How long should it take to fill a SS tank?

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I recently switched to stainless steel reels and tank for developing film, and I bought a "Tundra" brand tank. It has a plastic top. I am trying to develop two rolls of 120 at the same time. The problem that I have is that it takes 45 seconds or more just to fill the tank! If I try to pour faster, the developer ends up filling up the cap and spilling over the sides. Occasionally, a big bubble forms in the hole, which makes it worse. Any suggestions? How long does it take you to pour 750-800ml into a SS tank? Do different brands have significantly different cap designs?

(One idea is to put the reels into a tank that is already full of developer, but I would like to avoid this.)

-- Warren Weckesser (weck@ima.umn.edu), April 25, 2001

Answers

Warren:

You should be able to fill a tank with 2 rolls of 120 in no more than 15 seconds. Try tilting the tank about 30 degrees to one side to let the air trapped in the tank to escape. If you don't allow the air to escape, there won't be enough room in the tank for the chemicals. As the tank gets nearly full, you will have to decrease the angle somewhat in order to fill the tank completely. Doing it that way, you should be able to fill it much quicker. You'll also find that the tank will empty more quickly if it isn't totally inverted. Just pour the chems out with the tank at an angle less than total inversion. Practice a little by filling and dumping an empty tank a few times with water.

-- Ken Burns (kenburns@twave.net), April 25, 2001.


Bang on advice from Ken there.
If you try to pour too fast you'll just get an airlock, and the liquid won't move.
Just one further thing, put a towel or something reasonably soft under the tank, and give it a few good sharp taps on your worksurface as soon as you've filled it. This dislodges any air bubbles that might have stuck to the film, and helps prevent air 'trails' up the film. SS tanks seem more prone to air bubbles than plastic ones, I don't know why. Maybe it's simply because of the speed of filling.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), April 26, 2001.

In my experience also, plastic tops take ages to fill without dripping. In addition to the suggestions above, the only real solution is to get a stainless steel top. I recently got a stainless steel tank and top set for 2 120 reals and it works beautifully and fills and empties in a flash.

-- Raja A. Adal (d60w0635@ip.media.kyoto-u.ac.jp), April 26, 2001.

Thanks all. Even though I could swear that I WAS tilting the tank, I went back and practiced, and was able to fill it in about 15 seconds. Now my problem is that the cap on this brand new tank leaks...

-- Warren Weckesser (weck@ima.umn.edu), April 30, 2001.

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