Anybody try the defective Efke film from J&C?

On 18 Oct 2004 02:01:36 -0700, (Dan Quinn) wrote:

Donald Qualls wrote

-- it has a large window that will be tricky to
cover adequately.

I fashioned a baffle sheet for a small window. The sheet is
painted black on the window side and overlaps. Only a minute
is needed to put in place or take it down. An inset sheet
may do.
A very temporary fix was a black fabric drape. Dan

I use foamcore. If you really want to ensue that no light
makes it in put some aluminum foil in front of the foamcore and allow
it a couple of inches past the edge of the foamcore.


Regards,

John S. Douglas, Photographer - http://www.puresilver.org
Please remove the "_" when replying via email

Dan Quinn wrote:

Donald Qualls wrote

-- it has a large window that will be tricky to
cover adequately.


I fashioned a baffle sheet for a small window. The sheet is
painted black on the window side and overlaps. Only a minute
is needed to put in place or take it down. An inset sheet
may do.
A very temporary fix was a black fabric drape. Dan

The window in this bathroom has curtains on rods, which at a minimum
would have to be taken down for a drape to offer a good light seal, and
since I don't own the house, I'm reluctant to put up anything that
requires making (more) holes in the wallpaper and wall board. An insert
is what I was thinking of, but there's little depth inside the frame
(making a friction fit undependable) and such an insert makes
ventilation a problem (1970s vintage house without exhaust fan). Still
working on it, I'll eventually come up with something (a light trapped
exhaust fan on an insert, held in place by a weight hung out of the
upper sash, perhaps). I'd like to get it dark enough to change film
(hence this digression, because that would let me cut film on a paper
cutter, etc.), which is rather darker than the minimum needed for
careful, quick enlarging.

Weather stripping on the door, and a throw (like a "door boa" that was
popular in older houses during the 1970s "energy crisis" years) to cover
the crack at the bottom. And then, of course, I need to find room for a
4x5 enlarger in a bathroom six feet wide including sinks and shower, and
figure out where to put a tray line and still have room for a wash
basin. I'll get there, but it'll be a couple months, at minimum...

--
I may be a scwewy wabbit, but I'm not going to Alcatwaz!
-- E. J. Fudd, 1954

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer
Lathe Building Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/HomebuiltLathe.htm
Speedway 7x12 Lathe Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/my7x12.htm

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.

Donald Qualls wrote

Dan Quinn wrote:

I fashioned a baffle sheet for a small window. The sheet is
painted black on the window side and overlaps. Only a minute
is needed to put in place or take it down. An inset sheet
may do.
A very temporary fix was a black fabric drape. Dan

...and such an insert makes
ventilation a problem ... a light trapped
exhaust fan on an insert ...


Ventilation is YOUR problem #1. That is unquestionably a
hurdle some who would otherwise take up silver gelatin processing
never clear. I did'nt know where that notion ever originated. I
spent years using the standard acid process in labs where it
never existed. I'm not sure I even heard of a ventilated
darkroom untill I began reading posts on this NG.
Now at home in a small bathroom darkroom I know why those
who NEED an acid process need ventilation. How? I know because
four years ago I waded back into darkroom work using the standard
acid process. The fumes and oder took no time filling the house.
I'm not very much bothered by the fumes and oder but I did
happen upon non-acid processing. After considerable research
I deceided it was safe to try. The darkroom and house are
now more livable for my keeping all solutions neutral
to alkaline.
Any of the usuall processes can be done ventless if using
non-acid chemistry.
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised using the non-acid
way of processing. Skip hurdle #1. Dan


Weather stripping on the door, and a throw
I need to find room for a 4x5 enlarger in a bathroom
six feet wide...a tray line ...

Donald Qualls wrote

Dan Quinn wrote:

I fashioned a baffle sheet for a small window. The sheet is
painted black on the window side and overlaps. Only a minute
is needed to put in place or take it down. An inset sheet
may do.
A very temporary fix was a black fabric drape. Dan

...and such an insert makes
ventilation a problem ... a light trapped
exhaust fan on an insert ...


Ventilation is YOUR problem #1. That is unquestionably a
hurdle some who would otherwise take up silver gelatin processing
never clear. I did'nt know where that notion ever originated. I
spent years using the standard acid process in labs where it
never existed. I'm not sure I even heard of a ventilated
darkroom untill I began reading posts on this NG.
Now at home in a small bathroom darkroom I know why those
who NEED an acid process need ventilation. How? I know because
four years ago I waded back into darkroom work using the standard
acid process. The fumes and oder took no time filling the house.
I'm not very much bothered by the fumes and oder but I did
happen upon non-acid processing. After considerable research
I deceided it was safe to try. The darkroom and house are
now more livable for my keeping all solutions neutral
to alkaline.
Any of the usuall processes can be done ventless if using
non-acid chemistry.
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised using the non-acid
way of processing. Skip hurdle #1. Dan


Weather stripping on the door, and a throw
I need to find room for a 4x5 enlarger in a bathroom
six feet wide...a tray line ...

Dan Quinn wrote:
Donald Qualls wrote

Dan Quinn wrote:

I fashioned a baffle sheet for a small window. The sheet is
painted black on the window side and overlaps. Only a minute
is needed to put in place or take it down. An inset sheet
may do.
A very temporary fix was a black fabric drape. Dan

...and such an insert makes
ventilation a problem ... a light trapped
exhaust fan on an insert ...



Ventilation is YOUR problem #1. That is unquestionably a
hurdle some who would otherwise take up silver gelatin processing
never clear. I did'nt know where that notion ever originated. I
spent years using the standard acid process in labs where it
never existed. I'm not sure I even heard of a ventilated
darkroom untill I began reading posts on this NG.
Now at home in a small bathroom darkroom I know why those
who NEED an acid process need ventilation. How? I know because
four years ago I waded back into darkroom work using the standard
acid process. The fumes and oder took no time filling the house.
I'm not very much bothered by the fumes and oder but I did
happen upon non-acid processing. After considerable research
I deceided it was safe to try. The darkroom and house are
now more livable for my keeping all solutions neutral
to alkaline.
Any of the usuall processes can be done ventless if using
non-acid chemistry.
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised using the non-acid
way of processing. Skip hurdle #1. Dan


Ventilation in a bathroom is often very easy, the same fan used for
removing the moisture from the mornings shower, should work equally well
for removing the fumes from a photographic process. Simply turn on
the fan, it will negative pressure the bathroom slightly, so all fumes
should go out the vent, while fresh air is drawn in from the rest of the
house.

You just need to make sure that the bathroom vent is on a separate
switch from the light, easy to fix if it isn't.

W

A bathroom ventilation fan is/can be great for moving air OUT of the
room - the problem arises when you try to make the room light-tight -
building codes usually require EITHER an openable window OR an exhaust
fan - it yours has a window, it's easy to make a light-trap - but one
opening can work either an inlet or an outlet - to get decent
ventilation, you need both.
Look up 'light trap' and see how you can make one or two work for you.
I do not use acids, but I do have both a light trap on the the door
and an exhaust fan.
You could get a real, live chemical respirator, but those require
constant replacement of filters.

What kind of intake/exhaust is in the bathroom?

An old-fashioned casement window (both upper and lower frames are
moveable) would be perfect - use a fan on one for either intake or
exhaust, the other to perform the opposite - a simple matter that can
easily be reversed. If you have only an exhaust fan, you will need to
come up with an intake - I cut a hole in the door of the room I use as
a darkroom and fabricated a light trap to cover it. I (or somebody)
will need to replace the door to restore the room for normal use.

happyheathen wrote:
A bathroom ventilation fan is/can be great for moving air OUT of the
room - the problem arises when you try to make the room light-tight -
building codes usually require EITHER an openable window OR an exhaust
fan - it yours has a window, it's easy to make a light-trap - but one
opening can work either an inlet or an outlet - to get decent
ventilation, you need both.
Look up 'light trap' and see how you can make one or two work for you.
I do not use acids, but I do have both a light trap on the the door
and an exhaust fan.
You could get a real, live chemical respirator, but those require
constant replacement of filters.

What kind of intake/exhaust is in the bathroom?

It should be an exhaust fan, and most of them involve a metal or plastic
pipe to vent outdoors, it's usually the last piece of piping involved
with construction, because it can be routed around other pipes and
things, without affecting the flow much. Often a couple of bends us
sufficient to make it light tight. If it isn't and you can access the
space above the ceiling, like in the attic then perfect. Simply cut the
pipe, use an elbow to add a 90 degree bend, then add another so that the
pipe is now headed the same direction, but shifted over, add two more
elbows to shidt it back on course. Attach the elbows to each other, and
paint the inside flat black. Attach to the original pipe, since light
travels in a straight line, except through a lens, you will have solved
the problem. You could also attach this to the outside, where the pipe
exits the wall, or attach something similar to the fan itself.

Another option, get a piece of the filter material used in room
air-conditioners, cut 2 or three pieces the size of the pipe, remove the
fan and put a couple in, seperated by about 1 or 2 inches. Tie or tape
a piece of string or wire to them first, with a loop in the end, so you
can pull out the fan, and replace them, once in a while, as dust will
clog your light "filter".

W

The Wogster

I think a lot of this NG's readers have had the words vent,
ventilate, ventilation, ventilated, ventilating, and exhaust,
exhausting, exhausted, etc, drilled into their heads to such
an extent that a darkroom is now a forced air ventilated
room with no lights.
Save for the very hyper-sensitive few and for any who may
engage in some exotic, quite toxic/oderiforous fume producing
process, the number of air changes per minute can be ignored.
I've the impression that some have the impression that
darkroom work is dangerous; poisen gases, toxic solutions.
Emulsion incorrporated hardeners are now the norm. If acid
stop and fix are a bother the non-acid process will do just
as well. If ventilation was not needed in the past it is
even less needed today. Dan

Dan Quinn wrote:

The Wogster

I think a lot of this NG's readers have had the words vent,
ventilate, ventilation, ventilated, ventilating, and exhaust,
exhausting, exhausted, etc, drilled into their heads to such
an extent that a darkroom is now a forced air ventilated
room with no lights.
Save for the very hyper-sensitive few and for any who may
engage in some exotic, quite toxic/oderiforous fume producing
process, the number of air changes per minute can be ignored.

But some of us maybe just like fresh air?

I've the impression that some have the impression that
darkroom work is dangerous; poisen gases, toxic solutions.

There are occasional toxic fumes in the average darkroom.
Cleaners, for one. Also when mixing powered chems some
chemical powder inevitably gets into the air. An adequate
air flow is useful.

Emulsion incorrporated hardeners are now the norm. If acid
stop and fix are a bother the non-acid process will do just
as well. If ventilation was not needed in the past it is
even less needed today.

I've disagreed with you about this before and I disagree now.
Exhaust systems (whether filtering the air in or out) also
helps keep the darkroom temp and humidity even and cool in
addition to helping keep the dust level down.

Dan Quinn wrote:
The Wogster

I think a lot of this NG's readers have had the words vent,
ventilate, ventilation, ventilated, ventilating, and exhaust,
exhausting, exhausted, etc, drilled into their heads to such
an extent that a darkroom is now a forced air ventilated
room with no lights.
Save for the very hyper-sensitive few and for any who may
engage in some exotic, quite toxic/oderiforous fume producing
process, the number of air changes per minute can be ignored.
I've the impression that some have the impression that
darkroom work is dangerous; poisen gases, toxic solutions.
Emulsion incorrporated hardeners are now the norm. If acid
stop and fix are a bother the non-acid process will do just
as well. If ventilation was not needed in the past it is
even less needed today.

Most if not all photographic chemicals are recommended, by the
manufacturer to be used in a well ventilated area. It also depends on
which process, C-41 and E-6 do not have acid free versions. C-41 has a
step that contains formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is dangerous enough that
if it gets spilled during cartage you need to call in a hazardous
chemical cleanup specialist to clean it up and evacuate the building
while waiting for that specialist to arrive. I know, I work for a
courier, and to shut down a 150 truck depot to clean up a spill, means
that is not something to play with.

Besides, it costs $25 - $100 to go from a non-vented darkroom to a well
vented darkroom. Considering the cost of health care, risking your
health for $100 is what I would consider not-smart.

W