Citric Acid Supplier

[Johnindc]

My current citric acid supplier's price for 50lbs has increased from $85 to $ 125 in less than a year. Does anyone have any recommendations for chemical suppliers for the mid-Atlantic region?

 

[BradS]

Wow! How long does 50 pounds of citric acid last? I have a 1 pound jar in the fridge...that'll probably last the rest of my life.

 

[Mahler_one]

Try Art Craft Chemicals in New York State. Mike is utterly honest, completely reliable, and will give you great advice.

How come so much Citric Acid...just curious as to what you are making....that's alot of stop bath!!!

Ed

 

[Kirk Keyes]

Or a lot of artifical lemonade. Or mozzarella cheese.

 

[photomc]

Check with a brew shop or some place that has all the supplies for canning food. It is pretty common and prices will vary all over the place.

On the other hand if you are using it as a stop bath, just use water and then into the fix. Haven't used a stop bath for film in a couple of years now, no issues from it - your mileage may vary.

 

[ann]

i bought some a year or so on ebay from a shop that sells supplies for soap making, very cheap. i am sorry i don't remember the name, but it shouldn't be hard to find something similar.

 

[Johnindc]

I'm using the citric acid to make sodium citrate developer. 50 lbs can get used up faster than you think.

 

[Colin Graham]

I've been getting it from Chemistry Store, but the price has gone up there too. Still, it's quite a bit cheaper than the small quantities from the photochem places. But sodium citrate itself is still only ~$100 for 50lbs.

I'm curious, is this for kallitypes? I only use about 10-20g/l of citric acid in a 20% solution of sodium citrate, mainly as a ph tweak.

 

[Johnindc]

Yes, it is for kallitypes. I think I will just buy the sodium citrate rather than mix my own.

 

[phritz phantom]

I'm using the citric acid to make sodium citrate developer. 50 lbs can get used up faster than you think.

do you use the citric in a sodium citrate solution (as a preservative, most likely...) or do you use the citric to produce sodium citrate?
if it's the latter, would you explain, how this works? i am very interested.

 

[Johnindc]

150 gms of citric acid plus 120 gms of sodium carbonate in 1 liter of water makes a 20% sodium citrate solution.

Dissolve the the citric acid first in a large container (I use 130-140 degree water) than slowly add the sodium carbonate. It will produce a lot of CO2.

 

[phritz phantom]

ah! perfect!
one item less on the shopping list! (after i've used up the pound i still have)
thanks.

edit: is the carbonate monohyd. or anhydrous?

 

[Johnindc]

Anhydrous.

 

[Kirk Keyes]

edit: is the carbonate monohyd. or anhydrous?

It will not mater for this purpose if you use anhydrous or not.

 

[tim_bessell]

Ah yes, home made sodium citrate!

Just a thought... you may be unsatisfied with the results of the off the shelf store bought sodium citrate. Be prepared to do some fiddling to match what you got with your home brew.

I made my own sodium acetate kallitype developer by reacting 5% distilled vinegar with baking soda. Then decided I could better spend my time taking photographs and bought sodium acetate from a supplier. Big difference in image tone. Might brew a gallon of my own again soon.