nitrogen burst processing

[AMBYSTOMA]

now that Jobo not longer manufactures or supports their manual rotary processors, does nitrogen burst processing offer an alternative - i.e., low chemistry volumes, suitable for the ocassional small volume processor of 120 and 4x5 and 8x10 negative film?

[magic823]

I have a Wing-Lynch processor that uses nitrogen burst processing. You can pick these processors up for very low prices on ebay.

[Photo Engineer]

I have never seen a commercial nitrogen burst device for sizes such as 120 and 4x5, but we had hand made ones at Kodak. The sparger is the key item here and it can merely be a spiral of stainless steel tubing at the bottom of a graduate cylinder or beaker. Tiny holes in the sparger supply the route for the bursts and it works just fine. The end of the tubing is merely pinched off and sealed with some sealant such as epoxy, or welded shut.

PE

[Michael Kadillak]

now that Jobo not longer manufactures or supports their manual rotary processors, does nitrogen burst processing offer an alternative - i.e., low chemistry volumes, suitable for the ocassional small volume processor of 120 and 4x5 and 8x10 negative film?

Absolutely.

Using a developer that can be replenished in a tank is the best choice IMHO as that way you can put Saran Wrap over the liquid between processing runs to prevent oxidation. I use a cheap aquarium heater ($10) to bring the tank up to the correct processing temp and it works great. Check out the article I wrote on the subject (May June 2007 View Camera) and let me know if you have any questions. Cheers!

[CBG]

www.alistairinglis.com makes some gas burst systems too. They might have interesting input.

C

[Jim Noel]

I used to use a nitrogen burst system for roll film and 4x5. It is not an economical system unless a large quantity of film is being processed. These systems require large quantities of chemistry so a replenishable developer is necessary. This negates the use of many of the currently popular developers. My favorite in the system was D-23 which was replenished with D-25.

[Photo Engineer]

Jim;

We did this in small beakers and threw out the chemistry after use. It can be done very economically.

PE

[Michael Kadillak]

I used to use a nitrogen burst system for roll film and 4x5. It is not an economical system unless a large quantity of film is being processed. These systems require large quantities of chemistry so a replenishable developer is necessary. This negates the use of many of the currently popular developers. My favorite in the system was D-23 which was replenished with D-25.

Plus there are also 1 and 2 gallon burst tanks out there.

I use a replenishing developer and have a 3.5 gallon gas burst set up in the basement and it is the cat's meow. Flip a switch and drink coffee in the dark. Consistent and predictable. I even have a power shut off so I can do stand and semi stand development in hangers with extensive periods between agitations (10 minutes plus) and the system handles it with ease. I can come upstairs for the hour + of processing time and not be chained to the process.

[DKT]

you can't fit a reel down in anything smaller than a 2 gallon tank, if you want to use 4-up hangers or full 8x10 ones. the one gallon tanks are pretty slim--they run about 4 or so 4-up racks, but they're too skinny for a reel. a two gallon tank--you can run about 12-15 rolls of 35mm on s.s. reels or about 9 or so 120, and up to 28 sheets of 4x5 or 7 8x10. I have used a wing lynch as well-- as someone mentioned it uses nitrogen, but not the same way as a tankline. the nitrogen pressurizes the tanks that hold the chemistry and it's that pressure that acts as the pumping mechanism to get the chem into the "trough"--where the tube is. the trough is temp controlled, as are the tanks (24/7). the nitrogen in the tank, as it displaces the chem volume acts as a blanket--chem lasts a couple of weeks in a wing lynch. it's not so great for low volume use though, because it sits there cooking at your process temp. it's not the same thing as a jobo though--they're both tube processors, but the WL is more of a machine really--automated & much larger. probably the best replacement for a jobo would be a super-sidekick...better low volume machine, but I'm not sure if you can do 8x10 in one of those.

[gordrob]

Absolutely.
Check out the article I wrote on the subject (May June 2007 View Camera) and let me know if you have any questions. Cheers!

Is it possible to get a copy of the nitrogen burst article somewhere other than the magazine. I have been unable to track down that issue of View Camera.

Gord