Wondering about challenges of a darkroom in an outbuilding with poor climate control

[loccdor]

From SUNY ,

"Large woodchucks are approximately 60 cm (24 in) in length, and weigh 13-33 kg (6-12 lb), the heavier weight typical of individuals entering hibernation."

Americans need to learn SI units, desperately. Personally I'm not going to try and live trap any 33 kg rodent

A family of groundhogs built tunnels under my larger shed one year. The dog ended up getting all 9 of them over the course of a season as they entered his fenced in yard. Most were small, but the biggest one was around 25 lbs and I couldn't get it on a shovel to put it in the woods after it passed. Had to grab it by the scruff of its neck while wearing a glove. They don't have a very good sense of a dangerous living location.

 

[loccdor]

@snusmumriken Thank you, that looks like a very well-done setup.

 

[mshchem]

A family of groundhogs built tunnels under my larger shed one year. The dog ended up getting all 9 of them over the course of a season as they entered his fenced in yard. Most were small, but the biggest one was around 25 lbs and I couldn't get it on a shovel to put it in the woods after it passed. Had to grab it by the scruff of its neck while wearing a glove. They don't have a very good sense of a dangerous living location.

I live trapped our beautiful specimen, set her free in a lovely place.

 

[mshchem]

Just found a photo of me insulating the floor of my darkroom shed, in case this helps.
View attachment 369292

That looks snug and sturdy.

 

[MattKing]

I live trapped our beautiful specimen, set her free in a lovely place.

But was it 12-25 pounds (5 - 11 kg) or 28 - 66 pounds?

 

[eli griggs]

A family of groundhogs built tunnels under my larger shed one year. The dog ended up getting all 9 of them over the course of a season as they entered his fenced in yard. Most were small, but the biggest one was around 25 lbs and I couldn't get it on a shovel to put it in the woods after it passed. Had to grab it by the scruff of its neck while wearing a glove. They don't have a very good sense of a dangerous living location.

And their tasty too!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Heavy insulation was mentioned, and I couldn't agree with this more. My darkroom is under a second floor deck. I built it myself (except for the wiring and plumbing, I had pros do that). Lots of insulation makes it cozy during the Winter months (even if it hits minus temps, it stays above zero). I have a small, electric heater than can get the space (about 8x10) up to 24C. During the Summer, it seems to sit around 25-26C.
Try to make your darkroom shed as comfortable as you can.

 

[mshchem]

But was it 12-25 pounds (5 - 11 kg) or 28 - 66 pounds?

Maybe 2.8 - 6 kg. Beautiful animals, like a big marmot. I'm always amused at America's struggles with SI units.

 

[DREW WILEY]

The higher the R-value of the insulation, the better. I have R23 around my inner darkrooms. I keep different rooms for different tasks because it's easier to keep them temp and humidity controlled that way, also in terms of dust and fume control. The high ceiling room is reserved for big halogen 8x10 enlargers. When I use those, they'll warm up the room by themselves. And in the mouting room, the drymount press will do that by itself in winter too. But I have small passive electric space heaters as well.

If I had wanted more basic darkroom at my mountain property too, I might have opted for a refrigerated cargo container. You can do things with rural property that you can't in the city. But the water quality there is very hard, and I eventually sold the place anyway - too much strenuous upkeep heading into retirement, especially in terms of forest fire protection.

We don't have groundhogs here, but marmots at higher elevations, typically 8,000 feet up. I've had a lot of interesting incidents with them, but pikas are even cuter.

 

[mshchem]

The higher the R-value of the insulation, the better. I have R23 around my inner darkrooms. I keep different rooms for different tasks because it's easier to keep them temp and humidity controlled that way, also in terms of dust and fume control. The high ceiling room is reserved for big halogen 8x10 enlargers. When I use those, they'll warm up the room by themselves. And in the mouting room, the drymount press will do that by itself in winter too. But I have small passive electric space heaters as well.

If I had wanted more basic darkroom at my mountain property too, I might have opted for a refrigerated cargo container. You can do things with rural property that you can't in the city. But the water quality there is very hard, and I eventually sold the place anyway - too much strenuous upkeep heading into retirement, especially in terms of forest fire protection.

We don't have groundhogs here, but marmots at higher elevations, typically 8,000 feet up. I've had a lot of interesting incidents with them, but pikas are even cuter.

My groundhog is back, can't believe it is the same one. Using live traps we caught a racoon the other day, I managed to get the cage door open and it took off. I hate to trap these guys. Seems like I should just let them be. They have always been around.
The little fellas eat my neighbors hostas,

 

[loccdor]

My groundhog is back, can't believe it is the same one. Using live traps we caught a racoon the other day, I managed to get the cage door open and it took off. I hate to trap these guys. Seems like I should just let them be. They have always been around.
The little fellas eat my neighbors hostas,

Hostas are pretty resilient. I've been mowing over one for years

Regarding these animals always having been around, a lot of them are around in greater numbers today, from humans pushing their predators out.

 

[koraks]

running stuff from one of those 1000-watt-hour battery stations. That could power the enlarger bulb, any other lights or fans, and a small electric space heater for short amounts of time.

1kWh isn't much for heating if you're going to just burn it in an electric heater. It might get you somewhere if you use an inverter - although on cold days its COP may not be too spectacular and the investment is fairly high. You could always use a gas-powered space heater on cold days.

But really...

The shed is not currently insulated but I could add insulation to the darkroom portion of it without much trouble. It's about 80 feet from the house, no plumbing so I'd have to carry the liquids

...is there no way to dig a trench? Not sure what kind of soil you're on. Maybe pay someone to bring in a small excavator and do it for you. That way you can run water/plumbing + power to your shed. It'll make things so much easier. Filling, draining and hauling jerrycans around will get old, fast. Even a garden hose rolled out for a darkroom session and connected to a local tap in your shed would be more convenient.

And as others said - insulate as much as you can.

 

[loccdor]

You're right, @koraks. I'm a couple years out from this and I'll continue thinking about it. Thanks for the recommendations.

 

[mark_s90]

WATER is the problem with no climate control. Moisture for the more inclined.

Our enlargers are metal, when exposed to warm/hot conditions, the metal gets hot. When the conditions cool, they have a tendency to CONDENSE liqoud on them. That condensation causes problems.

namely electronics. Do you WANT moisture building up in you 50 eyar old enlarger that has no spare parts available to repair or rebuild the dichroic head because some small wire rusted away?

 

[snusmumriken]

WATER is the problem with no climate control. Moisture for the more inclined.

Our enlargers are metal, when exposed to warm/hot conditions, the metal gets hot. When the conditions cool, they have a tendency to CONDENSE liqoud on them. That condensation causes problems.

namely electronics. Do you WANT moisture building up in you 50 eyar old enlarger that has no spare parts available to repair or rebuild the dichroic head because some small wire rusted away?

Yes, it is the key hazard, but it can be managed through good planning. That’s exactly why I used a lot of insulation, good through-ventilation including humidity-controlled extractor fan, and low-input heater to keep temperature fairly constant. Not had any issues in about 15 years now: no fungus, no rust, no electronics damage, paper and mount board all nice and dry. Water condenses like crazy on the print washer because the water supply can be very cold, but that humidity is quickly expelled using the fans. Prints dry too quickly and curl if I leave the fans on!

 

[koraks]

Note that @mark_s90 is no longer active on this forum. There's very little sense in going into his ramblings, which are confused and generally designed just to kick up arguments.