Unicolor UnidrumII film drum

Hi,

Many, many,,,,,,, many years ago I used to use a Unidrum for processing film. The setup worked well except eventually it starts to dribble. Most noticeably from the loading end ( there is also a moveable plug on the other end that sets the depth of the tank for the number of reels you are loading ). I later bought a jobo and the Unidrum fell by the wayside. Recently, I have been developing more B&W and found the Jobo was a bit of a hassle to set up for something that didn't really need a fixed temperature to process at ( I don't have a darkroom anymore, so I just set the Jobo up on a table when I want to use it ). I started doing B&W in a regular film tank. This works fine, but needs 400ml to do a single roll of 35mm. The Unidrum can do this with 150ml ( you might run into a minimum chemistry problem ). I tried the few fixes I found to address the dribbling but none really worked well. Cutting a new seal out of a coffee can lid worked best but still dribbled. As a last effort to revive the Unidrum, I cut a seal out of .032" rubber ( buna-n, just because I could get it in the size I wanted ). This sealed perfectly tight with no dribbles. The issue I did find with the rubber is that is is much more flexible than the original seal and can bunch up when twisting the lid on. I find a thin smear of Vasoline on the drums sealing lip takes care of that ( Vasoline was to be used with the original seal as well ). If the seal moving while putting on the lid does become a problem, I will use some removable spray mount and stick it to the inside of the lid.

Anyway, in case anyone would like to revive their unidrums, hope this helps.

Joel

Boy this takes me back... I used a film Unidrum and reels for a lot of years back in the'80s when I did all the B/W processing for the arch. photo firm I worked for. Always the dribble from the lid end. I just made sure the drum and roller were synchronized to let the drip fall off at the end of one of the rotation cycles and into the tray the motor base sat in. A small sponge caught the drip.

Boy, it's amazing how the brain works when sitting watching and listening to the mesmerizing action of the drum rolling first one way, then the other for uncounted minutes... But the sponge worked and years later I went the JOBO route. (and back to school and a couple of different jobs, etc., etc.)

I bet I still have the drum and reels tucked away in a box...

The Jobo 1510 will process 1 roll of 35mm in 240ml if doing inversion or 140ml if using with rotation.

What is the "hassle" you have when using a Jobo processor?
You can always use a manual roller base, or motorized color base if you want something small light and fast.

I have about every combination of film drum that fits the CPE2+. The hassle is I don't have a place that I can leave it set up. So I have to deal with the water bath for no reason ( also don't have water or a drain in a real convinient spot ). I like the Jobo and use it for E-6 and C41. Yes, I could use the small tank but I don't have a roller for it and I just thought it would be entertaining to get the Unidrum going again.

CatLABS said:

The Jobo 1510 will process 1 roll of 35mm in 240ml if doing inversion or 140ml if using with rotation.

What is the "hassle" you have when using a Jobo processor?
You can always use a manual roller base, or motorized color base if you want something small light and fast.

Click to expand...

So, I fix the gasket issue for the cap and set up to develop a roll of B&W. Everything looking good, then the piston seal breaks in half. Well, what do I expect form an old piece of whatever it was. Determined to make this drum work again, I figured out a way to make it work well ( does not leak ) with a regular O-ring. So back to trying to develop that roll of B&W. It's all together and away I go with the developer. About half way through, the plastic cap on the end splits and my developer starts dribbling out. I let it run through the rest of the time, do the stop, and just fix with the tank upright. Negative mostly OK, one frame has noticeable uneven development. So, With the cap gone, I made another with some rubber I have. Now, with all the parts that can cause a leak addressed, I think the tank is good to go. Why am I wasting so much time on this drum when I have better equipment to process with.... I guess I have just been in a somewhat nostalgic mode lately and am bound and determine to put a few rolls through it, plus it has been somewhat entertaining making it all work again.

Joel

I sold an "as new in box" Unidrum a while back (it came to me with a bunch of other stuff). Mine had a few spare gaskets in the box. Were you using the "factory" gaskets and still leaking?

I had two original gaskets for the lid, both leaked and both were well used. Making a new one for the lid was not difficult. The cap and the piston seal just flat out fell apart. The lid seal, if not used and abused I don't think matters how old it is, the cap and piston seal even " as new in box " are subject to aging.

mgb74 said:

I sold an "as new in box" Unidrum a while back (it came to me with a bunch of other stuff). Mine had a few spare gaskets in the box. Were you using the "factory" gaskets and still leaking?

Click to expand...

Hi,

Someone was interested in how I fixed the piston on my Unidrum. Attached are some photos of what I did. I used a 339 Buna O-ring 3-1/4 ID, 3-3/6 OD, 3/16 thick. To support the O-ring on the piston, I glued a ring of 18G wire ( cause it seemed handy ) to the piston to keep the O-ring from moving around. So far the setup seems to work well.

Joel

Pulled out the drum this weekend to process some B&W ( all I use it for ). Developed a couple of runs leak free. The O-ring mod is working well. I also made a new rubber end cap for it back when using some 1/8" rubber sheet I wrapped around the lid and glued together. It is also being leak free. Today I decided to try and print a new cap just to see if it would work. After a little trimming it also seems leak free. I'll shoot a roll and process it just to make sure. I find what is leak free with water is not necessarily so with photo chem. For some reason I still have an odd attachment to this drum and roller base. Maybe because it brings back memories of when I first started processing film in the 70s.

There might be a market for those lids! Or at least put the program up on the interweb thingy somewhere. I have read other threads here and there about this issue. BTW I got a packet of factory gaskets many years ago from PSI and was told that that was the very last of the factory gaskets and they had no plans to make any more. I use my Unidrum frequently, I especially like it for the hands free agitation during fix and wash cycles. I have used it a few times for C41, I don't shoot color film myself but some of my friends still do. I usually load my drum through the piston end and leave the lid attached.

Joel, where did you get the .032 buna rubber sheet? I have 6 Unicolor 8X10 print drums I use for sheet film processing that need new gaskets for the lids.

Amazon. When I need to make new ones, I will probably try to find something a little harder. The Buna tends to bunch up if it's not lubricated. I ended using spray mount to stick them to the kid. Is working well.

My printed lid worked leak free. I may print another just slightly smaller for a tighter fit. I used FilaFlex filament.

I did have to use a dremel to sand out some print imperfections, took less than 5 minutes to touch up.

Been a while but I wanted to say I am still using this film drum dribble free. I recently made some new seals for the lid. I originally used two seals made of .020 polystyrene sheet ( cause I had some ). When that worked out, I made some from .040.
So far working well. I still use the Unicolor drum for black and white.

Original is on the left

I've made a gasket from a coffee can lid, it worked for a few years, as I have 4 drums I just epoxied the top to a drum, it works fine. Largest issue is the large O ring for the adjustable bottom. I'm down to just one working bottom, cannot find a replacment. thinking about trying 2 of the correct diameter.

What I did in post #8 has been working great for the bottom.

I use crafting foam sheets, incredibly easy to cut and really cheap. Read it on here somewhere...

Pitotshock said:

I use crafting foam sheets, incredibly easy to cut and really cheap. Read it on here somewhere...

Click to expand...

Wow- that would be really easy. I got a couple of Unicolor film tanks in a darkroom deal years ago, I was pleasantly surprised that the top gasket is the same as used in the Film Drum. Solved my leaks. Now to restore the piston seal, those petrify and disintegrate as noted above. Thanks Joel for the part numbers for that o-ring. I have an o-ring making kit that I may try out on this.
I used the Film Drum for years for B&W and C-41 (and some E6 too). Always worked exceedingly well and so easy.

I don't bother getting too fancy with the cut outs, just as long as it makes a seal on the drum, hangs on to the lid and lets the tank drain it is good enough for me. This is the print drum though, and not the film developing drum...

Pitotshock said:

I don't bother getting too fancy with the cut outs, just as long as it makes a seal on the drum, hangs on to the lid and lets the tank drain it is good enough for me. This is the print drum though, and not the film developing drum...
View attachment 289211

Click to expand...

That's great, thank you for the picture. I use the print drums for developing 4x5 film. I can't tell, but did you remove the original plastic seal disk, but leave the underlying original foam in the lid when you did this?

Yes the foam that is glued into the lid is still there, I remove the original plastic seal and replace with the crafting foam. It is a bit thicker than the original so when sealing, I close the drum slowly to allow the foam to give a little, and not stress out the 'ears' on the lid. Some of my more worn out drums seat very well with the crafting foam, but my drums that were never used, and the sliding surfaces on the drum/lid haven't warn down, are quite a bit tighter.

To make them, I usually just start with the sheet of foam and make an imprint on the foam by firmly pressing the lid down onto the foam, then make my outside circle cut. Pressing the foam into the lid to make another mark for the inside ring and cutting the inside cut, leaving just a few fingers sticking out. Does that make sense?

EVA foam sounds interesting too. I might try that just to see. EVA also cuts well on a laser.

Pitotshock said:

Yes the foam that is glued into the lid is still there, I remove the original plastic seal and replace with the crafting foam. It is a bit thicker than the original so when sealing, I close the drum slowly to allow the foam to give a little, and not stress out the 'ears' on the lid. Some of my more worn out drums seat very well with the crafting foam, but my drums that were never used, and the sliding surfaces on the drum/lid haven't warn down, are quite a bit tighter.

To make them, I usually just start with the sheet of foam and make an imprint on the foam by firmly pressing the lid down onto the foam, then make my outside circle cut. Pressing the foam into the lid to make another mark for the inside ring and cutting the inside cut, leaving just a few fingers sticking out. Does that make sense?

Click to expand...

Yes, thank you for the info.

Another option I have yet to try is to try is 3D printing a new seal with rubber TPU filament. I've seen someone do this with the rubber sheet separator blocks that fit on the V shaped rail in these drums, but not the seal. Just gotta get my project in cue on my son's printer.

Sorry to reawaken this old thread, but I've got a unicolor film drum II that I'm trying to revive (all the parts broken, ofc). I already made a piston seal model in fusion360 that I'll print in rubber like elastic resin, and now I noticed that the cap died on me as well. Is there any chance OP would be willing to share the STL file they used to print theirs? Happy to share my piston seal STL as well!

I have two of the 8x10 black print drums. I used auto gasket material from the auto parts store. Works pretty good. I just loaded four sheets of TMX100 in one yesterday. Actually I could use some more of the same drums. The 11x14 will do four 5x7's (havent done that yet). My 16x20 will run some 8x10's (haven't done that either).

I have 2500 JOBO Multitanks 4 and 5 and use it for 6x9, 4x5, 9x12, 120, 220 and 70mm. And of course 35mm. I run the JOBO tanks on my Unicolor Uniroller and it works great

Hard to mess up sheet film when processed in Unidrums