I have one Senrac dryer left. Is $100 too much?

I think that's a great I idea using the portable closet. Easy to move and
store, cheap. Nice one. Might billow a bit when the hair dryer gets going.

All you need is a long enough cabinet with a fan, heater and a good
filter in the air-flow.  Should probably have the air come in one end,
and go out the other.  The portable closet might be a little large, in
that you would need a pretty powerful fan to move the air through it,
although some baffles in the right places might work.  A box long enough
and about 30cm square with the fan and heater from an old hair-dryer
with some portable A/C filter material on the intake side, and a hole at
the other end for the air to escape (also covered with the same filter
material), would probably work best.  Just need to wash or replace the
filters once in a while....

W

I just made one not dissimilar to the one described here -
http://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/photo/fdryer.htm

I didn't put the heater or fancy bits on. Basically just a box made of
laminated PAR pine (or upright coffin for a very skinny person :-) ).  Holes
drilled in the top and a fan extracting at the bottom. The whole thing sits
on two battens to lift it of the floor and is reasonably stable. I made sure
the door frame had a good seal all round, and it closes on three 'buckle'
type latches. Several coats of clear acrylic varnish so it can be wiped down
before use. I bought a refill box of 'fine' vacuum cleaner filters that have
a plastic frame (Dyson), and made a small frame the right size on the top of
the box that the filter sits in. When the fan is on the filter is drawn down
into place by the partial vacuum. Air flow is quite slow, but this was the
desired effect, so the film inside doesn't flap about. Inside two dowels
across the top allow for hanging - I could probably fit 6-8 35mm films
inside, which is more than I need, but I built the box large enough so that
it isn't too top heavy.

In use, I give it a wipe down inside and leave it running for an hour before
use - when I need to hang the film in it, I switch of the fan and open and
close it carefully so as not to attract a load of new dust. When it closed
again, I switch the fan back on. I left it running for an hour, then turned
it off. I don't open the cabinet till I'm ready to snip up the negatives.

Previously I seemed to get a lot of dust problems (we have three dogs in the
house), the first films through the new dryer are much improved.

Cost was about ?80 (GBP). It would have been cheaper if I'd built it as a
battening frame and covered that with hardboard or something simillarly
cheap, but this way seemed simpler as the boards themselves form the
structure and it all screws together quite easily.

I built mine:
http://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/photo/fdryer.htm
but yours may be simpler ...

Regards,
Claudio Bonavolta
http://www.bonavolta.ch

I use a similar 15"x15"x4' clothes protector to dry my film. It works
fine for 120, but 35mm is a few exposures too long, so I have been
cutting any fully used film in half, which is a bit of a pain.

For about two years it was completely passive (no fan or heater) and
drying film overnight worked fine - no curling or dust.  I had
originally installed a few air filters (from a desktop air cleaner) at
the top and a fan I built with Radio Shack parts at the bottom, but
the fan created too much suction and made the thing implode. I've
recently reversed the fan and put a filter on it, but haven't tried it
out yet.

One handy feature is that because it is clear plastic you can inspect
the negatives from the outside. One downside is that the "door"
doesn't open more than a few inches wide, so film occasionally rubs
against the zipper when being loaded.

Hello again.  Thank you very much for all wonderful suggestions
you guys have given me.  From what I'm hearing so far, I'm leaning
towards building one from scratch, though my woodworking skills
have been left unused since junior highschool.  (c:  I think I'm
going to stop by the local Walmart and Target in the next couple
of days anyway to see if they've one of those portable closets in
a workable size.

Anyhow, here are some ideas that I've gotten from all your responses
and other sources:

1.  Coating the inside of the cabinet with a wipeable material
   (e.g., acrylic).  So that the dryer space can be cleaned prior
   to use.

2.  Seal the door with weather stripping to keep dust out.

3.  Use a spring latch on the door like described in:

   http://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/photo/fdryer.htm

   for a better seal.  (Thanks, Claudio.)

4.  Use a fine air filter on air inlets.

And here are some points that I'm still considering:

1.  Heating.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I live in Phoenix,
   AZ area.  Getting things to dry quickly isn't a big problem
   around here.  Getting them to dry dust-free can be a bit tricky.
   So, I'm basically thinking of just building a well-sealed
   cabinet.  The drying is due to the lack of humidity (I don't
   have a humidifier at home) rather than heat.

   Unless there's a technical reason for raising the temperature
   inside the film dryer?  Something to do with the way the film
   emulsion react to heat, perhaps?  If so, what do you think of
   using a rough-duty 75W/100W bulb installed at the floor of the
   cabinet?  I saw this on a Shutterbug article.  I like this idea
   more because, IMHO, it's less of a fire hazard compared to
   outright heating elements and fans.

2.  Speaking of fans, another reason I'm considering not installing
   heating elements and fans is dust.  Isn't it a safer way to
   dust-free negatives if I don't muck about the air inside the
   dryer too much, however gently?  I know an air filter goes a
   long way in keeping dust out; but, wouldn't not sucking them
   into the cabinet in the first place be safer?

3.  I mentioned the very dry air around this place.  Do I need to
   consider potential problems with static and dust?  If so, any
   suggestions how?  Assuming a wooden cabinet, which parts of it
   will I need to ground?

4.  Anything else I should consider?

I know as an engineer that a lot of these things are trial and
error sort of things.  I'm really not criticising anyone and I
truly appreciate all pointers and ideas.  So, if any more suggestions
you've got on the matter, please keep them coming.

Thank you very much again.

+------>      | There are two secrets to success in life:   |       <------+
     /_______| 1.  Never tell any one everything you know. |________\
             `---------------------------------------------'

My wife and I recently built a new home, and after moving in I assigned
the task of building a new darkroom to me (ie, the lowest bidder).  When
I planned the darkroom, I anticipated that I would later build a film
dryer, and completed that project last winter.

I used 3/4" MDF to construct a 'closet', with plexiglass glazing in the
door so that I can see what is happening inside.  I used a small
computer muffin fan to pull air through a filter into the cabinet, and
then push it through a second (furnace type) filter into the main film
compartment.  I placed a 200w bulb in the air path inside the
compartment as a source of both light and heat.  The total cost was less
than $100, it was a fun project, it works very well, and it fits
perfectly into my darkroom.