Stainless Steel Tank Lids - Are they all loose, leaky and slow?

bvy · Jul 31, 2016

I just switched from Paterson to stainless steel tanks (for 35mm and 120) which I'm overall happy with, but I'm having some challenges too. Are plastic lids more preferable than steel ones? I only have steel lids, and both the lid itself and/or the cap seem to pop off too easily. Other times, they stick. Plus, they leak badly, and I wonder if plastic lids create a better seal (it seems like they would).

Also, is there any such thing as a "quick pour" lid (steel or plastic)? This is my other challenge. Both of my lids have a vent (I guess they all do). One wraps around the edge of the circular opening and you can pour straight in. The other is at one side of the opening and seems to require you hold the tank at an angle when pouring. Both are slow to fill and require slow careful pouring.

Thanks.

Jeff Bradford · Jul 31, 2016

I have a variety of steel tanks with various lids. Most don't leak at all, a couple of them drip a little. My Paterson tanks are similar.
I have a 13-inch tall Nikor tank with steel lid that takes some time to fill and to empty, but it's big. I like to do a water pre-soak with that one to buffer the time difference from bottom to top. I also tape the lid because all that liquid is heavy enough that it might push the lid off during inversions.

Terry Christian · Jul 31, 2016

Yes, the plastic lids on steel tanks are more preferable than all-steel ones by far.
I've never heard of a quick pour lid. The best solution in that case is to just switch to Paterson tanks, which are much quicker to pour into.
Jeff, to avoid Paterson tanks leaking, try "burping" them (pressing down in the middle of the lid) as you put the lid on and complete the seal. They'll leak far less.

Steve Goldstein · Jul 31, 2016

The lids (the main lid, not the little cap over the fill port) on my various Nikor tanks used to dribble a little during inversion. I used to use wide rubber bands, the kind often used for bunches of broccoli, around the lid-tank junction and this solved nearly all the problem. The band finally gave out a couple of years ago so I broke down and bought a 1/4-pound bag of #84 (1/2" x 3-1/2") rubber bands from Staples. I'm since souped maybe 30 tanks of film and I'm still on the first band from that bag so it looks like I've got a good supply.

I still get a couple of drops oozing from the fill port lid. Work in a sink, no worries.

It takes around 13 secs to fill or drain my 30oz tank, so I always start emptying 15 secs before time is up. It doesn't much matter how you factor it into your timing as long as you're consistent in applying it to your personal development time.

GRHazelton · Jul 31, 2016

I've been told that its a good idea to mark stainless tanks and their lids so that lids aren't interchanged. My experiences have been that the leakage is not much of a problem, but that filling and emptying is slow. I remember using a 5 reel tank to process a lot of Ektachrome; I worried some about keeping the processing times accurate. Everything worked out okay, though.

Bill Burk · Jul 31, 2016

GRHazelton said:
I've been told that its a good idea to mark stainless tanks and their lids so that lids aren't interchanged.

Yes. The two roll-film tanks that I use have two different lids. In my case, I can easily tell them apart. My "knurled one" goes on the 4-reel (35mm) tank and the "smooth one" fits the 2-reel tank. I don't switch them.

The capper doesn't matter, I just grab whichever I find first.

Mine don't leak, guess I just got lucky.

Alan9940 · Jul 31, 2016

I have several stainless steel film developing tanks in various sizes that I've used for many years; not a one has ever leaked. But, like others have mentioned I don't mix-n-match the parts. On my B&W King 4x5 tank, I tape the seam to avoid any leaking because it seems plausible that it "could" leak given the size of the tank and volume of chemistry. I don't know if it actually leaks or not because I've always applied the tape since first using it.

37th Exposure · Jul 31, 2016

The better stainless steel tanks like the Kindermanns (no longer made) leak very little if at all. Those cheap ones from China which seem to be all you can buy new these days slosh chemistry all over the place. I've had my Kindermann tanks and reels over 25 years. If you must use ss reels you can still get Jobo/Hewes reels but the tanks are actually plastic. These are the only first class tanks and reels still made other than Paterson. And yes ss tanks are slow to fill but the Jobo have quick fill tops. Much faster. I recently bought a few Jobo tanks with ss reels while I can still get them.

GarageBoy · Jul 31, 2016

I've gotten kalt tanks and lids that were loose from day 1. I should buy a few replacement lids and see if they seal better. It's not like they matched them at the factory

David A. Goldfarb · Jul 31, 2016

If you can find new plastic Kindermann lids (maybe discontinued in the last 10 years or so), I like those the best. I've got all kinds of mix-and-matched lids and tanks and have never made an effort to keep them straight, except for the larger sheet film tanks, which are a different size.

Gerald C Koch · Jul 31, 2016

At one time the tank, lid, and cap were matched when the unit was sold. At least this was true for Nikor tanks. They were an integral set of three components. Accidentally mixing things up resulted in leaking and poor fits. It was my practice to scratch a mark on each of the set immediately on purchase to aid in keeping things straight. It's a bit like the cylinder heads for a classic Porsche. They were made in standard, undersized, and oversized. Using the wrong head in the wrong position resulted in blow by.

You must remember that when pouring to also consider the flow of air. The tank should always be canted at a bit of an angle to achieve this.

The plastic lids do not leak but will eventually crack. Always keeps a spare on hand.

GarageBoy · Jul 31, 2016

But those nikors had stainless lids- these rubbers, in theory, are universal and stretch to fit

Alan9940 · Jul 31, 2016

I probably should have mentioned in my post above that all my ss tanks are Kindermann. Also, forgot to mention that if you tip the tank slightly during filling it will generally fill faster.

bvy · Jul 31, 2016

My tall tank with the flimsy lid and cap and the segmented vent is a Nikor. My smaller one with the lid and cap that fit more snugly (and the cap has a tab for easy removal) simply says Made in Japan.

mike c · Jul 31, 2016

I have 4 tanks, 2 double roll 120 and 2 single roll 120. The best one leaks very little and the fills and drains the fastest ,it is a double 120 Honeywell-Nikor. The others are Nikors and leak and are slower to fill.

Gerald C Koch · Jul 31, 2016

GarageBoy said:
But those nikors had stainless lids- these rubbers, in theory, are universal and stretch to fit

The lids are not rubber but polypropylene and have a very limited amount of stretch. As the plastic ages it losses its stretch and eventually cracks. Hence my warning to keep a spare.

Sirius Glass · Jul 31, 2016

Some of the metal tops leak; none of the plastic lids leak.

Arklatexian · Aug 1, 2016

Steve Goldstein said:
The lids (the main lid, not the little cap over the fill port) on my various Nikor tanks used to dribble a little during inversion. I used to use wide rubber bands, the kind often used for bunches of broccoli, around the lid-tank junction and this solved nearly all the problem. The band finally gave out a couple of years ago so I broke down and bought a 1/4-pound bag of #84 (1/2" x 3-1/2") rubber bands from Staples. I'm since souped maybe 30 tanks of film and I'm still on the first band from that bag so it looks like I've got a good supply.

I still get a couple of drops oozing from the fill port lid. Work in a sink, no worries.

It takes around 13 secs to fill or drain my 30oz tank, so I always start emptying 15 secs before time is up. It doesn't much matter how you factor it into your timing as long as you're consistent in applying it to your personal development time.

I like your idea of using the #84 rubber bands to seal the SS tank tops. I have been using plastic electrician's tape but I think the rubber band idea might be better. On long tanks (longer than 12", I will stay with the tape. Thanks for the idea.......Regards!

Vaughn · Aug 1, 2016

I have seen many many leaky plastic caps and plastic lids, but generally not with the plastic lids themselves until they cracked. But then, I had to keep a collection of at least 24 operating at all times (uni darkroom). Every couple years or so, I would buy a dozen new plastic lids for the uni's darkroom.

I love my two SS tanks w/ SS lids and caps (double 120 tanks). Older -- definitely no Chinese. Matched and marked so I so not mix them up. No leaks.

But the definite advantage of SS lids is that they are easily twice as fast to fill and empty than the plastic lids. And of course the SS lids do not eventually fail as the plastic ones do.

Arvee · Aug 1, 2016

A trick I picked somewhere in the last 40 years or so: For a loose cap on a SS tank the trick is to rub a little 320 grit sandpaper around inside of the lip of the cap (circular) and do the same around protrusion on the tank lid. The mating surfaces get polished over time and the cap will pop off. The 320 grit will renew the "micro-interlock" with the very fine scratches. Don't overdo; a couple of swipes will do the job. More than that may make the cap difficult to remove.

Old-N-Feeble · Aug 2, 2016

Loose, leaky and slow? Maybe it has a prostate problem.

mike c · Aug 2, 2016

Old-N-Feeble said:
Loose, leaky and slow? Maybe it has a prostate problem.

They make pills for that you know.

Old-N-Feeble · Aug 2, 2016

Thomas Bertilsson · Aug 2, 2016

I use stainless steel tanks with plastic lids. I bought ten plastic lids so that I will never be without a dry one.

The plastic lids work very well with all my tanks, when I process black and white film (at 70 or 75 degrees F, depending on developer).

When I process C-41 film, which uses much higher temperatures, I use electric tape to fix the lid to the tank. If I don't, I have so much leakage that I lose too much of the chemistry (which I reuse).

The tanks fill and empty quickly enough that I don't encounter any unevenly developed negatives as a result.

Luis-F-S · Aug 2, 2016

mike c said:
I have 4 tanks, 2 double roll 120 and 2 single roll 120. The best one leaks very little and the fills and drains the fastest ,it is a double 120 Honeywell-Nikor. The others are Nikors and leak and are slower to fill.

Have several of the Honeywell-Nikkor tanks, never had any issues with significant leakage. I bought them new some 40 years ago, so have no experience with "other" tanks.

Stainless Steel Tank Lids - Are they all loose, leaky and slow?

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