Those plastic tops on steel tanks sure sits tight! I don't think there is a way to get them off quickly. If too much force is applied the lid will be damaged and not seal good enough. Applying grease or something for less friction would probably lead to damage on the film. Unless there is a trick I don't know of you probably have to measure how long time it takes for you to empty the tank and adjust for it in your procedures. I don't think you will get uneven development, unless your development times are very short. You could rotate the tank while emptying it which perhaps will decrease the risk of uneven development.(posted 9376 days ago)With my 1-roll tank it takes 10 seconds to empty it. With a two-reel tank the developer will "leave" the reel at the bottom first but that is the same reel that gets in contact with developer when you poor it in so the developing time will be the same for both films in a 2-reel tank. Of course, if you use the method of dumping the loaded film reel into a pre-filled tank I don't know what the result may be.