Water Temp Control (Page 2): Or the beginning of a damned fine still...

copladocus

rgrenaderphoto wrote:

Get yourself some soft ½" copper tubing and bend around the outside of a 5 gallon plastic bucket. Make a cylindrical coil with input and exit on the top of the bucket. With a tubing flare kit, flare ends and modify to accecpt 3/4" garden hose thread FxM. Place in the 5 gallon bucket, connect female end to water supply, male end to wherever you need the water. Fill bucket with ice, flow water. You've created a condenser.

Or the beginning of a damned fine still...

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

I'd recommend contacting http://www.chillercity.com/home.php

You'll probably want to talk to Andy.

If you care to mention my name, that'd be ok.
--Bob

wandering stranger wrote:

I live in a part of the world were my water temps seldomly get below 70. Right now, I am able to shower without turnng on the hot water and do not expect to see water water temps into to the low 70's before December or January. Does anyone know of a unit that will cool water for a darkroom or a plan fora device someone has devised for a unit that will cool water and provide cool to cold water? As always budget is a concern a very big concern. thanks.

wandering stranger Loc: Right now Vail, AZ

thanks

TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA

Any refrigerator/freezer that has an in-door dispenser for ice and chilled water would fill the bill.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

wildweasel wrote:

home beer brewers have used these "chillers" for some time to cool the wort after boiling before adding yeast. You can check a brewers supply store to buy one if you don't want to build your own.
https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/copperhead-immersion-wort-chiller?variant=7554635956268&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-d-5xtmZ3QIV3rbACh27UAZ_EAQYASABEgIhMPD_BwE

Shoot, mine would have been a fun DIY project, but this is ideal.

rpavich Loc: West Virginia

Why worry about 70 deg water temp for a darkroom?

If you are developing, just adjust the time, if you are printing, yay! faster prints.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

wandering stranger wrote:

I live in a part of the world were my water temps seldomly get below 70. Right now, I am able to shower without turnng on the hot water and do not expect to see water water temps into to the low 70's before December or January. Does anyone know of a unit that will cool water for a darkroom or a plan fora device someone has devised for a unit that will cool water and provide cool to cold water? As always budget is a concern a very big concern. thanks.

Although ice cubes in plastic bags work well, you might look into aquarium water coolers. I don't know what tolerances they are capable of in maintaining water in the 68 degree range, but it is worth investigating. They are used for goldfish breeding tanks and various species that require colder than room temperature water.

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

wandering stranger wrote:

I live in a part of the world were my water temps seldomly get below 70. Right now, I am able to shower without turnng on the hot water and do not expect to see water water temps into to the low 70's before December or January. Does anyone know of a unit that will cool water for a darkroom or a plan fora device someone has devised for a unit that will cool water and provide cool to cold water? As always budget is a concern a very big concern. thanks.

You really only need to control the developer temperature. I use to use the "ice in a zip lock bag" procedure to make my developer. Then I would have a bucket or dishpan full of water at 68'F/20'C . I would keep the film tank in the bucket until it was time for the stop bath. For tray developement , I would float an 8x10 tray in an 11x14 tray filled with the desired water temperatures. Again I would use ice in zip lock bags to maintain temperature. Note if you need different processing times for different temperatures, I have all my "Photo Lab Index" books on times and temperatures. I even have 1940s vintage Kodak books on Tropical Film Development. Just PM me.

The Watcher

Here’s what the OP needs, if you could locate one. In my early darkroom days, I dealt with a water and room temperature problem, so I purchased one of these for around a hundred dollars. It had a small pump to circulate the water, a thermostat and heating element to control the temperature. When things got to warm for black and white processing I would place Blue Ice packets in the bath and let the unit monitor and adjust the temperature.

http://www.phototherm.com/bath.html

delkeener Loc: SW Rhode Island, USA

If your problem is trying to get black and white photo developer down to 68 F, why not find a developer than works at your tap water temp? When I lived in Oahu the year round tap water temp was 72 F and that was the preferred temp for Kodak's Microdol X and my then favorite Panatomic X film. Most film developers work just fine at other than the 68 F often suggested. I think you can find the time/temperature chart for most combinations.

LA Loc: Little Rock, AR

delkeener wrote:

If your problem is trying to get black and white photo developer down to 68 F, why not find a developer than works at your tap water temp? When I lived in Oahu the year round tap water temp was 72 F and that was the preferred temp for Kodak's Microdol X and my then favorite Panatomic X film. Most film developers work just fine at other than the 68 F often suggested. I think you can find the time/temperature chart for most combinations.

Yes. Attached is a temp/time chart like I used long ago for D-76. This was considered quite acceptable then, and I cannot see why it would not be now. Deviating from 20 C was, however, not approved for color film because the different color layers were designed to develop to match properly at 20 C. At other temps the different layers would develop differently and combine to give different, i.e., undesirable, colors. The bottom line on B&W is that 20 C is not a magic number but is merely what the industry standardized on for reasons probably having to do with practicality. I always used the same temp for developer, stop bath and fixer so as not to produce thermal shock.

GAS496 Loc: Arizona

I learned years ago the reason black and white developers have a recommended processing temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) was because 20 Celsius was the average temperature of tap water in London England. Can anyone verify or disprove?

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

wandering stranger wrote:

I live in a part of the world were my water temps seldomly get below 70. Right now, I am able to shower without turnng on the hot water and do not expect to see water water temps into to the low 70's before December or January. Does anyone know of a unit that will cool water for a darkroom or a plan fora device someone has devised for a unit that will cool water and provide cool to cold water? As always budget is a concern a very big concern. thanks.

You can rig up something were you can pass the "cold" water through a tank filled with ice, like the do at bars that sell tap beer. A popular brand is Kegerator, but it is electric and is not cheap to run. However you could use the concept and pack the box with ice. But a key to temperature consistency in the darkroom is an accurate temperature control valve which takes the feed from hot and cold lines, and mixes it to the correct temperature automatically. Something like this:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/201335-REG/Arkay_602580_Reg_3_Water_Temperature.html

The last part is to use a darkroom sink - which is getting the tempered water to use as a water bath for your trays and film developing tanks. It should have constant flow, gentle circulation and a weir to maintain a proper level of water in the sink and not on your floor.