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screen printing => Equipment => Topic started by: ebscreen on June 14, 2016, 03:01:54 PM

Title: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: ebscreen on June 14, 2016, 03:01:54 PM
Ours starts stinking a few weeks after changing the water. Instead of wasting water (which is kind of the point of the thing)
is there something we can add to it that is emulsion friendly but bacteria un-friendly?

Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: mimosatexas on June 14, 2016, 03:06:46 PM
little bit of bleach and some kind of a lid should keep it "fresh" for at least 2 months.  That's what I do.
Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: LuckyFlyinROUSH on June 14, 2016, 03:16:21 PM
Dawn Dish soap. We just keep refilling ours...water is black...but smells like dawn.
Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: alan802 on June 14, 2016, 03:18:02 PM
Ours just recently started doing this, just the last 6 weeks or so.  I thought it was the new emulsion we were using, but perhaps not.  What emulsion are you using EB?
Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: JBLUE on June 14, 2016, 03:45:33 PM
Little bit of Simple Green every so often keeps ours nice. You should see all the cool stuff it kills on the label.
Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: jvanick on June 14, 2016, 03:52:23 PM
ours stinks after a month or so as well.. just as easy to change it out rather than risk changing the chemistry of the emulsion.
Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: kingscreen on June 14, 2016, 04:23:07 PM
Simple Green here too. 
Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: ebscreen on June 14, 2016, 04:34:45 PM
Ours just recently started doing this, just the last 6 weeks or so.  I thought it was the new emulsion we were using, but perhaps not.  What emulsion are you using EB?

SP-1400

ours stinks after a month or so as well.. just as easy to change it out rather than risk changing the chemistry of the emulsion.


Clearly you don't live in California.



Thanks everyone. I've heard of people using bleach to reclaim screens so I'm going to shy away from that, dilute
as it may be.

Dawn or SG, whichever I find first...


Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: mk162 on June 14, 2016, 04:49:23 PM
yup dawn here.  works great.  our dip tank is around 75 gallons or so and I use around a tablespoon.
Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: Frog on June 14, 2016, 05:06:46 PM
Does anyone use a pump and keep the water moving?
Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: Maxie on June 14, 2016, 05:16:09 PM
At the moment we have no water shortage and I refill it once a week.
I've thought of getting a air pump like in a fish tank, I think the oxygen will keep it going longer.
I really need to try this, with everything else we try to be environmentally friendly.
Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: im_mcguire on June 14, 2016, 05:31:29 PM
Anybody have a source on a plastic container that would hold a 23x31 screen? I don't want to buy another dip tank from enviroline.
Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: Evo on June 14, 2016, 06:07:48 PM
Ours starts stinking a few weeks after changing the water. Instead of wasting water (which is kind of the point of the thing)
is there something we can add to it that is emulsion friendly but bacteria un-friendly?

Does it smell like a disposable diaper sometimes? Ours does.

We clean and disinfect the tank with ammonia or bleach when we change the water. That helps to keep the stench at bay for awhile. I'll add a little ammonia to it every once in awhile and that seems to help as well. Once the stink starts, it ramps up quick so we just change it out.
Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: Dottonedan on June 14, 2016, 06:51:44 PM
Not sure how much it helps the smell of old, dirty water, but I have a few customers that have pretty high pressure air pumping in from the bottom that agitates the water to help break down the ink on the screens faster. Probably intended to also smell better. Couple tablets of clorine and some gold fish sounds fun.
Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: jsheridan on June 14, 2016, 08:45:10 PM
ours stinks after a month or so as well.. just as easy to change it out rather than risk changing the chemistry of the emulsion.

A little dirty water isn't going to alter the chemistry of an exposed screen.

Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: ebscreen on June 14, 2016, 08:47:14 PM
Haha dirty diaper. Yeah, it's a real "unique" smell. Lovely when I walk in the develop room first thing in the morning.

I imagine agitation would do good, gotta be surface bugs. Our tank is across the room from any outlet however.
Title: Re: Post exposure dip tank
Post by: mk162 on June 14, 2016, 09:05:50 PM
we can go months with just some dawn.  give it a shot on in some fresh water, you'd be surprised.