Can you develop film in a daylight tank outside?

Can you develop film in a daylight tank outside? I have chemical sensitivities that might make it impossible to do indoor film development. And what would I need for an outdoor "development center" on a cart? Would a small 120V water heater be a good thing to install on it, for a supply of hot water?

Never did it outdoors, have done it in a kitchen sink under the window, will soon again. Didn't have, don't expect problems. Don't believe I'd test the light trap in full sun, at least not with an important film. If you are concerned about temp. except in extremes, I believe a dishpan full of water used as a water bath would hold temp long enough. Others may have done / know more. Sounds interesting -- I have a spare glass patio table...

Should work. - Agfa advertised their Rondinax daylight tank on a camping table in front of a tent. I'd probably dare to run my Jobos on the balcony. Press photographers used to process their films while cycling home to the office after the Sunday soccer match.

Indoors vs. outdoor should make no difference for any working daylight tank.

120W sound "close to nothing" to me. - Jobos have 300W to heat the water bath and take ages to do so.

What kind of hot water do you need?

AFAIK the trick is to have all chemicals and first rounds of rinsing water at similar temperature. If you need to mix chemicals during winter outdoors, you'll be happy to have a more powerful heater

I wouldn't trust a light trap in full sun with fast film. What sort of sensitivities are we talking? There's a wide range of developers and other solutions, some of which are quite benign. Maybe an ascorbic acid developer, water rinse and alkaline fixer to avoid the acetic acid stink. Heck, coffee was a developer people played with for a while, though it's not really very good.

Temperature control is only important for the developer stage. Afterwards it's only important to avoid thermal shock up to the hardener stage (if relevant). You can temper a water bath in a foam container, and it will hold long enough for development. If it cools a little for the remaining stages, no problem.

 

I would let direct sunlight shine on the light trap, but open shade should be okay. I've never worked in an hermetically-sealed darkroom. There's always a little leakage under the door. that's probably more than gets through the light seal on a tank.

 

None of the chemicals are volatile, so your exposure to them would be nearly the same, indoors or out. You need to wipe up spills promptly to keep chemicals from staining surfaces or drying to dust (and contamination). Keeping tanks and containers in a water bath goes a long way to keeping things clean.

 

I have always used stainless steel tanks and reels (e.g., Nikkor), which transfer heat well and are easy to clean. They do leak, however, at least with stainless lids and caps.

No problem to develop outside. Outside is where photography started.

But what kind of "Sensitivity".

To what chemicals...How.....?

For Film a lot people are in their kitchen or bathroom. Most of those have windows and you can set up a small fan.

If you are so sensitive that a fan and an open window wont solve your sensitivity.....going outside will not help you.

What has happened in the past when you develop film.?

When you develop film, the chemicals are trapped in a tank. There really is not much to worry about.

You cannot put a darkroom outside.....how are you going to print.?

I've never worked in an hermetically-sealed darkroom. There's always a little leakage under the door. that's probably more than gets through the light seal on a tank.

 

Admittedly I load under room light in a changing bag and also develop under room light.

 

With that said, I keep meaning to put foam strips around my dark room door but it's still not "dark" when I print. I stuff a towel under the door, but after I've been in there a minute or two with the lights off(and my safelight not fully warmed up-I use a Thomas sodium light) I can see light outlining the door.

 

It's never been an issue for me when I'm printing. Admittedly I am conscious of it. I "wedge" paper boxes open with the opening away from door and only extract one sheet at a time taking care to only open the black bag as much as needed.

 

Still, I think that my enlarger(Besseler 23C) leaks more light than the door does.

 

BTW, on the subject of odors-I don't use a stop bath(I use a couple of water changes instead). The stop bath is easily the stinkiest part of the dark room, esp. if you're making it up from glacial acetic acid(I think that's what the Kodak indicating stop bath concentrate is). I am a chemist in my day job and get to smell enough glacial acetic acid and acetic anhydride even when working in a fume hood or well ventilated lab to make me not want to handle it at home. Ammonium thiosulfate rapid fixers are the next worst thing, but you can avoid their smell if you work with hypo(sodium thiosulfate) instead. I really only notice the smell when it's in a tray-pouring it from the bottle to the tank and then back to the bottle doesn't let THAT much smell out. I use D76, Rodinal, and Dektol. Dektol is easily the stinkiest, but then again I always have it in an open tray. D76 isn't too bad, and at working strength I find that Rodinal essentially has no smell.

Yes you can, I did.

But best to do this under shade, to reduce the intensity of the sunlight.

Use a tray of water at the correct development temp as a water bath for the chemicals and developing tank (if stainless steel). I don't know how effective a water bath is for a plastic tank.

I would wonder about light piping around the light baffles in the tank, in direct sunlight.

 

In open shade, I suppose it should be fine.

Depending on where you live just go out in the evening.

I remember back when I lived in a fairly remote area one hot sticky day in summer, setting up my darkroom on a picnic bench outside in the yard. (it was a moonless night). We ran a long extension cord for power & hung sidelights from a tree & printed B&W outdoors, a very strange feeling!:D

Could do that out here - when it is dark, it's really dark. Brings up a wild thought -- how about Moonlight contact prints!?:D

Lends new meaning to "f8 for 1/2 a week" as an exposure!

You two guys are getting weird ! If you investigate "laminar flow hood" you might see the answer to working with chemicals you are sensitive too. Metol gives me hives, so have "avoided" it like the plague for years, but did have a simple suction to the outside area for years in my various wet labs. Bill Edited September 17, 2017 by Bill Bowes

Could do that out here - when it is dark, it's really dark. Brings up a wild thought -- how about Moonlight contact prints!?

Brings a whole new meaning to 'Printing-out Paper' !

Moonlight contacts? A real test of reciprocity characteristics as the noon sun is 100,000 brighter than the full moon.

The air is so clear (ex. fire season) out here, when the moon is full there is a lot of light. For example, you can easily read relatively small print. Was just joking, but it is certainly far brighter than any darkroom I have been in with safelights on. Will have to take a reading with the old Sekonic Studio next time the moon is full.

Every darkroom (many commercial) I've ever been in has an extractor fan. The problem with many is the position where it actively draws fumes from trays & so on directly past the face to the exhaust vent. While reducing he total exposure the concentrated area is in the wrong place entirely.

When I built my commercial darkroom I went a different route. I blew in from outside (via a light-tight hood) fresh air from a 5" radio shack fan. It was situated high up & over the wet area.

The I built an exhaust, using the same setup, so it was a balanced flow, It was low down & behind me.

Try it it makes an amazing difference, way better than I expected.

About a decade or so ago, Boeing Co. learned a VERY Expensive lesson at a new plant for handling the pre-preg composites for the B-1 bomber. Do not suck air up into the nose's of your workers, suck it down toward the floor, forward of the worker and then out through the filters. Chaz, myself & others knew this long before the idiots at Boeing built their $60 M building. This is the basis of the laminar flow hood, seen in just about every university/college for some 100 years now. Bill

Most laminar flow hoods are made to blow air out of the work cabinet, over the counter-top and toward the operative, maintaining a positive pressure within the cabinet in order to exclude particulate contamination. Laminar flow is about protecting the workpiece or machinery area from airborne contamination, not the operator.

 

Chemical extractor cabinets simply suck air in through a sliding shutter that's only opened far enough for whatever manipulation is needed. That's not really laminar flow though, since any interruption of the entry duct creates turbulence.

 

Respirator or filter-masks are a more effective way to prevent inhalation of toxic fumes than trying to control air flow.