The FPP Heat Helper

Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t recall seeing so many sous vide cooking options when walking through the kitchen appliance department in retail stores a few years ago. It seems like instant pots and sous vide cooking is the new trendy way to prepare meals at home. One method is incredibly fast, and one is incredibly slow. This past Christmas, we added both of these appliances to our kitchen. Only the sous vide wouldn’t be used for cooking food.

The Film Photography Project saw a cost effective and dependable way to help photographers heat C-41 and E-6 developing chemistry. In the past, photographers have used other methods to heat chemistry: aquarium heaters or running gallons of household water in a sink. The popularity and price of a sous vide, or immersion circulator, provides more control over temperatures, and it’s convenient.

The key to color film processing is a consistent temperature. And using a modern sous vide allows you to dial in the exact temperature you need. When testing the FPP Heat Helper for the first time, I decided to use it to heat up enough FPP SuperMonobath to 75° and develop two rolls of black and white film. The top of the FPP Heat Helper contains a digital display with a large circular temperature adjustment knob. The unit must be placed in a tub of water that’s large enough to hold your chemistry, plus the unit clamped to the inside of the tub. Once the unit is plugged in, the temperature can be set by turning the knob clockwise or counter-clockwise.

Here’s a few things to keep in mind when using the FPP Heat Helper:

• The unit has a power cord, so you need to be within a few feet of a power outlet.
• Because you’ve dialed up an exact temperature doesn’t mean your chemistry is the same temperature. Make sure to use a thermometer in your chemistry and monitor that temperature.
• The unit has lines that mark the minimum and maximum water levels. Use a water level in your tub that matches the liquid level of your chemistry. If you use too much water, you’re going to be waiting for the temperature of your chemistry to rise because the unit is circulating excess water.
• Is the FPP Heat Helper made specifically for film chemistry? No. In fact, the unit they sell is a Power Precision Cooker that’s made in China. You’ll find them in several stores, but any sous vide unit will work. However, I recommend buying from the FPP because this helps them continue to provide us with film and other cool stuff!

Some seasoned film photographers may find this trivial, but my next step is developing color film at home using the FPP Heat Helper and the CineStill CS41 Liquid Developing Quart Kit. You’ll be able to see my results and read about my experience next week.