Leedal versus Arkay Stainless Steel Sinks

I am committed to buying a stainless steel darkroom sink. I am likely going to purchase the "econoline" of sinks. This is a thinner gague steel, non-coved or rounded corners, and non-integral backsplash. I have concluded that the heavier gauge steel and the integral backsplash and the coved corners would price it too high.

There are two manufacturers of this product: Leedal out of Chicago and Arkay. Does anyone know the difference between the two. Has anyone actually hands on touched and seen either, or both, lines of sink.

With all due respect, please do not use this thread to discuss the merits of building a sink oneself out of steel or any other material. There is ample material at APUG and other forums devoted to this topic. Also, please do not discuss the merits of ABS sinks here. Thank you!

Gary Grenell said:

There are two manufacturers of this product: Leedal out of Chicago and Arkay.

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FWIW I've heard of Arkay but not Leedal. This may just be a right coast, left coast, middle thing and Leedal is, well, the middle thing!
-B

Gary Grenell said:

Leedal out of Chicago

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You might call Leedal and inquire about factory seconds. I was interested in getting one a few years ago and thought they offered a good deal on these. They don't have every size & style but still, a good selection. They seem to be a good company and would not sell useless sinks.

Good Luck
Jim

I looked at both; they were about the same high quality. Also looked at Calumet, which seemed a just little nicer, but also cost a little more.

Then I found California Stainless Mfg in Camarillo, CA (805-484-1038). The same, or maybe higher, quality as Alkay and Leedal, and the shipping was cheaper. Ultimately bought the Cal Stainless, but in 18ga. A little more expensive, but the thicker gauge was MUCH nicer.

Stainless steel sinks are expensive, but they are a lifetime investment. I was trying to buy the cheapest, but have no regrets in spending more for a heavier gauge.

With so many darkrooms closing both commercial and home, I would encourage you to look for a used sink. Here, eBay, your local camera shows, local art schools and other Internet auction and photo sites can be sources. Three years ago I started with a 60”x 19”x 4” stainless unit I got free. I chose to buy a cabinet as a base, but one could easily have been built.

This worked well for 2.5 years. Six months ago at a local camera show someone had a picture on his table of an Arkay 96” x 30”x7” sink for sale. It had a well built home made bar stock stand with a full length shelf below. I had to provide a half sheet of plywood. The sink has a splash panel, rounded corners and a coating on the outside that prevents condensation. This cost $300 plus local pickup. The seller’s father had had a darkroom. The seller’s wife did not want a darkroom in her house. The 60” sink is now my second sink. I can use big print trays in the 96” sink and run the Jobo or contact print trays in the 60”.

Good luck which ever route you take.

John powers

both leedal and arkay, and Cal stainless make similar products--all very good in quality. there are some minor differences and variations, but probably you could say they were all comparable. where I work we sent our darkrooms out on bid for the stainless sinks, and Cal Stainless made our deeptank line already, so we wrote the spec's based on their catalog spec's. The winning bid was Regal (Arkay's new name) for the sinks though, in the end, with the film dryer coming from Leedal. If I had a choice, other than a competitive bid, I would have gone with Cal. Stainless, since they were so easy to deal with on the deeptank and the quality of those tanks & waterjacket is superb. It's been over ten years in use now and looks good as day one. The sinks, for whatever reason--one of them has started to pit in the corners and needs to replaced eventually. I don't know if it happened during the manufacture, or if it was a result of something later on. The other sink is fine though.

fwiw, another top notch lab supplier is Kreolab--the sink & cabinet portion of Kreonite. Their sinks are fiberglass, but they come outifitted in cabinets and can be plumbed in some pretty neat ways. I saw a barely used 6 foot kreolab sink (unfortunately it was a weird custom width), plumbed in a counter at a surplus lot recently. it was only 150 bucks....

A quick reply about the Kreolab. I got excited to see their website....I phoned them and spoke to owner Ernie Dunning. He told me what a great product it is. I was crestfallen to learn that the model 2485E2S (a 94 inch sink with stand and plumbing package) would cost me $6,012.00 to be shipped to Seattle. Frankly, that is out of my price range. He cautioned me that the stainless steel sink with uncoved corners is susceptible to rust in those corners. However, the Arkay sink would be about $2140 plus shipping from B&H (with the P3 plumbing package) and the Leedal stainless 20 gague (ES-410) would be $2560 direct from Leedal (plus shipping).

Gary Grenell said:

the stainless steel sink with uncoved corners is susceptible to rust in those corners.

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Maybe with neglect they might, but I suspect if you're an individual laying out a couple of grand for a sink you will be be pretty good about taking care of it!

Gary Grenell said:

I was crestfallen to learn that the model 2485E2S (a 94 inch sink with stand and plumbing package) would cost me $6,012.00 to be shipped to Seattle. Frankly, that is out of my price range. He cautioned me that the stainless steel sink with uncoved corners is susceptible to rust in those corners. However, the Arkay sink would be about $2140 plus shipping from B&H (with the P3 plumbing package) and the Leedal stainless 20 gague (ES-410) would be $2560 direct from Leedal (plus shipping).

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the cost doesn't surprise me....the kreonite sinks are the total package--like the others as well if you order them that way. It's not just a sink really--most of them come plumbed in with water panels, filtration, some with water chillers even. the plumbing is usually an assortment of goosneck fixtures on the backsplashes or top deck, and they often have vac. breakers for safety codes etc. Those kreonite sinks usually have water jet fixtures built into the corners as well, so you can put a standpipe in the drain, and then turn the entire sink into a recirculating washer.

fwiw though, this sink I saw at Federal surplus was almost brand new. It didn't even really look like it had been used, and it was fully plumbed in a cabinet as well. had a chiller even. 6 feet long, but was only 11 inches wide for some reason. $150, it would have been probably about 4 grand or so new, crazy.....

you could check your state surplus if there's a lot nearby. Federal gov't surplus is the best, but unfortunately it's only open to other agencies and certain non-profits, no individual use.

Gee $300 for a used Arkay with rounded corners, insulation, splash panel and a stand doesn't seem so bad after all.

John Powers

Leedal Stainless Steel Sinks

Hi Gary,
My uncle was one of the founders of Leedal back in the 1950's. I do have a 7Ft. sink on a steel farme stand of his that I was used for many years (20+) and it served me very well and is still in great condition. If you are still looking for a great sink, I would be willing to sell it. I'm in Chicago if you are nearby please let me know if you are interested. My email address is david_weinstein@att.net

David Weinstein
Chicago

Gary Grenell said:

I am committed to buying a stainless steel darkroom sink. I am likely going to purchase the "econoline" of sinks. This is a thinner gague steel, non-coved or rounded corners, and non-integral backsplash. I have concluded that the heavier gauge steel and the integral backsplash and the coved corners would price it too high.

There are two manufacturers of this product: Leedal out of Chicago and Arkay. Does anyone know the difference between the two. Has anyone actually hands on touched and seen either, or both, lines of sink.

With all due respect, please do not use this thread to discuss the merits of building a sink oneself out of steel or any other material. There is ample material at APUG and other forums devoted to this topic. Also, please do not discuss the merits of ABS sinks here. Thank you!

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You might contact a restaurant countertop/stainless steel sink fabricator locally. Nowadays, stainless is a relatively inexpensive option for nice kitchens. When we remodeled our house, we hade custom countertops and sinks fabricated. Wasn't cheap but reasonable. I should have had them do a darkroom sink for me to replace my 8-foot ABS sink.