Chemical temperatures during summer.

Gerald Koch · Jul 7, 2006

I also have a problem with temperature here in Florida. I routinely use a water bath using a plastic wash basin and ice from the frig. Can't do much about the wash water since it comes out of the tap around 30C. I don't experience any problems with the films I use. If you use Efke films you might consider using a hardening stopbath. An easily made oneshot consists of 1 tsp of potassium chrome alum and 1 tsp of sodium bisulfite in 1 quart of water. Immerse the film for 5 min with intermittent agitation.

Kodak a few years ago upped their recommended processing temperature from 20 to 24C. Modern emulsions are prehardened. Only the temperature of the developer is really important. The other solutions can vary by a few degrees. The developers I use recommend either 20 or 22C. Your temperature of 25C is not very different from Kodak's recommendation.

I use a digital thermometer used by food inspectors which cost about $12. Checked against a mercury thermometer it is quite accurate and is completely water proof.

Paul Howell · Jul 7, 2006

Gerald Koch said:
I also have a problem with temperature here in Florida. I Can't do much about the wash water since it comes out of the tap around 30C.

I use a 5 gallon bucket with a copper tube wound though it, one eight pound bad ice will cool 90 degree water to 70 for about 8 mints, long enough for most film that have been treated with Perma Wash or other clearing bath. If you wanted to do alonger wash just add more ice or use a larger bucket with a longer length of copper tubeing. I save my 35mm and 120 so I can process 4 or rolls at a time.

Gerald Koch · Jul 7, 2006

I don't have any problems with the temperature of the wash water; as present day films seem to be much better than older ones. When in doubt I have used a hardening stopbath which eliminates the problem entirely. I don't have a permanent darkroom which makes other solutions impractical for me.

dancqu · Jul 9, 2006

hammy said:
...dial in the correct temperature.
Are there any tricks for doing this?

There you go, Dial-A-Temp. I should be a
Thermoelectric Cooler salesman. Dan

minotaur1949 · Jul 9, 2006

As far as ruining a roll is concerned..it happens to me sometimes as well. I've been doing B&W in my home darkroom since I was 12. (never mind how old i am now! lol)

In the Baltimore MD area where I live, I cant get tap water temperature below 74F in the summer. My solution is simple. I develop my film early in the morning (before 8AM) and my water is about 70F. Perhaps this wil work for you as well.

Robert

BOSS565 · Jul 11, 2006

I will put ice cubes in a plastic bag to cool down my solutions. I have an a large container filled with water that I also cool down to the same temperature. I keep my 35mm / 120 small tanks in the larger container to maintain the temperature during development, etc. If the large container starts to warm a bit, drop the plastic bags with the ice to cool it down (then pull it out).

Wayne · Jul 12, 2006

Chill out. For only 100 bucks I sure wouldnt mess with ice cubes, hot/cold water baths, time-development changes or anything else. I was planning to buy one of these this summer but I've way to busy to work in the darkroom anyway.

http://www.jbjnanocubes.com/index.html?lang=en-us&target=d782.html

Wayne

djkloss · Aug 4, 2006

Wayne said:
Chill out. For only 100 bucks I sure wouldnt mess with ice cubes, hot/cold water baths, time-development changes or anything else. I was planning to buy one of these this summer but I've way to busy to work in the darkroom anyway.

http://www.jbjnanocubes.com/index.html?lang=en-us&target=d782.html

Wayne

I just saw that on another web site http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_chillers_coolworks_iceprobe_information.asp?CartId= and was wondering if anyone had tried it. It looks like a bit of work to set it up, but may be well worth it. Lake Erie has hit 80 degrees.

Has anyone tried this?

Chemical temperatures during summer.

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