Well, my Holy Grail search paid off. I found a unit called the Enerjoy
Panel which is desinged to offer localized heating in work environments. As
an example, their ad for it shows one attached under a desk to keep a
worker's feet warm; Bob Cratchit could have used one. Mine measures just
under 18 x 24 inches and is about an inch thick. It is a 150W unit supplied
with an AC cord, an in-line dimmer controller a "power-on" light on the
unit itself. The heated surface looks like acoustic ceiling tile material.
I attached mine to the inside bottom of a cabinet which is filled with
fiberglass screen racks and the dimmer switch allowed me to get the box to
a constant 100 degrees (it would go much warmer, too). I have no fan or
vents to the outside, just nice toasty warm dry air inside.
And how nice. I pop a print in and 10-15 minutes later its dry. Since the
Enerjoy unit draws so little electricity it costs me about what a light
bulb would to power. I also have a large cabinet (the size of a kitchen
lower cabinet for pots and pans, etc) and its filled with about ten 2 1/2
gallon bottles of developer which I keep at 85° so they won't precipitate
out as they do when stored at room temperature. Currently, I have a small
space heater inside the cabinet which is a real energy drain and I'll soon
replace it with an Enerjoy heater. Cheap heat and quiet, too. I'm even
considering buying one to use underneath developer trays during workshops
(you all know by now that I use a Jobo for my own work, but use trays for
workshops) to prevent developer precipitation/crystallization. This past
weekend, for example, I had a 16x20 tray of developer out for a few days
for a workshop (ambient temp day and night of 68°) and it didn't take long
for a colony of crystals to form at the bottom of the tray. An Enerjoy
heater underneath would solve that problem.
So, if you're interested, contact Marilyn at Summitteers Radiant Heat,
Inc., PO Box 13314, #441, Oakland, CA, 94661-0314, 510-339-8884 (voice)
510-339-3202 (fax). I am in no way connected to this company nor do I
receive any benefits from their sales. This is just a do-gooders
announcement of a great product. I've explained to Marilyn I would be
making this post -- she's not a photographer and doesn't know altphoto; she
just knows that I would be sending the word out on the Enerjoy Heater.
The unit costs around $125 and is worth every penny.
Bill
ps Now I need to build a film drying cabinet. I might use another Enerjoy
unit (though would prefer something smaller) and know I'll need a small fan
of some sort to deal with the high humidity. Any suggestions of a good,
cheap way to make a film drying cabinet (for roll and sheet film) would be
nice.
*************************************************************************
WILLIAM LAVEN PHOTOGRAPHY
Offering Platinum/Palladium printing services and workshops and tutorials
in Pt/Pd printing and other areas of photography (Zone System, etc.)
1931 23rd Street, San Francisco, CA, 94107
415-647-9432 (voice) 415-647-9438 (fax)
wmlaven@platinotype.com
www.platinotype.com
*************************************************************************