[LargeFormat] Jobo 3000 Series Expert Drums

[Jim Brick]

At 02:26 PM 12/2/2002 +0000, Clive Warren wrote:

>Some people have commented before about difficulty in removing the lids 
>post processing - am hoping that the foot pump is not really necessary. 
>There is a little compressor sitting in the garage if it really is that 
>difficult to remove the lids. Wasn't it Verna who said that she used her 
>fingers under the lid to open the tanks without too much trouble?
>
>Cheers,
>            Clive


The foot pump is not necessary. Put a v-e-r-y thin coat of Vaseline around 
the inner edge of the lid.   V-E-R-Y thin.  Then when ready to remove the 
lid, put a towel (dish, washing up, hand, whatever) over the lid - to 
protect your finger nails. Put the drum on the floor. Put the edge of your 
shoes on the bottom edge (lip) of the drum. Put the end of your fingers 
(finger nails -through the towel) under the edge of the lid and gently work 
it one side then the other until it comes off.

Originally I used the pump. When the lid is tight (always,) the lid blows 
off with explosive force. I actually built a box for my 3063 and 3010 drums 
that contained the explosion. My 3063 has blown so hard that the lid put 
dents in my darkroom ceiling. You are supposed to hold it on with your 
hands (as the instructions say, don't put your body over it) but it comes 
off with such force that it blows right through your hands.

A colleague of mine (a girl) was using my darkroom and could not deal with 
the foot pump explosions. So she figured out how to remove the lids by 
hand. The above method, and I've never used the pump since.

Jim