Portable ventilation?

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I first set up my darkroom in a SMALL bathroom with a ceiling vent which worked adequately to control chemical smells. After bumping into the walls and scrunching trays, I decided to move the set up to a small available bedroom across from a bathroom. The added space is great but the absence of good ventilation is not. I would rather not cut out a hole in the ceiling to install a vent system. Are there such things as portable ventilation systems that can be vented, say, through a window? What about air cleaners? Any thoughts appreciated. -Patricia

-- Patricia Arfsten (parfsten@cccd.edu), September 21, 2000

Answers

Fitting lids to your stop bath and fixer trays would stop a lot of the smell ever getting into the room.
Another alternative would be a cooker hood style ventilator over your wet bench, but this would incur additional running costs in replacing the activated charcoal filters from time to time.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), September 21, 2000.

If theres a window they make darkroom vents? If not fans a couple of fans would not hurt. or maybe a gas mask?-J

-- josh (devil_music@usa.net), September 21, 2000.

About the mask - I went to a local hardware store (will check with a paint store after work) to look into respirator masks. The few I looked at were ok for paint fumes but is this enough for the fumes generated by developing chemicals? Comments? Thanks.

-- Patricia Arfsten (parfsten@cccd.edu), September 21, 2000.

The worst fumes come from the stop bath followed by the fixer. There are smell-free versions of these available from the Photographer's Formulary, and other sources. www.photoformulary.com

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), September 21, 2000.

The smells from processing chemicals aren't harmful, unless you let your fixer get to the point where it's giving off Hydrogen Sulphide. By that time it's useless for fixing anyway.
Just learn to live with the smell, it gets kind of addictive after 20 or 30 years.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), September 22, 2000.


Smell has NOTHING to do with toxicity. Smell is an indicator of gases or vapors or partuculates in the air. In photo chemistry, most of what is harmful does not ahve a powerful smell.

A paint respirator will work against most photo chemicals, however you will have to change the cartridges on a fairly regular basis, and no one likes wearing one for any length of time. Put in good ventilation.

If you have a window, you can use it for non-permanent ventilation. What you do is cut a piece of plywood to cover the window (which also makes it light tight). Mount the ventilation in the plywood. There are many ways of hooking the plywood to the window frame that allows easy removal. Make sure the ventilator is light tight also, probably the best (but not the cheapest way) is to get one of the Doran/Premier vent fans with light trap.

WRT air cleaners, the same as respirators. If the air cleaner has an activated charcoal filter, it will work, but you have to change the filter on a regular basis, even if the thing is turned off. The activated charcoal has a limited capacity to absorb gases and vapors, when it is full, it does nothing to help. And there is no good way to tell when it is full.

-- Terry Carraway (TCarraway@compuserve.com), September 22, 2000.


I've long suffered lack of ventilation in an attic darkroom for many years and have just solved it with a low cost solution.

Earlier this year I purchased from Costco a #30 fan unit with a charcoal filter. This is intended to clean and re-cycle the air, but it does not bring in fresh air, nor cool the room. I recently discarded the filter and fixed a length of rectangular tumble dryer exhaust hose with wires and gaffer tape to the outlet of the fan. This I routed to the eaves and fixed it to the wall so it exhausts into the roof space through a small hole.

Positioned behind my Nova Quad print developing tank it draws fresh air across the unit removing any fumes. I have noticed the effects of a much better working environment ending up less tired and without the nasal irritations I have always suffered before. The low noise of the unit enables me to work late into the night without disturbing the family. A friend has installed a similar unit, exhausting through a hole in a blackout board covering his window.

The Quad tank has enabled me to dispose of the stop bath as I now use running water to wash the print before and after the fix bath. I use the first two of the slots in the tank for soft working and normal developers and the others for fix and running water. There are many benefits to these tanks and I wish I had obtained one years ago. Take a good look at it, I recommend it.

Gaz Rowlands Manchester, England

-- Gaz Rowlands (growlands@cwcom.net), September 24, 2000.


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