Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Carbons and Moisture

This is topic Carbons and Moisture in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Tony L. Hernandez (Member # 3524) on 05-14-2008, 05:44 PM:

I was wondering if boxes of carbons that have gotten wet over the years can still be used. I have several boxes, some that got wetter than others, that I may try to pass on to someone else who uses carbon arcs.

PLEASE NOTE: I may be posting some carbons for sale in the equipment for sale page but these are not the same ones, they were always kept dry and perfect.

Tony

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 05-14-2008, 06:05 PM:

We once put carbons underwater for a week but let them dry in the lamphouse (while using other carbon) for 10-12 hours. Operation was perfect. Louis

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 05-19-2008, 07:29 PM:

We had a few that had obviously been wet at some point (but we were almost given them so...)

The bottom of the lamphouse had a floor of carbons drying out and we just took them from there and replenished as we went. There were always about 12 positives and 4 negatives lining the bottom of the lamphouse.

Worked fine.

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 05-20-2008, 12:38 AM:

In one booth I ran, we had a broken counter-top refrigerator with a light bulb that was wired "permanently on". This kept the box warm and dry. We kept our positives in there.

I'm told this helped (some) to keep the Marble carbons that our company was trying from spitting bits of their cores and blowing the light out.

Once the company'd had enough of that, they went back to Nationals. We also kept them in the hot-box, though I don't recall that we ever had a problem with them.

Posted by Phil Blake (Member # 2012) on 05-20-2008, 01:42 AM:

my experience with wet or damp carbons was spluttering , which usually covered the mirror with bits of copper and then on the odd occasion they would crack about and inch from the tip and when the copper melted away the tip would fall off.

We then adopted the same practice as John Wilson has said , rarely had problems after that.