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  #1  
Old 26th June 2022, 03:56 PM
PeteK PeteK is offline
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Default Light seals on a bulk loader

I picked up a Lloyd daylight loader for a bargain price. To test it I put it in my dark bag, popped a foot of film in, screwed the lid down and placed it on a really bright window ledge. There was a small leak (image one). So I took some light seal come and stuck it in the indentation in the lid. Performed the test again, massive improvement (image 2) but there does appear to be a trace on the top edge. I am planning to store this in a box rather than a bright windowledge lol so is this ingress probably down to the bright light & therefore nothing to worry about? Or is there a nifty trick I can try to seal it completely?

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  #2  
Old 28th June 2022, 09:34 AM
John King John King is offline
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The loader I have does not have light seals, but relies upon rotation of a knob that moves baffles inside the loader. But like you I protect it when loading and I always have my loader in the darkroom so I never experienced any problems.
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  #3  
Old 28th June 2022, 10:50 AM
MikeHeller MikeHeller is offline
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I have always been concerned of possibility PeteK's problem with my loaders - similar to the Lloyd loader but under different names - and take the same precaution as John. I also avoid doing my cassette loading in bright light - daylight or artificial.

I take the same precaution loading films into the camera as I reuse plastic cassettes where the light seals may not be all they should and deteriorate. Can be a problem if necessary in the bright outdoors!

Mike
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Old 1st July 2022, 12:20 AM
iamknudsen iamknudsen is offline
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I've got a pretty new Lloyd. I haven't got a full reel loaded into cassettes yet, but I take that "Daylight" claim with a grain of salt I always store it in a drawer in my basement darkroom and load film in subdued light. During the day I load with curtains closed, or at night with a light on in another room or at least across the room. If you are concerned, maybe do the test again, but just load some film in a semi-dark area.

Edit: Did it get very warm in the window sunlight? If it did, it may have changed shape a bit. I think it would have to get very hot to damage it, but maybe if it gets pretty warm, things don't quite line up as they should.
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Old 11th July 2022, 08:48 AM
PeteK PeteK is offline
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Yeah it got warm lol. The light seal material in the grooves worked a treat though. I have some expired film in it and have had no light leaks so far. As for storage, it now lives in a light proof box and all loading is done in relative darkness, just in case

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Old 11th July 2022, 03:56 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Talking about seals, anyone got a darkroom sealed from the current heat?

Mine is a converted bedroom both windows open and the curtains closed and it within 0.2 of 30C right now

By the weekend I should be able to develop C41 or XP2 Plus without any electricity

Mike
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  #7  
Old 11th July 2022, 10:02 PM
PeteK PeteK is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike O'Pray View Post
Talking about seals, anyone got a darkroom sealed from the current heat?

Mine is a converted bedroom both windows open and the curtains closed and it within 0.2 of 30C right now

By the weekend I should be able to develop C41 or XP2 Plus without any electricity

Mike
Lol all my b&w stuff is in a downstairs loo. The ambient temp is 20° so I am good to go straight off the shelf

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Old 13th July 2022, 12:44 AM
iamknudsen iamknudsen is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike O'Pray View Post
Talking about seals, anyone got a darkroom sealed from the current heat?

Mine is a converted bedroom both windows open and the curtains closed and it within 0.2 of 30C right now

By the weekend I should be able to develop C41 or XP2 Plus without any electricity

Mike
I darken the whole dungeon. It's usually cool enough. We had a long heat wave and a few days after normal temperatures, the chemicals were around 23 C. So I stuck some RO water in the freezer and came back in a few hours. The furnace and water heater are nearby. So that doesn't help in the summer.
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  #9  
Old 17th July 2022, 06:48 AM
PeteK PeteK is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iamknudsen View Post
I darken the whole dungeon. It's usually cool enough. We had a long heat wave and a few days after normal temperatures, the chemicals were around 23 C. So I stuck some RO water in the freezer and came back in a few hours. The furnace and water heater are nearby. So that doesn't help in the summer.
Yeah my fixer is sitting around 23°c but it will settle down, I am, after all, up north where heatwaves and summer in general happen to other people my worry is my bulk film. I tried putting three bulk loaders in the fridge but that didn't end well lol

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  #10  
Old 17th July 2022, 07:53 AM
Michael Michael is offline
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You can refrigerate bulk loaders as long as they're dry and in airtight bags when they go in and, when you remove them, left to reach room temperature before opening the bags. Mine gave me no problems when I did that; although nowadays I just keep them in a cool, dry place.
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