What do these little hoses do?

Mike Té · May 28, 2020

I bought these tanks, reels and hangers, about 15 years ago, from a professional who was closing his darkroom. These have so far remained beyond my productive capacity (so many reels at once!), so I have never used them.
My question is: what the heck do these thin hose parts do in the tanks during the development process?
Thanks to those who know!

Luckless · May 28, 2020

If there is only one input tube, then I would assume gas [or fluid?] agitation, and I would expect to find small fine holes in the pipe loop at the bottom.

Try searching for "Gas[Nitrogen] Burst Agitation" if you're curious. Seems like overkill in my mind, but given the backlog of film I've been building up it might become a tempting idea...

canuhead · May 28, 2020

looks like it cld be for burst agitation, which is usually nitrogen. was there a regulator included as well ?

juan · May 28, 2020

It looks like a sparser for a nitrogen burst system. PM me if you want to sell it. I might be interested.

mshchem · May 28, 2020

Yeah, looks like a gaseous burst manifold. You need a tank of nitrogen for use with developer, air for bleach Arkay, Calumet, Kodak, and others. Not very practical today. In the days of big commercial studios these were common. Requires a solenoid valve timer, regulator, tank of nitrogen, hoses etc. That's for 3 1/2 -4 gallon tank. Looks like that's for the reel rack, sheet film distributors were usually several parallel straight pipes. I'm sure there's still people using these, kind of like running a steam engine, it's fun!

MarkS · May 28, 2020

Gas-burst systems give very good, consistent results once they are set up properly. But such systems were designed for large amounts of film and a replenished developer. Which implies process control monitoring- control strips and a densitometer. Overkill, really, for an amateur with a home darkroom; unless you run dozens or hundreds of sheets a week you'll spend the rest of your life chasing process variations. Hand agitation in a deep tank will work much more easily.

Mike Té · May 30, 2020

Thanks to all for your replies. You've twigged a vestige of memory in me; I now remember a smidge about this being nitrogen burst.
I have no other equipment for incorporating this process, though. Interesting all the same. The tanks and racks could
still be used in a traditional manner, so I'll look into getting into high production.... : )

AgX · May 31, 2020

In any casee a great find, I have not come across something like this by far.

What do these little hoses do?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency