RA4/RT is Eroding the Rollers!

[davetravis]

Hi All,
I've used my ICP42 roller transport with Ilfochrome for over 15 years and never had any erosion of the rubber rollers. Now I'm doing the Kodak RA4/RT chems. I've tried 2 configs and both cause little pits in the last tanks roller.
The first config was DEV, then BLX/FX, with water in the last tank. The current config is DEV, stop bath, with BLX/FX in the last tank. The chems were only in the machine for about 7 days. These little pits are only going to get worst and I can't easily find replacement rollers.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
DT

 

[Mike Wilde]

I have found that Kodak RA-RT developer working strength solution causes the rubber tubing in my 30 or so old Fujimoto CP-31 to swell.

I have been running RA-4 in it for the last 4 years only intermittently; no sign of any problems with the rollers so far.

I run my machine tank seqence pre wet, dev, b/f. Prior to me it ran EP/2 so the sequence then was likelt dev/ b/f, wash. I don't know if the sewelling is caused by some sort of old blix with newer dev interaction. I changed the tank sequence because the digital thermostat in the first tank failed, and my repair of that circuit does not temp stabalize as the OEM analoge temp control that continue to work right in tanks 2 and 3.

Pre wetting seems to take a lot of the overcoat dyes off of the incoming RA-4 paper, and so there is less to oxidize in the developer, so it seems to store a lot longer.

I have used lightly used old developer stored in dark cool place 5 months later with the developer additive added to the mix.

Blix seems to last ok as well; still have not found blix additive at an affordable price to see what effect it might have.

 

[davetravis]

Mike,
I also got some of that swelling in the fix tank with Ilfochrome, after it got too tall, I just cut out the section!
Not sure what's causing the blx/fix rubber erosion in the ra4...thanks for the reply.
DT