The only reasonable place for a darkroom at my home is in my unfinished basement. it is very light tight, but stays cold most of the year, ranging from about 55 to a high of 65 degrees during a summer heat wave. So even though I only want to process B&W film negatives, I am looking for a way to water bath my 5x7 sheet film trays to 70 degrees or so. Heating the room isn't really a viable option currently.
Rather than use something like the standard Patterson 5x7 developing trays I plan to use larger glass cooking casserole dishes- the glass will hold heat better but they do take up considerably more real estate.
So I am wondering if I could use one of those inexpensive sous vide immersion heaters effectively. In my case, I need a "sink" for a water bath large enough to hold three trays but not too deep. Do those sous vide heaters pump/circulate the water? In your experience, would they be good for circulating water in a wide but not very deep container?
In the past I used a drum roller to process my 5x7 sheet film, and I may move back to that in the future. But I just wondered if this water bath approach might work.
Thanks,
Keith
Rather than use something like the standard Patterson 5x7 developing trays I plan to use larger glass cooking casserole dishes- the glass will hold heat better but they do take up considerably more real estate.
So I am wondering if I could use one of those inexpensive sous vide immersion heaters effectively. In my case, I need a "sink" for a water bath large enough to hold three trays but not too deep. Do those sous vide heaters pump/circulate the water? In your experience, would they be good for circulating water in a wide but not very deep container?
In the past I used a drum roller to process my 5x7 sheet film, and I may move back to that in the future. But I just wondered if this water bath approach might work.
Thanks,
Keith