imaginator Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 I've been reading about home built film dryers and other solutions for dealing with the wet film. This gave the idea of combining a couple techniques into one. Using the distilled water/flow agent final rinse, and hanging the film strips diagonally (thanks Lex) sounds interesting, but I would have to do this in an enclosure (busy dusty apartment), and since I was going to build a film dryer anyway, why not make something that does both? I'm thinking a rigid tube with film held by springs or something instead of weights... this way the film could be loaded wet (no squeegin') and the tube could be placed at an angle to allow water to flow off film. The same tube would then be put upright and connected to heater/fan/filter arrangement...that's my real question. I have a small canister vac that has small high speed motor, filtered intake and HEPA filter exhaust. The small motor tends to get warm... should be about right, but this thing puts out alot of air flow. Would this be an issue? Is there such a thing a "quick AND clean" drying? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_curry Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 The exhaust from a vacuum will move a lot of air, perhaps too much. I would think an enclosure made out of furnace filter pads would work just as well. In aircraft work we used a room with a special sign on the door: "Notice, simulated dust free environment" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imaginator Posted November 10, 2003 Author Share Posted November 10, 2003 The vacuume is <A HREF="http://www.sharkhomecare.com/itemdetail.asp?UID=2003111013525836&T1=SHA%20EP88TB&edp=25061&i=39">here</A> It is powerful, but output is reduced because of the HEPA filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonghang_zhou Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 The one-hour photo places can do both processing and drying (of film) in 15 to 20 minutes, no spots or dirt. Makes you wonder how their machines do that. <p> Tonghang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger krueger Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 My experience with one-hour places is that there's a LOT more junk on the film than I get at home. My procedure is: distilled water+photo-flo, followed by centrifugal draining (me doing my best imitation of a windmill, with two fingers holding the reel(s) in the tank), followed by a Senrac (a little heat and moderate air movement) for 10 minutes. The film is left on the reel at all times. The filtered vacuum cleaner sounds good, but as with anything, try it on a few rolls of film you don't care about first. If you use stainless reels I'd just leave it on the reel--a lot easier to handle and enclose a reel than a long strip of film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmarkpainter Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 I would be alot more conservative than you are thinking.... If you can simply build a cabinet to hold the film and attach an Exhaust Fan that sucks air out and Filter the Air intake, I think it would be safer. Don't try to reinvent the wheel here.... Dust-Free with air exchange will do wonders. If you had a REALLY weak heater, you could sit it on the floor OUTSIDE of the cabinet next to the Air Intake. Don't burn your Apartment down and don't melt your Film. In this case, the Air Intake would be low and the Exhaust Fan would be high (heat Rises). The Vacuum Cleaner isn't made to be run for extended periods of time like that, and they are unbearably LOUD. I think you would kill it quickly. jmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvin_bramley Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 I have a dryer made from 3 old coffee cans,a piece of foam & an old range hood fan unit.It works very well for up to 4 films.As was mentioned the fan motor provides enough heat(if you are not rushed) to dry the films.The big thing to remmember is to wait untill the films are completely dry before removing them.A half dry negative seems to attract dust like flies to a flycatcher.I don't think you need to filter the exhaust,a good intake filter seems to be enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay_de_fehr Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 Hi Jeffrey. I like your idea, especially the tube/tension part. I would like to have a dryer that could dry a roll of film in the time it takes to proceess one, and I think that would require a fairly warm and robust airflow. To my mind, the faster the better, assuming that there is no unforeseen danger. Thanks for the post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank.schifano Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 I don't like the vacuum cleaner idea at all. Hepa filter or no, I don't trust it to keep the exhaust air as clean as it needs to be. It's also way too much air. Any dust particles will be blasted onto your wet film and will be impossible to remove later. A cabinet with a a good filter on the intake side and a small muffin fan is all you need. For a little bit of heat you could use a small lightbulb (protected from water drops of course) mounted to the bottom of the cabinet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnmarkpainter Posted November 11, 2003 Share Posted November 11, 2003 Do a google search under "Ruined Film Dryer Capa" Here is a sample: In World War II, Capa landed with U.S. forces at Normandy, leading to one of photojournalism�s most notorious mishaps: all but 11 of his negatives from the landing were ruined when a harried darkroom technician left them in an overheated film dryer. If you want it to dry REALLY fast...just pop it in the microwave while you warm up your water for your instant coffee. NOTE: That was a joke. Don't do that. jmp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth_harper Posted November 11, 2003 Share Posted November 11, 2003 John, I've read about that one a few times, it most be the most infamous darkroom disaster of all time. Aparently Capa had two cameras fully loaded with film when he landed, he shot off the two rolls, then attempted to reload but his hands were shaking so much it wasn't possible, so he jumped on one of the landing crafts and got the hell out of there. To risk your life only to have the negs ruined....... Why put photoflow in distilled water? I just do final rinses in distilled water, hang em up, wipe em down with my fingers and that's it. Dust free enviroment? Your bathroom after running a hot shower for a few minutes is dust free. Having said that I hate waiting for them to dry. Why not look out for a secondhand purpose made film dryer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imaginator Posted November 11, 2003 Author Share Posted November 11, 2003 I never said I was in a hurry to dry the film... just that I have the vac and wondered if it might work. Also, nobody has given me a specific reason why too much air fow is bad... it's more like we are just repeating what we hear, without thinking it out. IF there was "crud" in the air, this makes sense, but a HEPA filter is very reliable, and I will dedicate one just for this purpose. I will also seal everything so only filtered air gets in. John, you said "If you had a REALLY weak heater, you could sit it on the floor OUTSIDE of the cabinet next to the Air Intake" That was my original plan. Jay, you said "no unforseen danger" That's what I'm asking... for someone to tell my (specifically) why this could be a problem. Frank, the HEPA filter should stop everything from getting through (I will buy a new one and only use it for the dryer) You said "too much air"... why? What will too much flow do besides dry the film. Anyway, the idea of leaving the film on the reels might also work, because the flow would be across the short dimension of the film, and since it will be strong, it should make short work of the drying. If the vacuume is getting too warm, I can simply turn it off for awhile, then resume drying. I'm not in a hurry, but if this works, why not "go with the flow" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew_hull Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 My choice, a $12 hanging garment bag storage thing from Target. Hang film clips from the bar on the inside, zip it up and voila! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wclark5179 Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 Check this out:<P><A HREF="http://search.shutterbug.net/archives/story.cfm?StoryID=4388">Shutterbug Magazine Article on A Cheap Film Dryer</A><P>I like that ---cheap and easy to build.<P>It works! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amul Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 I've got one issue with your idea. Your vac is too powerful, the airflow through that HEPA filter is going to be faster than the filter is rated for, and dust will get through. At those speeds, the dust won't just adhere to your film, they'll HIT it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imaginator Posted November 14, 2003 Author Share Posted November 14, 2003 Good point... I was wondering how they made HEPA filter to work at such high airflow. That's good enough for... the vac option is out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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