Leaks in color developing drum
marc...@iastate.edu
Hi there,
I have a Unicolor developing drum (8*10") which leaks when loaded
with water/chemicals. The case is pretty anoying since I end up
wetting the motor base with those nasty color chemicals! The reason
for the leak is probably a defective seal (the plastic ring which
has radial little legs pointing inwards.)
The questions are:
1. did anybody experience the same problem with those drums?
2. is the plastic ring the one to blame?
3. if so, where can I get a replacement one?
Thanks a lot,
Marcelo Dapino
Charles Knight
I have never had a unicolor drum that didn't leak a little bit, but
they will hold the solution volume long enough to procesws the print
and the leaking is little more than a pain in the hiney! I found that
if I very carefully seat the lid, the leaking is minimized to no more
than about 5~10 drops per entire process. BTW, you can avoid stain and
make life easier if you use a 30 sec stop bath and do your bleaching
in a tray.
Ron Walton
marc...@iastate.edu wrote in article <32D13E...@iastate.edu>...
: Hi there,
:
: I have a Unicolor developing drum (8*10") which leaks when loaded
: with water/chemicals. The case is pretty anoying since I end up
: wetting the motor base with those nasty color chemicals! The
reason
: for the leak is probably a defective seal (the plastic ring which
: has radial little legs pointing inwards.)
: The questions are:
: 1. did anybody experience the same problem with those drums?
: 2. is the plastic ring the one to blame?
: 3. if so, where can I get a replacement one?
:
: Thanks a lot,
:
: Marcelo Dapino
:
Don't know about the leaking with Unicolor, but I use Cibachrome
drums and they use a lot less chemistry per print. I get 20 8 X 10
prints per liter without replinshment. Use it one shot and then
toss. Also they don't leak.
Ron Walton
John Hicks
Unicolor drums always leak a little; of course when the plastic seal
gets too worn they leak a lot. Replacement seals are available from a
Unicolor dealer.
If the drum is really old, the rubber ring behind the seal has
probably gotten stiff and compressed and a new seal won't fix it.
I routinely use the Unicolor 8x10 drum for developing 4x5 and 8x10
film; works great.
I'd used Cibachrome 11x14 drums for prints but it was always such a
wrestling match getting the end cap off that I gave up on them and
went to Unicolor 11x14 drums, which are much easier to deal with.
No problem with the big Cibachrome drum or the similar Dev-Tec 20"
drum.
John's Camera Shop