ventilation in a temporary darkroom setup

rince · Dec 26, 2011

Hi,

I finally have most of the bits and pieces together for a temporary bathroom setup. My only open concern really is the ventilation. My bathroom does not have a window, but a fairly good exhaust fan. Only problem here is I can not switch the fan separate from the light, since this is a rental apartment I would prefer not to mess with the cabling (especially because I do not really know what I am doing when it comes to wiring ).
How do you with temporary setups solve the ventilation issue?

Thanks in advance
Dennis

Hawkeye · Dec 26, 2011

I had the same issue many years ago when I was renting. I removed the bathroom light bulb and plugged in a separate lamp while using the bathroom as a darkroom. Be smart about the lamp location (away from your water and chemicals).

nickandre · Dec 26, 2011

I don't worry about it. If it gets unbearable switch to a water stop bath. I've run RA-4 with limited ventilation and no problems.

Crashbox · Dec 26, 2011

I would just unscrew the bulb myself. But nowadays there are more options. One possibility (if it will fit inside the fixture) is to use a remote control socket that screws into the fixture socket; you could then control the lamp independently of the fan, assuming both were energized of course. That's the easiest one I can think of, there are others but they're not necessarily safe in a wet/damp environment...

rince · Dec 26, 2011

I can not really unscrew them easily, since there are 5 halogen spots in the ceiling. I will do it if this proves the only feasible alternative though. Thank you for your ideas.

David Brown · Dec 26, 2011

I used a bathroom for years. Unless you are tray processing film or color prints, it's not that much of a problem. Once film is in a tank and the lights can come on, you can also open the door. When printing, I would open the door between prints to let in an exchange of air; then close the door after I had set up for the next print.

rince · Dec 26, 2011

David Brown said:
I used a bathroom for years. Unless you are tray processing film or color prints, it's not that much of a problem. Once film is in a tank and the lights can come on, you can also open the door. When printing, I would open the door between prints to let in an exchange of air; then close the door after I had set up for the next print.

Thank you David, I will only do b&w prints and I use dev tanks for film development. I guess I might make to much fuzz about the ventilation issue. Thank you

Dennis

Crashbox · Dec 26, 2011

rince said:
I can not really unscrew them easily, since there are 5 halogen spots in the ceiling. I will do it if this proves the only feasible alternative though. Thank you for your ideas.

I assumed it was a combination fan/light fixture. Sorry about that.

With five halogens, the challenge factor does increase significantly-

ventilation in a temporary darkroom setup

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