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New darkroom, first batch of many questions.



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 8th 04, 04:42 AM
Tom Gardner
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Default New darkroom, first batch of many questions.

I am moving to bigger digs and get the chance to make a lot of improvements
in my setup that will undoubtedly cause me to create perfect negatives and
prints to be admired and loved for centuries...or eliminate some of the
challenges that I have.

1. Dust is going to be a problem, is one of these ionic air filter things
worth it? Can it cause some unforeseen problems? I will seal off the room
well and ventilate well with a hood over the sink but that will create some
negative pressure that I fear will suck dust in from everywhere.

2. Drainage is going to be a problem. The best solution I see is to drill
a hole through the block wall to another room in the basement that has a
stack on that wall. I would then drill and tap for a nipple into the cast
iron stack below the trap level in the darkroom. Seems like a lot of work
and I'm not sure it's code. The rest of the plumbing should be nothing
special.

3. Electrical. Pretty straight forward here but if you were starting over,
what would you change or improve upon? Seen anything clever lately? I'm
undecided on lighting and safe-lighting, my eyes are getting old and I need
not to strain them.

4. Work-flow and ergonomics are another concern. I've got some heavy
rubber anti-fatigue mats to put over the concrete floor. I am building
work benches and sink stand into the walls but haven't decided on height.

It seems there are hundreds of darkroom books available, any highly
recommended? I'm trying to minimize the "shoulda-coulda". In prospective:
I'm moving from a big dry closet to a 12' x 18'.


  #2  
Old February 8th 04, 05:16 AM
RWatson767
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Default New darkroom, first batch of many questions.

Tom
New darkroom, first batch of many questions.


Use a blower to pressure the darkroom some. Just enough pressure to open an
unlatched door. Use a filter to clean the air before it blows into the
darkroom.

An alternative would be a small tank or reserviour (sp?) with a pump as in a
sump pump that wold pump your liguids to the drain or whatever. Cast iron is
tricky to drill into and tap. If you can get in the stack with plastic you
would be better off.

I can go on forever about electric in the darkroom. Keep the switches and
receptacles up high. Switches on the wall at the door for safelights and white
light. A pull cord light over the fixer to look at the prints. An electrical
outlet strip the length or width of the ceiling with each outlet controlled by
an individual switch. Takes a bundle of wires to the switches but is worth the
effort. At least two circuits for the lighting so you can make changes with the
lights on to one circuit and not be in the dark.

I am pretty tall so my enlarger is at the 48" level. Nine foot ceilings. Keep
the dry and the wet side close enough so it is not a hike from one to another.

12 X 18 is big. A high stool between the dry and wey side makes things easier.

How old are your eyes?
Bob AZ









  #3  
Old February 8th 04, 07:27 AM
Tom Gardner
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Default New darkroom, first batch of many questions.


" How old are your eyes?
Bob AZ


48 with no major issues yet but the years of doing close fine work, computer
time and welding have taken a toll...mom said I'd go blind!

Thanks for your advise, once I see in my head the way I want something, the
rest is just bull-work. I'll still only turn out two or three fair images a
year but the new darkroom will be more comfortable and less frustrating.


  #4  
Old February 8th 04, 02:22 PM
Louie Powell
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Default New darkroom, first batch of many questions.

"Tom Gardner" wrote in
om:

1. Dust is going to be a problem, is one of these ionic air filter
things worth it? Can it cause some unforeseen problems? I will seal
off the room well and ventilate well with a hood over the sink but
that will create some negative pressure that I fear will suck dust in
from everywhere.


You need ventillation. There may be health reasons, but my experience
tells me that the absence of good ventillation leads to premature fatigue.

That said, set up the ventillation to help control dust. Install a fan
that forces air into the darkroom rather than out. Put a filter on the
inlet to the fan to prevent dust from coming in by that path. If you are
concerned about the noise of the fan, put it in a box totally outside the
darkroom, and then use one of those flexible plastic bathroom vent ducts
to bring it into the darkroom.

In both my current darkroom (built last winter) and its predecessor built
about 20 years ago in our former home, I put the darkroom in the corner of
a basement. But rather than using the basement wall as a darkroom wall, I
framed and sheetrocked all four walls. Building a full envelop around the
printing area helps control dust.

Finally, the floor - bare concrets generates dust. The options are paint
or vinyl. I chose vinyl tile because it's cheap, looks nice, and is much
easier to do that etching and painting concrete.

2. Drainage is going to be a problem. The best solution I see is to
drill a hole through the block wall to another room in the basement
that has a stack on that wall. I would then drill and tap for a
nipple into the cast iron stack below the trap level in the darkroom.
Seems like a lot of work and I'm not sure it's code. The rest of the
plumbing should be nothing special.


Drainage in darkrooms is a common problem. I think that what you are
planning is acceptable - just be sure to put a trap in the line to keep
gas from backing up into the darkroom. In fact, they make special "saddle
T's" for tapping a new line into an existing stack - just drill a hole,
and then fit the T over the opening and fasten it in place with straps
that fit around the stack.

My drain is similar except that the darkroom is below the level of the
house drain. So I drain into a reservoir (a large Rubbermaid bin) and
then use a sump pump to push the gray water up to the ceiling of the
basement where it can then flow down into the house drain. I put both a
trap and a check valve in this drain line to avoid problems.

3. Electrical. Pretty straight forward here but if you were starting
over, what would you change or improve upon? Seen anything clever
lately? I'm undecided on lighting and safe-lighting, my eyes are
getting old and I need not to strain them.


An few things that I have in my darkroom that are interesting:
a. A switch on the enlarger station that controls the receptacles that I
plug the safelights into.
b. A second switch, also at the enlarger station, that controls the
overhead white light. That's the switch that I use repeatedly during a
printing session to turn lights on and off.
c. I have a switch at the entrance to the darkroom that is a master
switch for both the white lights and the safelights. I found in a
previous darkroom that I tended to forget to turn off the safelights - in
the new facility, when I go out the door, I turn off the master switch and
that powers down everything.
d. A red light mounted outside the darkroom door that comes on when the
master switch is on - so that my wife will know that I'm working in the
darkroom and not come barging in without asking if its safe.
e. A halogen puck light mounted on the chemical shelf over the sink -
over the hypo tray - with a switch mounted below the sink. I use this to
take a quick look at prints in the hypo.


4. Work-flow and ergonomics are another concern. I've got some heavy
rubber anti-fatigue mats to put over the concrete floor. I am
building work benches and sink stand into the walls but haven't
decided on height.


I used standard height cabinets (the cheap stuff from Lowes or Home
Despot) for my storage cabinets. The enlarger station is built into a
corner between two of these cabinets, and a couple of inches lower in
height.

My sink is recycled from the darkroom in the previous house - it's also
built at the standard height for a kitchen sink.

I also strongly recommend those rubber fatigue pads. They are
inexpensive, and they really make a difference on the knees after a few
hours of printing! The ones I got are 2ft square but with edges that
interlock - and can easily be cut to fit into strangely shaped spaces.



It seems there are hundreds of darkroom books available, any highly
recommended? I'm trying to minimize the "shoulda-coulda". In
prospective: I'm moving from a big dry closet to a 12' x 18'.


Building a new darkroom is exciting, and it's a lot of fun. Enjoy.





  #5  
Old February 8th 04, 03:50 PM
David Starr
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Posts: n/a
Default New darkroom, first batch of many questions.

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 03:42:52 GMT, "Tom Gardner"
wrote:

I am moving to bigger digs and get the chance to make a lot of improvements
in my setup that will undoubtedly cause me to create perfect negatives and
prints to be admired and loved for centuries...or eliminate some of the
challenges that I have.

1. Dust is going to be a problem, is one of these ionic air filter things
worth it? Can it cause some unforeseen problems? I will seal off the room
well and ventilate well with a hood over the sink but that will create some
negative pressure that I fear will suck dust in from everywhere.


Not sure about the ionic. If you have an air inlet, you can put a
filter over it.

2. Drainage is going to be a problem. The best solution I see is to drill
a hole through the block wall to another room in the basement that has a
stack on that wall. I would then drill and tap for a nipple into the cast
iron stack below the trap level in the darkroom. Seems like a lot of work
and I'm not sure it's code. The rest of the plumbing should be nothing
special.


I got lucky on this one. There's a clean-out at the base of my stack,
so it was simple to run plastic tubing from the sink drain to the
clean-out. Not sure about codes in your area, but it seems that your
solution would work.

3. Electrical. Pretty straight forward here but if you were starting over,
what would you change or improve upon? Seen anything clever lately? I'm
undecided on lighting and safe-lighting, my eyes are getting old and I need
not to strain them.


LOTS OF OUTLETS! I put duplexes every other stud - 32" & wish I had
put them on every stud - 16". Use a GFCI, and separate circuits for
overhead lighting & outlets. Possibly use 2 separate circuits for the
outlets. For overhead lights I use 4 recessed fixtures with 100watt
conventional bulbs. I'm using Sylvania "daylight" incandescents -
they have a slight bluish tint. My darkroom's 12X14 & I use 2 5X7
safelights. One near the enlarger & one over the sink. Both are
aimed at the ceiling, which gives a decent coverage for the room.

4. Work-flow and ergonomics are another concern. I've got some heavy
rubber anti-fatigue mats to put over the concrete floor. I am building
work benches and sink stand into the walls but haven't decided on height.


The bottom of my sink is 36" from the floor. The sides are 42". For
me, this is a comfortable height. When I built my sink I put an extra
strip of 1X3 along the front edge. This makes the edge 1 1/2" wide,
which is more comfortable to lean on. Bench & sink height depends on
your height. Put a stack of books on a table with a tray on top.
Vary the height of the stach until it feels comfortable, then use that
height.


It seems there are hundreds of darkroom books available, any highly
recommended? I'm trying to minimize the "shoulda-coulda". In prospective:
I'm moving from a big dry closet to a 12' x 18'.


None I can think of offhand. I sat in my roughed-in darkkroom for
many hours mentally arranging & rearranging things till I arrived at
my present layout.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Professional Shop Rat: 14,267 days in a GM plant.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  #7  
Old February 9th 04, 06:38 AM
Jtown2354
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Posts: n/a
Default New darkroom, first batch of many questions.

Tom - the best ventilation arrangement is a positive pressure - as some have
already mentioned. The big reason - it does not suck dust and dirt from every
nock and cranny. Force clean air into the darkroom and exit from above your
sink area.

Regarding electrical - you have an opportunity to really make it neat! I use a
master switch - which powers everything else - 1) to the convenience outlets,
2)to the switch for the ventilation blower 3)to a DPST switch with one position
for the darkroom "white" light and the other position for the enlarger timer
(Gralab digital) which in turn controls the enlarger and the safelights. Note
- the safelight circuit as such is not seemingly provided with a power source.
This works great! I can send you a one-line circuit diagram if you want - if
so, let me know via e-mail. ---- Jerry/Idaho
  #8  
Old February 9th 04, 04:44 PM
bob
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Posts: n/a
Default New darkroom, first batch of many questions.

"Tom Gardner" wrote in
om:

2. Drainage is going to be a problem. The best solution I see is to
drill a hole through the block wall to another room in the basement
that has a stack on that wall. I would then drill and tap for a
nipple into the cast iron stack below the trap level in the darkroom.
Seems like a lot of work and I'm not sure it's code. The rest of the
plumbing should be nothing special.


I think around here the typical solution would be to cut a section of the
stack out and replace that section with plastic (with a T). The cast iron
would need support to keep it from falling.

I like the cleanout idea. If you have a cleanout, you can put a new short
section of pipe into it, and add another cleanout.

Don't use any flourescent lights.
  #9  
Old February 9th 04, 07:08 PM
10x@_telus.net
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Posts: n/a
Default New darkroom, first batch of many questions.

On Mon, 09 Feb 2004 15:44:13 GMT, bob
1xwj.ReverseThePartBeforeTheDot@bellsouthnet wrote:


I think around here the typical solution would be to cut a section of the
stack out and replace that section with plastic (with a T). The cast iron
would need support to keep it from falling.


Do not cut out a section of cast iron stack. If you do, you will
((may) end up replacing the upper part of the stack. This mother can
go right up to a vent in the roof.
It is much better to drill a hole in the stack and use a saddle
connection to connect the drain pipe.
A quality hole saw will cut through cast iron quickly , just drill a
pilot hole first, and use a light oil to lubicate the teeth. If you
get even a curl of smoke back off and let things cool.

It may be even easier to tell a plumper what you want and let
him (or her) install the connection. The rest of the pipe is just ABS
and is very easy to work with. You may want to plumb in everything
right up to the stack (leaving the last pieces unglued) and let a
plumber connect it. Remember, water runs downhill so you have to keep
about 1/4 inch slope per foot

This website should help....
http://www.ci.sanbruno.ca.us/Com_Dev...mbing_Code.pdf




  #10  
Old February 10th 04, 03:10 AM
Will Wagner
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Posts: n/a
Default New darkroom, first batch of many questions.

In article ,
Louie Powell wrote:
Finally, the floor - bare concrets generates dust. The options are paint
or vinyl. I chose vinyl tile because it's cheap, looks nice, and is much
easier to do that etching and painting concrete.


There's also the option of epoxy floor paint, like the stuff that's
sold for garage floors and whatnot. It'll seal up the concrete, and
it's also supposedly chemical resistant, which could be nice in a
spill situation. And if you get the stuff with the colored flecks in
it, looks pretty groovy too.

Will
--
Will Wagner / / http://www.ymb.net/
"Keep it simple: as simple as possible, but no simpler." -- A. Einstein
 




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