i bought a unicolor base and some tubes a while ago, and finally got a chance to use it tonight. i processed some roll film, but ran into a slight problem. the part of the tube called " the piston " that allows you to adjust the tube seems to want to leak. i have read greywolf's article on repairing the gasket seals, but have no idea on fixing the leaky piston.

any ideas?

thanks!

- john

I read Greywolf's article too but did not see how to rpair the gasket seals. Does he have a different article?

hi mark

this is the article i was refering to:

http://www.apug.org/site/main/viewtopic.php?t=2068&highlight=unicolor+drum


as for fixing a leaky piston - the only advice i was given this far was to put a little vasoline on it ( as well as the othe gaskets ) this will at least help the leak problems by giving the drum a better seal. i have a rubber band from a bunch-o-brocolli that i was going to try too .. but i have a feeling i know *that* that will do ;)


-john

Does the silicon go on the rubber gasket? Or do you get rid of the rubber all together?

mark:

as far as i can tell, the silicon takes the place of that thin-weird-plastic-gasket-with-the-tabs, the one that tends to crack &C.

mine's cracked a little bit, but so far it hasn't leaked ( fingers crossed ).

- john

Did you figure out how to fix your leaky piston? I finally ventured into the garage tonight and of course both of mine are leaking like crazy. Also currious if anyone know what the max amount of chemicals you can use in the film tank (not the paper one).

brian:

i posted a similar question as i did here - but since i have no memory left, i can't remember where i posted it.

one of the responses was:

"The reason for this being that the older drums by virtue of the rubber seal in the piston becoming less "supple" needs a thin film of "Vaseline" to form a water tight seal to prevent leaks out the back end of the drum.

This works for the most part, but care must be taken NOT to use more than the required amount of solution for the reel size and the number of reels used, and to store the piston in the drum in the relaxed position so as not to compress the seal while in storage."

i hope this helps!

-john

Okay this stinks. I followed Greywolf's advice to the letter. to fix the leaking unidrum. I let it cure two days and then tried it out. No leaks. I took the top off and emptied the water. Put the top back on and it leaked. I took the top off and it was clear that the twisting motion of the lid when it is put on and taken off stripped part of the silicon. Now I am stuck. The hardware store did not have any gaskets the gight sive either. Has any one tried to replace the rubber piece with a thicker piece. Maybe from a tire tube?

I had another tank that did the same thing Mark. Greywolf's method worked on my first tank but I just couldn't stop the second one from leaking. I figured it was a mess anyway so what the heck, and I took the gasket right out and put a thicker coat of silicone on the inside of the lid and that seems to have worked. I don't know how long it will last but I have lots of silicone left in the tube so I can always scrap out the old and reapply if necessary.