YAY! 4x5 Daylight tank!

I switched over to Venchka's preferred system (Beseler motor base, not Uniroller) last year, but I used FR tanks for a number of years and had very little problem with uneven development. I found I got the best results by being sure to keep the the tank as vertical as possible during agitation (not letting the bottom swing thereby giving the bottom of the film more agitation than the top) and alternating agitation from side to side (parallel to the film slots) and front to back. The do use a whole lot of chemistry, though.

The Phototherm may be best. The Jobo/Uniroller/Beseler gear is cheap and readily available.

So I used this tank for the first time. It leaks like a si..v... um... siv. and it takes a TONNE of liquid. It works OK, but you need a good big sink to set it down in. I don't think I got uneven development, but I underdeveloped because I didn't have enough chems. I knew that; I was just testing anyway..

Works ok for me.

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Venchka said:

The Phototherm may be best. The Jobo/Uniroller/Beseler gear is cheap and readily available.

Click to expand...

For a while the Phototherms were cheaper than dirt on evilbay, but they have gotten pricey recently.



They really are sweet, however. The old ones usually need a good workover. They really are a piece of pro gear, and most saw a lot of service.



Once you get them going properly they are awesome. You can only control development time in 5 second intervals. But that is fine for everything. The nice thing is that you can get 6min 35sec (or your spec) 25 times in a row, then get it again exactly 3 months later.

The precision repeatable results help clods in the darkroom like me.

So I calculated that the tank I have takes 1500ml of liquid. That's 1400 + 100 developer for a 1+14 dilution. I find it is better to use 1+14 because with such a large tank, it is still close to the 1+9 I use with my 600ml tank (540 + 60ml). OF course I am talking about Ilford products here, which is all I use. I do find the tank leaks a LOT if you tip it. There is no rubber seal to keep liquid in. So I agitate by spinning the tank slightly.