Most economical tank for developing 120 film

The Patterson system 4 developing tank that I am currently using

requires 500ml of solution to be used for a roll of120 film and I

think that�s a lot of developer as compared to the daylight tank that

I used for 35mm film which requires only 200ml of solution every

time.

 

1. If I want a tank for developing 120 film ONLY which system /

model will require the less amount of solution? (I like the loading

reel of the Patterson system 4 and would like to stick with this

loading method)

 

2. If I am to stick with 500ml solution (I use T-max @ 1+4), can

I re-use the developer and if so , for how many rolls of 120 film (if

it can do 2 or 3 safely I will be very happy about it) and how do I

calculate the compensation time needed ?

 

Thanks

The old Rondinax 60 tank (120 film) uses only 150mm of solution per roll, making it one of the most economical - provided you already own it. Thhey're pretty scarce to find these days, although I did see one on E*** last year.

Seto, 200ml seemed low (in volume) to me so I checked my Nikor stainless steel tank. It requires 250ml of solution to reach the top of a single 35mm reel (though without any film in the reel). So your tank, at 200ml, may represent the exteme in terms of developer usage.

 

I don't know the cost of developer where you are and I don't know how many rolls you develop, but I think you may be at a point of diminishing returns. I doubt you can find a tank that requires substantially less than 450ml.

 

You don't mention which developer you are using, but the manufacturer should have a publication that tells you how many rolls can be processed in a given volume and whether any compensation is needed.

I have been using the Agfa Rondinax 35 day light tank for 35mm rolls which requires 200ml solution only.

 

I use Kodak T-max developer at 1+4 strength as recommended on the bottle.

No one mentioned jobo drums they use tiny ammounts of developer. a 1510 only uses 140ml per roll of 35mm or 2 rolls of 120 in a roatary processor.

WOW ! 2 rolls of 120 use same amount as 1 roll of 35mm?

 

That's very good , I shall fetch one from e-bay later.

The Jobo drums do need an extraordinarily small amount of chemistry to work. Be aware that they are designed to be used horizontally in a Jobo processor with constant agitation. If you use them upright like a regular cheap plastic or SS tank, it will need comparable volumes of chemistry.

I think that a person should also consider the price of the film and the work it took to make the exposures first instead of trying to save pennies on using less developer per roll. Here might be some other options.... There is Rodinal or clones at dilutions of 1:25 - 1:100 or Gainer's formulations, many of which are made from easily obtainable chemicals and dilutions which range from 1:50 - 1:100 and inexpensive.

I use a stainless tank for film development. I've got a unit that uses just one reel - 16 oz.

 

The reason I like stainless is because I can have a sink or bowl of 68 degree water and keep the tank immersed for better temp consistency. I use a large enough bowl to contain enough water to last for the duration of film development. I also will use this when doing the other steps of processing to maintain consistency.

 

Stainless seems to work the best for me to maintain this consistency.

 

I live in Minnesota and we have varying degrees of temp throughout the year.

Yes - REPEAT - the jobo will need perhaps more solution than your current tank if you aren't using it on a jobo rotary processor (just trying to save you the money before you run out and get one).

 

500ml is about how much I measure out when using my SS 120 tank, and SS tanks are generally much more effiicient than plastic ones. I actually don't need quite that much, but it's easier to round out to 100ml increments when doing 1+25 or 1+50 dilutions.

 

allan

Seto...

 

I haven't tried this myself, but I've been considering putting two rolls of 120 on a single Patterson reel (one after the other,) to effectively halve the amount of developer required. I've seen it mentioned a few times on this site...any inputs from others in this thread?

Scott,

 

This has to go under the "Why didn't I think of it before?" category.

 

I had never tried this, but I just did, with a couple of trial 120 rolls in broad daylight. It

works! What you have to do is this: after the first roll is in, you push it all the way into the

reel by its outside end so that it go to the core and leave room for the second roll. Then

you load the second roll the usual way. Otherwise the second roll will be reeled in on top

of the first one, in the same grooves. Most likely not very good.

 

Astonishing. That should cut my Rodinal consumption in half. Thanks.

Thanks everyone,

 

I did find out about the extra equipment that I need for the JOBO system and did not run out to get one.

 

500ml of Tmax solution at recommended dilution cost approx 1 USD here in Hong Kong.

 

Not really very expenisve but is not cheap i would say. One roll of 120 for me work out like this :

 

Film : USD 3.5

Developer : USD 1.0

Fixer and other cost : USD0.2

 

TOTAL AROUND : USD4.7

 

I scan the negs , so no further cost unitl I print one out.

 

That's pretty cheap in fact, I didn't work it out before.

 

Now knowing 500ml solution is the norm, i have no problem using that much myself in the future, just that now I have to stock more developer at home.

Bernard...

 

Glad to pass along a tip! I hope it works for you. <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00EF3m">Here is more information</a> from people more experienced than I. I haven't worked it out yet...but it will obviously require some expirementation. <BR><BR>

 

Regards,

Scott

Thanks for the link and the tip, Scott. There seems to be several techniques. Of course,

you must make sure to use the minimum amount of stock developer for two rolls.

Putting 2 rolls of film on one reel is a bit dangerous as I found out the other day... The problem is that the end of one roll overlapped with the start of the other destroying 3 frames! :(