Acufine Developer Question

[Colin Corneau]

Hey all -
Inherited some vintage Acufine -- in sealed cans, no less. Mixed up a batch and the test rolls turned out great.

I'm using it stock - my question:

Can I return it to the container and re-use it?

I've heard veteran users do this, until negs start to thin slightly, when they simply mix up a new batch.

Is this feasible? I'm shooting Tri-X, FWIW.

Thanks for any help, I've not used this developer before but like the results and like shooting at EI-1000.

 

[jim appleyard]

You can re-use a dev and the general rule is to add 5% time to each successive roll.

However, it may be in your best interest to dilute Acufine 1+1 and then toss. That way you get repeatable results and never have to worry about the number of rolls you've already run thru the stock solution.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Acufine without replenishment can handle 15 roll or equivalent per quart without adjustment, adding 2% to development time for an additional 15 rolls.

If you keep it for a long time and haven't used it for a while, test it with a film leader to be sure it's active. It can crash if exposed to high ambient temperatures. I find my 5 quart tank lasts around 6 months unreplenished. You can still buy the replenisher, if you want to use it that way, and it is very reliable and will go for a long time, if it isn't exposed to high temperature.

 

[Colin Corneau]

Good point about the replenisher!

I mixed up a gallon container (whatever the can makes, hey what do I know we use the metric system up here) and just use a single or double metal reel tank's worth each time. So I could dump that little bit of used bit into the fresh, larger, container...I have at least a dozen more cans.

Thanks, fellows.