Nice drying cabinet. I went a cheaper route. Way back in the '70s when I was attending high school in California. In our photography class, we used an old tall gym locker. So, when I started to develop my B&W film at home, I searched for a similar gym locker. I finally found one on craigslist. I purchased it for $25 and it works great. It is close to 7 feet tall, so hanging a 36 exposure 35mm film roll is not a problem. I can also hang 8X10 sheet film (in hangers), without any problems. Adding a filtration, fan and heat source, as you did, seems like a simple project. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you for your ideas! I like the Hepa vacuum filter idea. The idea I had was to use a bathroom exhaust fan at the bottom with the the incoming air on the top sides of the cabinet. I will try to build one this winter.
There's a slot at the bottom, the air passes through it and then through an "S-trap" before it exits. It functions as a labyrinth seal, permitting one-way flow of air due to the pressurized interior, while preventing exterior dust from migrating inward. Let's say the base of the cabinet is 16" square. The slot in the bottom is about 3" wide, then below that are two more shallow chambers, each about 3" high, with 3" slots in their floor and ceilings, but arrange to alternate, so the air has to make a circuitous path to get out.
Hey @Joe Van Cleave I'm curious to know how you fed the power cable through the wall of the upper sealed vacuum chamber. I've built a similar rendition to yours, a bit simpler as it doesn't have the lightbulb - so I didn't need to wire or solder a connection together - but I'm stumped as to how to maintain the vacuum seal in the upper chamber and still have a chord pass through so it can be plugged in.
The power pass through to the upper chamber uses a strain relief bushing on the cord, that passes through the rear of the cabinet and is tight enough to provide an adequate seal. I wasn't expecting semiconductor standards of cleanliness, so the consumer vacuum cleaner HEPA filter is adequate. The laminar flow, via the fan, also helps keep particulates at bay, as does the heat provided by the incandescent lamp.
Thanks for the quick reply. I decided to drill a hole through the "lid", or top of the unit, to pass the cord through, then tape and caulk that section. It's just drying now but should work fine. This video provided a great description and overview of how to build one of these units, so I applaud you for making this video as it was a great help.
Very nice! Why not use foam-board instead though? Or a collapsible tube made like a Japanese lamp? IE a tubular spiral clad with paper or fabric? Would be extremely light and moveable and also adjustable to any length. To get better laminar airflow why not put a simple diffuser in front of the fan? Just a perforated barrier would suffuse.
Thanks so much for sharing this Joe. Retail units have always been cost prohibitive so this seems a great solution and one I am going to try. I do have a question. With the heat source being on top, would that not work against the top->bottom air flow that is trying to be established? Would an intake and lamp on the bottom, combined with a fan drawing the air out on top be more effective? Thanks for your thoughts.
It doesn't seem to effect the flow that much. Being as I use this more for sheet film and paper than roll film, having the lamp on top means it's closer to the film or paper, helping to dry it faster. Of course, the radiant heat is less affected by a converse airflow. I also didn't want drips of water from wet film dripping onto a hot lamp, hence the reason for the top location. Yes, I could have put a clear shield over the lamp if on the bottom, but that blocks some heat from getting to the film/paper.
Nice drying cabinet. I went a cheaper route. Way back in the '70s when I was attending high school in California. In our photography class, we used an old tall gym locker. So, when I started to develop my B&W film at home, I searched for a similar gym locker. I finally found one on craigslist. I purchased it for $25 and it works great. It is close to 7 feet tall, so hanging a 36 exposure 35mm film roll is not a problem. I can also hang 8X10 sheet film (in hangers), without any problems. Adding a filtration, fan and heat source, as you did, seems like a simple project. Thanks for the inspiration.
Thank you for your ideas! I like the Hepa vacuum filter idea. The idea I had was to use a bathroom exhaust fan at the bottom with the the incoming air on the top sides of the cabinet. I will try to build one this winter.
Nice, I now know what my winter build project is going to be.
Thank you. Very clever!
great video and cabinet. really helpful and insightful!
Great description, thanks.
Hi Joe, could you explain more about the air trap at the bottom of the cabinet? I am having trouble visualizing it. Thank you sir.
There's a slot at the bottom, the air passes through it and then through an "S-trap" before it exits. It functions as a labyrinth seal, permitting one-way flow of air due to the pressurized interior, while preventing exterior dust from migrating inward.
Let's say the base of the cabinet is 16" square. The slot in the bottom is about 3" wide, then below that are two more shallow chambers, each about 3" high, with 3" slots in their floor and ceilings, but arrange to alternate, so the air has to make a circuitous path to get out.
Hey @Joe Van Cleave I'm curious to know how you fed the power cable through the wall of the upper sealed vacuum chamber. I've built a similar rendition to yours, a bit simpler as it doesn't have the lightbulb - so I didn't need to wire or solder a connection together - but I'm stumped as to how to maintain the vacuum seal in the upper chamber and still have a chord pass through so it can be plugged in.
The power pass through to the upper chamber uses a strain relief bushing on the cord, that passes through the rear of the cabinet and is tight enough to provide an adequate seal. I wasn't expecting semiconductor standards of cleanliness, so the consumer vacuum cleaner HEPA filter is adequate. The laminar flow, via the fan, also helps keep particulates at bay, as does the heat provided by the incandescent lamp.
Thanks for the quick reply. I decided to drill a hole through the "lid", or top of the unit, to pass the cord through, then tape and caulk that section. It's just drying now but should work fine. This video provided a great description and overview of how to build one of these units, so I applaud you for making this video as it was a great help.
Very nice! Why not use foam-board instead though? Or a collapsible tube made like a Japanese lamp? IE a tubular spiral clad with paper or fabric? Would be extremely light and moveable and also adjustable to any length.
To get better laminar airflow why not put a simple diffuser in front of the fan? Just a perforated barrier would suffuse.
Great ideas. There's lots of room here for improvement.
+Joe Van Cleave If one has the space for it, no doubt your solution is the best though.
Anywhere in this 20 minute video does he talk about the dimentions in detail? Casue I'm getting tight
Thanks so much for sharing this Joe. Retail units have always been cost prohibitive so this seems a great solution and one I am going to try. I do have a question. With the heat source being on top, would that not work against the top->bottom air flow that is trying to be established? Would an intake and lamp on the bottom, combined with a fan drawing the air out on top be more effective? Thanks for your thoughts.
It doesn't seem to effect the flow that much. Being as I use this more for sheet film and paper than roll film, having the lamp on top means it's closer to the film or paper, helping to dry it faster. Of course, the radiant heat is less affected by a converse airflow.
I also didn't want drips of water from wet film dripping onto a hot lamp, hence the reason for the top location. Yes, I could have put a clear shield over the lamp if on the bottom, but that blocks some heat from getting to the film/paper.
Hi joe, if I were to pay you to make me one of these, do you think you’d be up for it?