Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/04/19
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I've been following Ted's strategy for drying film for about 40 years. At that time I was fortunate enough to buy one of the last of the Stratham Instruments, Inc. film dryers which dried film while they were still on Nikor developing reels. The Stratham dryer consists of an 18" tall plastic tube just wide enough to take a 36 exposure wire reel and tall enough to stack four of them. This tube is contained is a slightly larger tube. At the base of the tube is a dessicant canister containing about half a pound of silica gel. A fan draws air through the four stacked reels, through the dessicant chamber and then up the space between the tubes. The dried air passes through a filter in the cap and is drawn down past the film again. The dessicant is good for about 20 rolls of 36 exposure film. Film is usually dry after 30 minutes. When the time rises to 40 minutes, the dessicant container is refreshed by placing it in a baking oven at 450 degrees for two hours. In the 40 years of using this device I have never had a water spot or a dust speck on any roll of film. Statham Instruments, Inc. was a major supplier of laboratory equipment during the Dark Ages. I don't know if they are still in business or have been absorbed by some conglomerate. If you find one of these devices at a photo flea market, snap it up. It does the job. Larry Z