Can I make 10L of working solution of wetting agent?

[Fellipe de Paula]

Can I prepare 10L of working solution of wetting agent or it'll spoil very quickly?

 

[Bob-D659]

It will spoil/ go off with mold before you use it all. Seeing as you only need to add 1ml to 500ml/16oz of distilled water for a days worth of film processing, a bottle lasts a very long time.

 

[AndersPS]

A man in the store I´m buying stuff from said that I could use washing-up liqiud istead of "real" wetting agent. This bacause the contents are pretty much the same. Just put a few drops in the tank and dip the reels up and down a few times. But he could be wrong, and I´m just a beginner.

///Anders S

 

[Anon Ymous]

A man in the store I´m buying stuff from said that I could use washing-up liqiud istead of "real" wetting agent. This bacause the contents are pretty much the same. Just put a few drops in the tank and dip the reels up and down a few times. But he could be wrong, and I´m just a beginner.

///Anders S

Hmmmmm, not really. (there was a url link here which no longer exists) thread has some interesting information. Anyway, wetting agents are cheap, at least in the long run. They also have an indefinite shelf life. Better safe than sorry.

EDIT: The concentrate has an indefinite shelf life, solutions don't, as Bob pointed out earlier.

 

[ozphoto]

Yes wetting agents are dirt cheap and last forever (almost). I'm still using a bottle of Agepon I purchased about 15 years ago......

 

[Steve Roberts]

as you only need to add 1ml to 500ml/16oz of distilled water for a days worth of film processing, a bottle lasts a very long time.

Around here the water is so soft (no lime content) that if I were to put 1ml in 500ml of water the suds would be oozing out the door! One drop in 500ml is more than enough here, but what money I save on wetting agent I probably end up spending on dentists' bills!

Steve

 

[Dan Henderson]

I learned a different way of using wetting agent that has worked well for me: I found a plastic container of a convenient shape. Fill it up with distilled water. Each time I process film add a capful of isopropyl alcohol and a drop of wetting agent. Pop the lid back on, shake it up a bit, take the film off of the reels and run it through 4 or 5 times. Give the film a gentle shake and hang to dry without wiping. Reseal the lid on the container and keep for the next time. I don't pay attention to how old it is or how many films I run through, just dump and replace when the water begins to not look crystal clear. No problems at all with drying marks, particles on the film, or scratches from wiping.

 

[jeffreyg]

I've used Kodak Photo Flo @ a small cap full in 20oz of distilled water for film for years with no problems. The 16oz bottle of concentrate seems to last for a very long time. I always make a fresh mix for each developing session. A bottle of concentrate runs about $7.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Dilute enough to fill your tank. It can be and should be reused. Each time you use it, some will not get back in the bottle. At that point either add more and fill to the top if it is still clean or dump it and mix a new batch.

Steve

 

[Vaughn]

I dilute the concentrated photoflo for the university down to a weaker stock solution...never had a mold problem. But then I am starting out with Photoflo 2100, not Photoflo 200! I use 7 ounces of the Photoflo 2100 to make a gallon of stock solution. I just use one ounce of the stock solution to make a gallon of working solution that the students use.

The Photoflo 2100 is pretty strange stuff. The gallon I have will last a long time!

Vaughn