Friday Tip - Kodak Automatic Dish Syphon

Today's tip is about a superb piece of kit, the Kodak dish siphon (syphon). This automatic siphon allows you to wash large prints in trays. Much cheaper than having to buy a huge prints washer.
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John
John Finch
Pictorial Planet
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[@raymondtan2415]

I’m sure some enterprising fellow can design and 3D print one if it’s no longer available.

[@hoggif]

My thoughts too. I happen to have 3d printers and I immediately thought of how easy one would be to make.

[@manuelfarrervelazquez6746]

Hello I found these two links with the STL files to build the device www.thingiverse.com/thing:2586963 A syphone for rinsing photo paper in a development tray. www.printables.com/es/model/697876-siphon

[@berlinberlin4246]

​@@manuelfarrervelazquez6746 thank you for the find!

[@randallstewart1224]

I bought one of these new about 40+ years ago. I used it regularly for about 25 years until I invested in a large vertical slot washer. I still use it for smaller prints and small batches. They jet water out at an angle, which will set up a circular water rotation in a wash tray. This seems prints separated. They are quite sensitive to volume of water flow. Too low a flow will not sustain the syphon operation. They have a sweet spot for flow rate, which you just have to find by trial and error.

[@user-qm8sx8ne8g]

I had never seen one of these before. Interesting action I learn something every time I look at one of your videos, so thanks for that

[@Marc-yy9mo]

I remember using one of these when I helped my father out in the darkroom, over fifty years ago. really well designed equipment. Essential if you are doing a run of 100 prints or more.

[@richardjames3022]

I purchased one in Canada, it was quite expensive then (1980's) many years ago and wouldn't let it go for any money

[@TheCrimsonFlash]

When I was a naive novice printer, I got one of these in an old setup I bought. I didn't know what it was, so I gave it away. Felt terrible when I found out later on. Anyway, I now use a dehypo print washer in my utility sink and it works fantastic for my needs. But I'm always on the lookout for another one of these!

[@fbraakman]

I have one and I really like it for preliminary washing, i.e. after the fix, one or 2 prints at a time. But I am not sure how efficiently the wash is when several prints are in the tray. From the design it seems that the water is siphoned off the surface but not as well deeper into the tray. Those holes are just below the water output. If you place the siphon further down then it washes more efficiently, but the water is not as deep, limiting the number of prints that you can place in the tray.

[@g-r-a-e-m-e-]

Have had one for many years, great design.

[@ryanflatters6408]

Great device. I managed to find one and mostly figure it out. Nice to see it demonstrated. I’m thinking there must be an optimal depth of tray. If used in a deep tray, would you miss drawing heavy fixer residue from the bottom? When using one, I noticed that it makes a nice horizontal current that goes across the surface of the prints. Thanks for another helpful video.

[@gerardodalchielelueiro6818]

I have two or three is very usefull

[@lynnsaychoate5415]

After viewing the video I remembered I have one of those, somewhere? I dug threw a couple of boxes and found 2! Not sure if I'll use 1 and keep 1 for a spare or maybe sell both or one.

[@AI-Hallucination]

No way I was looking at one of them I am sure you will be able 3d print them? Probably be more expensive 😂

[@davegeraghty2187]

Seems like it might be a waste of water no?

[@hoggif]

Interesting product, never seen one. It would be more efficient probably with more water dump when siphoning. Now it is not that much different from having water constantly overflow.

[@PictorialPlanet]

I guess that's the science it uses. It's rather clever really.

[@sheelios]

been looking for one for months! so hard to find near me, and very expensive for shipping online

[@tonyhirst3628]

Hello, John. Firstcall Photographic do one from America, Deville they're called, £69.00, though?!

[@chriscard6544]

One on ebay

[@AI-Hallucination]

Yoh going to start a bidding war 😂

[@chriscard6544]

@@AI-Hallucination ahaha no

[@tonyhirst3628]

One on secondhand darkroom.com site without hose, ?29.00.

[@O.Persson]

I do belive deville (french manufacter) still makes a siphone. I'm still on the fence on getting one, as I feel the use up a fair bit of water. I've still only done RC-paper in my darkroom. As i don't have a setup for washing fibre in a proper way. Do you have a sense of how it's for washing multiple papers at once? And how long you need to wash, to remove the fixer?

[@PictorialPlanet]

I tend to wash only a couple at a time in the tray and for that it works well is you switch the prints from top to bottom regularly. For optimum water saving and maximum number of prints you can't really beat an archival standup washer but they cost more than I could afford.

[@O.Persson]

@@PictorialPlanet as I suspected, but a few prints at a time would probably be sufficient. Have an exhibition coming up in September, so I have a few night in the darkroom to look forward to :) And I figured I would print on fibre this time around. The archival washers are so bloody expensive though. Might just pick up a siphone and try it out. Thanks for the reply and the video!

[@PictorialPlanet]

@O.Persson you're welcome and congratulations on your upcoming exhibition!

[@O.Persson]

@@PictorialPlanet thanks, I'm one of the organisers. So it's really nothing special, but it will be fun to show some of my own images as well :) Have a great day!

[@flyingo]

There has to be a way to reduce the amount of water used in the development process. Water is perhaps the one resource everyone takes for granted, but aquifers are dwindling rapidly. I love everything about photography except for the tremendous fresh water use.

[@PictorialPlanet]

RC papers wash very quickly. I would recommend those to anyone in a place where water is an issue.