Acufine

ptm · Mar 1, 2005

Hello members,
I´ve got several cans of Acufine (not ACU-1) for one quart (62g).
Is it possible to use it as a oneshot-developer, and when yes, what is the dilution and the time for APX 100?
If no, how much films (135/36) can I develop with the same time?
I searched the Net but didn´t find advice.
If someone uses this developer maybe he can give some information about this chemistry, as it seems very rare in Europe.
Thank´s,
Th.

titrisol · Mar 1, 2005

Did you check the MDC?
http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html

Did you run a google on Acufine?
http://www.dealfaro.com/home/acufine.html

Also in the BKA site
http://www.bkaphoto.com/pdfs/acufine.pdf

jim appleyard · Mar 1, 2005

Oh yes, it's quite possible to dilute acufine 1+1, but it all depends on the film your using. The Massive Dev. Chart calls for an ei of 160 and a time of 5 min @ 21C for *STOCK* (undiluted) Acufine. However, I found what may be an error in the Chart. I have my wedding asst. shoot Kodak TMZ at ei 6400, 1+1 for 6 min. @ 21C. The Chart calls for an ei of 3200 for 7.5 min @ 21C. My time comes out much better.

Point being, do test rolls to find your time and ei.

jim appleyard · Mar 1, 2005

I meant to point out the the Chart for a stock solution for TMZ.

Thane Bitter · Mar 1, 2005

Although I own a few cans, I have not actually tired using it, so I can't help you there. However, here is a PDF with some development times. http://www.bkaphoto.com/pdfs/acufine.pdf.
If I may tack on a question, does anyone know how long it can be stored if the can is unopened?

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 1, 2005

An unopened can should last for years.

You can use it one shot, but I've gotten consistent results reusing it full strength. It's very long lasting and has a high capacity of rolls/liter. It's convenient to have it always ready to go and adjust the development time for room temperature.

john_s · Mar 1, 2005

David A. Goldfarb said:
An unopened can should last for years.

I have several unopened cans that are 25 or 30 years old. Anyone can have them for the cost of postage* on condition that you let us know how they worked.

*postage from Australia

titrisol · Mar 1, 2005

No thanks... a 1 lt can is around $3 here!
less than postage from Oz!

john_s · Mar 1, 2005

titrisol said:
No thanks... a 1 lt can is around $3 here!
less than postage from Oz!

Yes, but can you get 25 year old Acufine there?

I was actually responding to the question about its likely keeping qualities. When I have nothing else to do, I will try one of the old cans out of curiosity.

gainer · Mar 1, 2005

I won't tell you what you must do, but I will tell you what I would do. I would get some hydroquinone. I would add 6 or 8 grams of it to a quart of Acufine. If it is too hot, dilute it. The extra hydroquinone will probably not increase activity an awful lot, but it will increase capacity. Years ago, I had a favorite homebrew that was much like this doctored up Acufine. I could get 8 or more 36 exp rolls out of a quart before it got so brown my conscience bothered me, which happened before the contrast got too low.

There will be theorists telling me why it will not work, and some may tell me why it does what it does. Don't listen to anyone until you've tried it. It's a freebie, and you can try it with cheap film, so why not?

Jürgen · Mar 2, 2005

I had purchased several old cans of acufine and they worked just fine. Regarding using it as a one shot developer, I remember reading somewhere that if you dilute 1+1 you double the recomended time. I tried this a couple of times with tri-x 120 and the negatives came very well.

Jurgen

Phillip P. Dimor · Mar 2, 2005

I can see the shelf life on unopened cans of concentrated powdered acufine being longer than 50 years. Great stuff!

ptm · Mar 3, 2005

Thank you members for all your answers!!!

So I am able to develop 8 135/36 rolls in a quart? (118ml developer + 118ml water for a JOBO 1520)

Is it possible to make a more concentrated stock solution? (to use a smaller bottle)

Acufine

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