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  #21  
Old 27th February 2020, 07:30 PM
John King John King is offline
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Default Bottles

Over the years I have accumulated quite a number of 500cc brown glass bottles and even more 100/150cc ones. I have good storage in the under-stairs cupboard so that is not a problem.

Suppliers of glass bottles can be found on the internet quite easily from 50cc right Up to 5 litre. The ones sold by some of the photo suppliers are 3-4 times than the price they can be bought directly from the wholesalers.
Have a look at this link https://www.ampulla.co.uk/Shop-For-Glass/c-1-169/

Last edited by John King; 27th February 2020 at 07:48 PM.
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  #22  
Old 28th February 2020, 01:48 PM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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I've put an order in today and when it arrives I'll be dating it and try to keep count of the amount of times used, to see how it compares time-wise etc. with the original can of Protectan.

Terry S
Well, the ad says that it will be delivered by 48 hour Royal Mail. I was therefore very surprised to have it delivered the following day to putting the order in, being delivered by DHL today Friday 28/02/2020.

Unlike Protectan, it doesn't have a weight on the tin or a straw to attach to the gas nozzle, but, the straw on the Protectan tin fits it, if required, but with its different nozzle design, a straw may not be required?

I have already mentioned that on ebay, that there were two sellers yesterday, but now only one, each with a different name, selling the product at exactly the same price, with the small print showing that they are both the same company.

So I was then slightly surprised to have a third name given in the Invoice. The new company is Pushback Ltd, with the web address www.clearo2.com which surprisingly DOESN'T list this argon product, just various sized canisters of oxygen / O2 and various attachments.

But it's all down to how good the product is at the end of the day. So I've dated it and weighed it and put both set of details on the canister, to see how long it lasts. Looking at a 15 litre canister of O2 on their site, which is only a little larger than the one bought, on it says, 'SUFFICIENT FOR APPROXIMATELY 100 x 2-SECOND BREATHS', so I'll try and keep track of the amount of uses as well.

I will report back further along the line, about its efficiency and life span.

Terry S
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  #23  
Old 28th February 2020, 01:59 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Thanks, Terry. Yes my research seemed to indicate that it was actually produced by a company called Pushback Ltd

Based on prices I saw it appears that if you buy 4 the price reduces to almost half of what is charged for Protectan, So given its inert quality and probably no nasty smell either then as long as it last half as long then on balance it may be the better product. Anything more than half as long is a bonus

I must admit that once my Protectan runs out I am certainly tempted to buy some.

Thanks for your promise to keep us informed of your experience

Mike
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  #24  
Old 29th February 2020, 01:15 PM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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Thanks for your promise to keep us informed of your experience

Mike
No probs Mike.

And something that I forgot to mention, is that it states on the canister that it is made in the UK, so no huge air miles!!!

Terry S
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  #25  
Old 1st March 2020, 03:43 AM
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Nothing wrong with using butane gas from a lighter refill can - it is exactly the same stuff as Protectan. I find that the cap from an old can of Protectan does not fit well, but by snipping the tip of the butane can's spigot, it is enough of a fit to make a seal when you use the cap to deliver the gas. The cap will drop off tho' once you stop pushing as it is a little too narrow to fit snuggly (at least on the Ronson butane can I have).

I did used to use argon intended for arc-welding but it is a bit of a faff to use as the canisters are rather heavy and require a regulator to get the gas out (as the gas is liquefied and hence under very high pressure). That Wine and Food Preserver can is not putting the argon under enough pressure to liquefy it so I suspect it has very little argon in it in comparison.

Just as an aside, a gas has typically around 800 times the volume of the same gas in liquefied form.
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  #26  
Old 26th March 2020, 02:54 PM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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Just an update on my alternative to Protectan, that I bought a while ago now.

It's just as easy to use as the above product, and as mentioned, about half the price.

It's working fine and I can tell that it's working by a small 250ml bottle of teaspoon formula d72 stock developer, that I've kept to one side, especially to try this product out.

I have took little amounts out of the container, to top up my Nova processor dev slot and then have sprayed a small amount of the gas into it.

The odd drop or two developer normally clings to the top of the bottles neck, and even that hasn't oxidised and gone brown, as I expected it to do. So from that I'm taking that a squirt of the gas is good enough to expel any oxygen left in the bottle.

As said before, I'm keeping an ongoing tally of how many 'squirts' I have done and will report back, when the bottle finally expires.

Terry S
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  #27  
Old 28th January 2021, 02:59 PM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Terry S View Post
Just an update on my alternative to Protectan, that I bought a while ago now.

It's just as easy to use as the above product, and as mentioned, about half the price.

It's working fine and I can tell that it's working by a small 250ml bottle of teaspoon formula d72 stock developer, that I've kept to one side, especially to try this product out.

I have took little amounts out of the container, to top up my Nova processor dev slot and then have sprayed a small amount of the gas into it.

The odd drop or two developer normally clings to the top of the bottles neck, and even that hasn't oxidised and gone brown, as I expected it to do. So from that I'm taking that a squirt of the gas is good enough to expel any oxygen left in the bottle.

As said before, I'm keeping an ongoing tally of how many 'squirts' I have done and will report back, when the bottle finally expires.

Terry S
Okay, I have just finished my 2 cans of Argon gas that I bought and have replaced them with another order, of two more of the same, as I've been very happy with the product.

The first can lasted from Thursday 28/02/2020 to Sunday 19/07/2020, so about 5 1/2 months and gave 71 sprays.

The second can lasted from Monday 20/07/20 to Friday 15/01/2021, so about just under 6 months and gave 75 sprays.

So we can take an average of about 70 sprays for about 5 1/2 to 6 months of use each.

NOTE: The current price on ebay uk for a single can is £11.99 but if you order two cans or more, you get 15% automatic discount (i.e. no voucher code required) on the final price.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324208496240

How this compares. in number of bursts per can, when compared to a can of Protectan I don't know, so if anyone is just opening a can of it and are willing to keep a tally, that would be great.

Personally, I have been very happy using the product. It does what it says on the can and there is no straw to put in and take out on each use, as with Protectan and is definitely much easier to use than a can of lighter butane, even if it is much cheaper (but flammable). I have given my developer in bottles and in my Nova slot processor, approximately 2 second bursts after finishing a task and it has done the required job of it. As for price, if one buys 2 cans at the current price, it costs about £0.15 per squirt.

So overall, I would recommend the product with a thumbs up and would definitely buy it again.

Terry S

Last edited by Terry S; 28th January 2021 at 03:03 PM.
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  #28  
Old 28th January 2021, 05:19 PM
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Terry, how do you 'seal' your slots on your Nova processor after giving the 2 sec. squirts?
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  #29  
Old 28th January 2021, 05:33 PM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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Terry, how do you 'seal' your slots on your Nova processor after giving the 2 sec. squirts?
After a 2 second squirt of the Argon gas into the developer slot (only), I just put the Nova lengths of pipe, that come with the units, in the slots and that's it.

No clingfilm! No nothing else! Easy Peasy!

And the chemicals all last for months at a time, with top ups after each session, at 10ml working solution for each 10" x 8" print done.

Terry S
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  #30  
Old 28th January 2021, 05:35 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Thanks for the report, Terry. Just speculation on my part but having used Protectan I probably overdid the spray period A two second burst as in press when you start to say "a thousand and one, a thousand and two" probably deliver more gas than may be needed until the chemical container has been considerably depleted of liquid

Mike
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