Stuck between bulk developing with a Patterson tank or a stainless steel one, went with the Patterson after reading about temperature swings.

Got tired of uneven development on my Tri-X rolls so I switched from stainless to a Patterson tank and the plastic reels just click together easier when my hands are wet, anyone else find the steel reels more trouble than they're worth?

2 comments

2 Comments

mila_mitchell16d ago

Have you actually given steel reels a fair shot, or just gave up too quick? I used stainless for years and never had uneven development because you can pre heat or cool the tank to match your chemistry temps. The trick is to load the reels bone dry and practice with a junk roll first, once you get the muscle memory down they're way more reliable than plastic which warps over time and causes banding.

wrenstone16d ago

Feel you on this, @mila_mitchell is right that dry loading helps but my hands get sweaty fast and I just couldn't get consistent temps with steel no matter what I tried. Plastic reels click into place even when I'm rushing and that peace of mind makes up for any minor banding down the road. Sticking with Patterson until something truly breaks me.