to put the darkroom. Drywall dust is terrible stuff to get into an enlarger or processing machine.

Patience, patience...

 

[mshchem]

I have a beautiful ATL Autolab 2200 staring at me in reproach in my basement. I really hate to see it sit, but I am not able to hook it up just yet.

This is the second move for the machine. I had it working fine in the last house, but while this house has a much nicer, dry basement, it has nightmare plumbing and wiring. Added to this, a septic system rather than city sewer; it's just frustrating.

I could hook it up temporarily, but would a have to take it down again when I refurbish the basement because drywall ceilings have to come down in the area I want to put the darkroom. Drywall dust is terrible stuff to get into an enlarger or processing machine.

Patience, patience...

It's OK when they stare at you. When they start talking it's time to get out of the house!
I did RA-4, C-41, Cibachrome, and E6, on a amateur basis along with quite a bit of black and white on a septic system. If I was doing a lot I would save fixer, take it to the photo store. The thing that does in septic is garbage disposals, antimicrobials, and if antibiotics.
We had some remodeling done recently and our plumbing contractor who has been in the business for 40 years. She commented on the trend in the USA of wet toilet wipes. These are like flushing a small wash cloth down the sewer. She is well acquainted with a operator at the city waste water treatment facility. These wipes are causing huge issues, the volume has skyrocketed and they don't degrade.

 

[Kino]

It's OK when they stare at you. When they start talking it's time to get out of the house! .

Yeah, that's a good indicator of "photographicus Unstabilus" for sure!

I did RA-4, C-41, Cibachrome, and E6, on a amateur basis along with quite a bit of black and white on a septic system. If I was doing a lot I would save fixer, take it to the photo store. The thing that does in septic is garbage disposals, antimicrobials, and if antibiotics. .

I should explain that I have the unusual situation of having a split leach field system; One with septic tank attached and the other for gray water/sump waste. I would have to go through a large deal of effort to actually put the waste water from a darkroom into the septic system. Two sumps in the basement feed the one leach field and the washing machine empties into the larger sump. This would be the disposal system for my darkroom. I would think that the amount of washer water being pumped out on a weekly basis would be more than enough to dilute any darkroom effluent, provided I don't dump the fix and/or blix into this system. The big rub is finding someone to take the spent fix/blix. I'll have to check with several local towns that have water treatment facilities. Hopefully, the pitifully low volumes I will generate will be acceptable for them to dispose of for a nominal fee. We shall see...

We had some remodeling done recently and our plumbing contractor who has been in the business for 40 years. She commented on the trend in the USA of wet toilet wipes. These are like flushing a small wash cloth down the sewer. She is well acquainted with a operator at the city waste water treatment facility. These wipes are causing huge issues, the volume has skyrocketed and they don't degrade.

Yeah, there are YouTube videos of balls of those wipes being pulled from sewers in London and New York City the size of a Volkswagen Beetle! Should be outlawed for sure...

 

[mshchem]

Yeah, that's a good indicator of "photographicus Unstabilus" for sure!



I should explain that I have the unusual situation of having a split leach field system; One with septic tank attached and the other for gray water/sump waste. I would have to go through a large deal of effort to actually put the waste water from a darkroom into the septic system. Two sumps in the basement feed the one leach field and the washing machine empties into the larger sump. This would be the disposal system for my darkroom. I would think that the amount of washer water being pumped out on a weekly basis would be more than enough to dilute any darkroom effluent, provided I don't dump the fix and/or blix into this system. The big rub is finding someone to take the spent fix/blix. I'll have to check with several local towns that have water treatment facilities. Hopefully, the pitifully low volumes I will generate will be acceptable for them to dispose of for a nominal fee. We shall see...



Yeah, there are YouTube videos of balls of those wipes being pulled from sewers in London and New York City the size of a Volkswagen Beetle! Should be outlawed for sure...

Unless you are doing large quantities, I would put everything in the leach field. Silver is a metal that's not good, but it's not like cadmium, chromium etc. Some drinking water pitcher filters actually remove lead by ion exchange with a silver compound. Humans have been consuming silver for thousands of years.

Modern bleaches don't use chrome. I know of a pro who used to run a 40 inch RA4 processor. He ran all the effluent from that machine into bulk totes, every few months he had it disposed at a municipal sewage treatment center. He did HUGE amounts. Now he has two enormous Epson printers.

 

[darkroommike]

REALLY, THAT'S AWESOME. I don't need another sink but I may bust out a wall and expand. I love my green 8 footer. Mine is at least 50 years old and shows no signs of slowing down. Mine came out of a factory that closed in the late 70's.
Post a picture please. I have a 10 foot Arkay stainless sink that someone gave me, it's nice but it doesn't have a drain trough at the back etc.

10 ft (almost) x 4 foot. Accessible from both sides. ADA compatible on the near side (if we clear the crap out a wheelchair can roll right up).

 

[mshchem]

10 ft (almost) x 4 foot. Accessible from both sides. ADA compatible on the near side (if we clear the crap out a wheelchair can roll right up).View attachment 223570

That's beautiful. Glad to see you have been able to save analog. I love digital but a real photo on fiber (fibre for our native English speakers ) is amazing, like a beautiful piece of wood or ceramic. I just got out of the darkroom spent 3 1/2 hours ended up, with two lovely prints. One is Selenium, the second is Selenium followed by Kodak (Gold) Blue toner. Awesome fun.

 

[darkroommike]

That's beautiful. Glad to see you have been able to save analog. I love digital but a real photo on fiber (fibre for our native English speakers ) is amazing, like a beautiful piece of wood or ceramic. I just got out of the darkroom spent 3 1/2 hours ended up, with two lovely prints. One is Selenium, the second is Selenium followed by Kodak (Gold) Blue toner. Awesome fun.

Did you like the stupid carpet on the floor? That's what happens when administrators design stuff.

 

[mshchem]

Did you like the stupid carpet on the floor? That's what happens when administrators design stuff.

I didn't catch that, looks like carpet tiles. That's brilliant, don't fight the dark side. You got a nice setup.
The purchasing geniuses at my former place of employment (Whirlpool) did I say that out loud? Think they are experts in choosing materials for engineers. Oy Vey!

Hopefully the carpet doesn't sprout mushrooms. Spill a little indicator stop bath, when it turns purple it will be very impressive

 

[Henning Serger]

One other discovery I have made is the Jobo Thermometer. That's the best darkroom thermometer I've ever used. They look funny, but they are really well designed on closer inspection, by encapsulation of the actual thermometer the mass is reduced and the thermometer is protected from the heat of your fingers. VERY FAST RESPONSE and divisions of 0.2°C .

I can completely agree: The JOBO thermometer in my CPE-3 processor is excellent. A very precise tool. I've also double-checked it with the ice-water test and my very precise Greisinger digital lab thermometer and they give about identical results.

Best regards,
Henning