Secrets of the Lomo tank

[woods01]

My Lomo tank finally arrived! It didn't come with the manual, which is fine, there is plenty of info on the net. I'm pretty experience with bucket processing but have a few questions for more experienced users about B&W processing with the tank:

Does anyone use the drain hose? Mine didn't come with a plug and it seems more practical to just work in darkness and remove the spiral and poor out the chemicals.

How many cartridges do you get out of your chemicals? Martin Baumgarten's site recommends 6-8, adding 15sec to each successive batch. Previously I did no more than 4 with no change in timing.

And speaking of time how long should it stay in the developer? I've been happy with 3 minutes in D-76 for Tri-x processed as neg. But some online searches,like this thread, suggest 6 minutes. I'm interested in doing some extreme push/pull processing, and the old rule of thumb was to add 2 minutes to push a stop and remove 1 minute to pull. So it it looks like I've been pulling my film all this time.

Lastly has anyone tried drying their film by just leaving it in the spiral reel?

[richard p. t.]

Hi there,
lomo's don't come with a plug (I assume you mean a plug for the hose). There is no need for a plug - you just insert the end of the hose in the hole in the tank handles. Taking the spiral out in darkness is fine, however you can't turn the light on until you find somewhere light tight to put the spiral in. If you have two tanks, that works. I'd suggest using the hose however. Insert a funnel for filling through the hose, then during the process, remove the funnel and insert the hose in the tank handles to stop liquid from flowing out. When the time is up, drain the liquid out of the tank through the hose then stick your funnel back in and start with the rinsing through the hose. If you are going to use running water for the wash, then be vary careful about temperature. People often shock the film with too hot or too cold water when they do this. The effect produced is called 'reticulation'. You get the emulsion bubbling up off the film base. It ends up crinkled or fallen off altogether. Better to have a bucket of the correct temp water ready and poor it in from jugs through the hose with a funnel attached.
As for times, you have to work that out for yourself depending on your system, temperature and when you start and stop your timer ecetera. However I suggest 6 minutes for dev at 20degrees C starting from when you poor in to when you start the poor in of the rinsing water. See how that goes for you.
As for quantities, I wouldn't run to 8 myself as the developer isn't that expensive. 6 is doable.
As for drying in the spiral, doesn't work. And NEVER apply hot air to the spiral - they melt very easily. Make yourself a drying frame and air dry on that (either naturally or with hot air if you must).
good luck,
rt

[aj]

little to add

Just use the hose to fill and drain. A good difference of height helps with filling and draining. I.e. Hold the hose high when filling and 600ml will fly in in 15 sec.
For draining just hold the Lomo high or the hose over the edge of the sink and the bottle low.

Add a drop of wetting agent to the first juice.

Drying in the spiral is almost undoable. At room temperature it will take days to vapourize the water which sits between the edge of the film and the spiral. It may get stuck too. Heating may wreck the spiral. Either hang the film out or when you process many films assemble a run-through dryer.

[Angus]

I've dried film on the spiral....it can be done overnight if you place the reel on a dry towel and heat the room to about 27 centigrade. Otherwise you're talking 24-48 hours at normal room temperature.

[supa8]

Quick question: Must the drying absolutely take place in a dark room or can you switch on the light?

[aj]

hm, is this a real question?

After the fixing bath (actually sooner, when the fixer is in) you can wash and dry with the cover off and lights on.

Even better, with classic BW reversal you can leave the cover off after the second exposure

[woods01]

Some articles on loading the spiral have suggested that loading the film onto a reel to make it easier to load. I came across this lomo guide that suggests breaking the core and pulling the film straight out of the cartridge. Sounds interesting but seems like it'd increase the chance of scratching. Does anyone here use this method?

[aj]

I usually feed it straight from the cartridge. I put two small pegs in to push the pressure plate back. Then pull the film for 20 cms, thereby crack the reverse lock of the cartridge and fix the film to the core of the spiral with lights on. Then light out and reel it in. The Olex site has good photos the handling.

BTW This super8camera website is some kind of ripping portal. It weaves other people's website content with advertisements for cine goods (flea market finds) sold by mr Heeling from Utrecht, Netherlands

[aj]

BTW In the past the big kodak and agfa labs used robotos to extract the film. These used the hole near the end of the film to yank out the film. Only fully wound in films would be extracted from opened cartridges.

It is best to have the side with the holes in the groove of the spiral. And make sure the emulsion is on the outside of the winding in the spiral.

[wahiba]

I think the first tanks came with a clip for the hose! I acquired mine new in the 1970s, but the clip, if it existed has long gone.

I found transferring the film from the cartridge to a spool and load from the spool much easier. Fixture to aid transfer here:

http://www.siltec.co.uk/diydev.html

I have managed all this inside a arge light tight bag on the kitchen table!!!

Have fun.

[pdiantoni]

Hello, I am a seasoned 35 mm still photographer with lots of darkroom experience and film development. I am researching Super 8 home development.

The one thing that has me baffled is a proper drying method for 50' of film!

Does anyone have photos or diagrams of successful methods?

Thanks so much,

Peter

[aj]

search this forum and, amongst others, find this:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=20478

with picture:
http://www.super8.nl/super8_in_FD.pdf
text was translated and posted on this forum