So when i had the sticky reel problem, i didn't know this...stabilizer

[rpavich]

Last year or so i was having aweful times loading plastic reels and put up a thread about it. I got lots of advice but never solved it.
I went to steel reels and never did go back to plastic until now with my purchase of a Jobo CPE2.
I was reading the processing directions and came across this warning about stabilizer:

"Caution: If reels or tanks are immersed in these solutions, they will eventually cause processing contamination effects. The reels will become difficult to load. Rinsing or cleaning the reels or tanks after processing will not eliminate this problem."

That might have very well been the problem, I always immersed my reels in the stabilizer, i started with no issues and eventually couldn't successfully load a plastic reel.

 

[AgX]

What "solutions"?
Final-rinse bath contain a surfactant which is easily watersoluable. And thus can't built up on the reels.
But gelatin can.

 

[rpavich]

What "solutions"?
Final-rinse bath contain a surfactant which is easily watersoluable. And thus can't built up on the reels.
But gelatin can.

Thanks for cluing me in about my lack of information, i left out the most important word...stabilizer.

I edited the title and OP to add it.

 

[AgX]

The same for "stabilizer".

 

[rpavich]

The same for "stabilizer".

Well...I'm just stating the facts.

1.) I immersed my plastic reels in stabilizer every time I developed.
2.) After a short period, I had horrible loading problems that wouldn't go away no matter how I washed and scrubbed the reels (and dried them)
3.) Jobo states that stabilizer will do just what I described and cautioned against immersing reels in it for that reason.


That's the post. That's it.

No argument, no debate. I'm not here to change minds or anything...just reporting those three things that I thought were interesting considering my (and many other folks') problems with loading plastic reels when nothing seems to help.

 

[AgX]

And without immersing the reels in your stabilzer, you did not have those issues?


By the way, there are different reels on the market.
And even Jobo changed the material of their reels.

 

[rpavich]

And without imersing the reels in your stabilzer, you did not have those issues?

Like I said.

No debate...no argument. You can do whatever you please.

 

[bvy]

I don't think @AgX is looking for an argument -- just trying to confirm that that's really your issue. I don't use stabilizer, but the Final Rinse rinses clean from the Paterson reels with a hot water (~130F) rinse and soak applied right after removing the film.

 

[rpavich]

I don't think @AgX is looking for an argument -- just trying to confirm that that's really your issue. I don't use stabilizer, but the Final Rinse rinses clean from the Paterson reels with a hot water (~130F) rinse and soak applied right after removing the film.

I can only say what I said.
I had a mysterious problem with no obvious culprit.
Jobo instructions described my experience to a T.

That's all I know. Sure it seems to fit, (which is why I said "might have been my problem") but no I didn't do any lengthy blind lab experiment or anything. That's why I didn't want to start a back-and-forth about it. I just put it out there as interesting and informative.

 

[benjiboy]

The old fashioned remedy for your problem that I have been using for about sixty years is to run the graphite tip of an ordinary lead pencil in the dry grooves of the developing spiral to lubricate it, and the film loads like magic.

 

[rpavich]

The old fashioned remedy for your problem that I have been using for about sixty years is to run the graphite tip of an ordinary lead pencil in the dry grooves of the developing spiral to lubricate it, and the film loads like magic.

Did it.
And all of the other remedies offered in the 20 page thread that I started here on apug last year. Nothing worked. Other folks never even clean their reels and never have problems. Some use some remedies, some use others, some not at all...no pattern emerged as far as I could see.

Like I said...just putting it out there as an interesting thing and a possible suspect. Some folks have horrible problems (like me) some don't. For whatever reasons, there are experiences on both sides which make no sense to the whole.

 

[Cholentpot]

I soak my reels in Straight A cleaner sanitizer every once in a blue moon. Gets rid of everything...

 

[pentaxuser]

The graphite pencil trick certainly worked for me and I don't use my Jobo reels for photo-flo/wetting agent/ stabilizer anyway. I have a feeling that the graphite tip may work better if it is a soft tip i.e. 4B or more and it may need to be done thoroughly.

Another thought has struck me. While photoflo and wetting agents in general can be scrubbed off reels with a toothbrush in my experience, could it be that stabilizer which is the stuff used for C41 is much harder stuff to shift. No doubt there will be ways to do it but if it is (a) difficult and (b) more time consuming then prevention is better than cure.

pentaxuser