Developing tanks, old but boxed. Info?

I found two old developing tanks in the local market (didn't realise at first until I recognised one of the boxes as the same as one my Dad had)and got them both for £4.

The first is in a red box labelled "Paterson 35 model II" and the other is in a black box labelled "The Paterson 35 Devloping Tank Self loading Spiral"

The packaging looks very 60's in style and wondering if they would still be good to use as they look complete? Is there anything in particular I need to check? Does anyone use anything of this ilk?

The main thing to check is that you have all the parts and that they are still watertight.

If they came with reels you got a real bargain.

It would probably help if you could post a photo or two of the tanks?

Paterson are a very well-established name in darkroom equipment and are still in business today. There's no reason you can't use them providing they're still watertight and complete, I use an even older Agfa Rondinax tank for 35mm film which produces results as good as anything made today, although some care is required to make sure the film loads properly.

The paterson tanks usually have the main body, a plastic seal that fits along the top edge of the body, the reel for loading the film onto, the light sealing lid, and a top seal that goes on the lid after filling with chemicals and an agitating stick that isnt needed if you have the sealing top that goes on the lid. If it has the top cover you can agitate by inverting a few times each minute. If not, you will need the agitating pin to rotate the film a few times every minute.

Don't worry if you haven't got the agitating pin. Inversion agitation by turning the tank upside down and back is far more reliable and consistent.

I always do mine by inversion anyway, whether I have a pin for the tank or not. Except for when I use my old Johnson tank for 120 film. That tank doesnt have a cap on it so I have to use the rotating pin then.

Ah, see, the instructions with my recently-bought Paterson universal tank said to give the pin a couple of turns anyway in order to make sure no air bubbles stick to the film during the first minute or so?

I've only used mine for 120 film so far as I have the Agfa tank for 35mm. I quite fancy trying some C41 processing though, for which the Paterson tank should be more useful (plus if I'm going to that hassle I want to process more than one film at a time!)

Stainless steel tanks are the best. Just tap the side to get rid of air bubbles and they are better for temperature control. They only use inversion agitation.... no twiddle stick

I've not done any developing for 10 years, but my final system was a motor driven water bath thingy with special plastic tanks (Jobo I think) It gave very consistent results and faster development times plus I didn't have to keep inverting the tank every 30 secs. Just set a countdown alarm to let me know when it's almost finished.

I used to use the Zone System so development had to be spot on. I even bought a densitometer so that I could check the densities

Hmm, I'll be happy if I can get results like I see with HP5 and Ilford B&W chemicals! Providing I handled the camera's metering properly (working out where to meter from can be tricky) the results are usually contrasty and show plenty of detail without much noticeable grain.

The book Beyond the Zone System has the blueprints to make a holder so one can use a Pentax Spotmeter as a densitometer. As I have yet to buy the spotmeter I haven't made the doohickey.

K.

Before loading Paterson plastic reels make sure they are absolutely dry.
If not they will jam. This is critical. Use a hair dryer if necessary.

I love my Paterson tanks but they do sometimes leak.
If leaking around the top seal unscrew the cover 1/4 turn and retighten.
If the cap leaks remove it and reinstall, "burping" if necessary.

A hard rap on a firm countertop should dislodge any air bubbles.

Chris