D76 Turned Grey After 1 Use

plankton · Mar 31, 2015

Hi!

I've used a new batch of D76 to develop two rolls of film. I stored the D76 in a plastic bottle but after a few days noticed that the solution had turned grey and there are what appears to be specks / fibres floating in the mix.

D76 was mixed with Scottish tap water. Any ideas as to what has gone on? Can i use it again?

Thanks!

removedacct1 · Mar 31, 2015

Do you happen to know what in your tap water? I cannot use my tap water (I'm on a well system) because it's full of iron, which will ruin photo chemistry, so I have to use a reverse osmosis system to obtain clean water for mixing developers.

CropDusterMan · Mar 31, 2015

Scottish water is likely high in mineral content...could be the issue....? I do know that it's great for making a good
single malt though.

Xmas · Mar 31, 2015

plankton said:
Hi!

I've used a new batch of D76 to develop two rolls of film. I stored the D76 in a plastic bottle but after a few days noticed that the solution had turned grey and there are what appears to be specks / fibres floating in the mix.

D76 was mixed with Scottish tap water. Any ideas as to what has gone on? Can i use it again?

Thanks!

You neither specified an exact location not the film type.

Some film dyes come out in developer and appear grey (or darker), kodak is normally pink...

Debris in stock bottle is not abnormal you need to use filter funnel and coffee filter, pour some faucet water through the filter and funnel first and discard, to remove any debris off paper first.

The D76 supplied by Kodak lasts a while in a sealed plastic bottle, it is ok mixed in my 'chalk stream' aquifer water, as is Microphen a PQ analogue.

Your water is OK for wee still too...

snapguy · Mar 31, 2015

malt

I think the great single malt stuff comes from the Highlands. Water might not be so good in lower climes.

pentaxuser · Mar 31, 2015

plankton, when you say you have used a new batch of D76 can we infer from this that you had previously used D76 with the same tap water without problems. We need to narrow down the potential list of causes and what is different this time from last time is crucial. Most, if not all, Scottish water is quite acidic and soft but I doubt very much if this is the cause. There are just too many successful film processors in Scotland for this to be the case and if it is the water then it's bad news because then you are stuck with using de-ionised/distilled water which can get expensive if its need for all stages of processing

pentaxuser

M Carter · Mar 31, 2015

I switched to Liquidol (from the Formulary) after getting tired of mixing Dektol stock by the gallon. Stuff ate through a plastic jug once... man, was that a mess. Dektol eats linoleum floors for lunch! Very pleased with the Liquidol look, and man - the convenience! Don't know about international availability though.

I've found - so far - that my chlorinated big-city tap water has been fine for all photo chemicals just going through an undersink filter. We just have a single-stage, supposed to be a "whole house" but it feeds a drinking water tap and the icemaker in our fridge. Cartridge lasts about 3-4 years. I've had Osmosis setups before, but they're expensive, complex, and they waste more water than they deliver. Filtration has proven to be very cheap and effective for me (we have tremendous rust problems in our 1920's neighborhood with old steel supply pipes. I replumbed our entire house with PEX and copper, but the tub and tile still goes orange on us).

Gerald C Koch · Mar 31, 2015

Is the D-76 commercial Kodak or is it home brew? The Kodak developer will contain a chelating agent for hard water.

Two other possibilities. Either dye from the film or colloidal silver caused by the high solvent action of the D-76. In the latter case the silver should clump together in a few days and settle as a sludge. Just filter it out.

fotch · Mar 31, 2015

Hello plankton and welcome to APUG.

ParkerSmithPhoto · Mar 31, 2015

I've never had any luck storing D76 in plastic bottles, even ones designated as "photo" bottles. It always turns brown on me.

Glass is King when it comes to storing developers.

Richard S. (rich815) · Mar 31, 2015

Any chance some fixer got cross-contaminated some how?

desertrat · Mar 31, 2015

I mixed up a batch of home brew D76 a couple of years ago and stored it in a plastic half gallon apple juice bottle, full almost to the top. I don't remember what kind of plastic these fruit juice bottles are made out of, but it's supposed to be good for storage.

I developed a couple of sheets of X-ray film in it a few days after mixing and noticed it turned gray.

I checked it a few months ago for activity with a film strip and it seems to be still good. It still has the same gray color.

It hasn't turned brown yet. That would indicate it went bad.

pentaxuser · Mar 31, 2015

It sounds as if you can use it again but here's the easy, no cost test. Next time you have a film to develop cut off the leader which by its nature has been blasted by light and develop this in a few mls of the suspect D76 for the time used for whatever the film is. It should turn black by the end to the extent that holding it up to a clear tungsten 75/100W bulb you should only be able to see the element as a thing white wire

pentaxuser

Gerald C Koch · Mar 31, 2015

There are two kinds of water hardness; temporary hardness and permanent hardness. Temporary hardness is caused by calcium bicarbonate in the water. It is easily removed by boiling the water for a short period (5 minutes) which precipitates calcium carbonate. After standing for awhile the boiled water is decanted leaving the calcium carbonate behind. Permanent hardness is caused by magnesium ions in the water. These have no effect on photographic solutions and can be ignored. If your water is anywhere from medium to very hard you need to either include a chelating agent for calcium (such as sodium hexametaphosphate) or boil the water before mixing a developer. Commercial developers usually contain a chelating agent so there is no problem.

RalphLambrecht · Mar 31, 2015

Gerald C Koch said:
Is the D-76 commercial Kodak or is it home brew? The Kodak developer will contain a chelating agent for hard water.

Two other possibilities. Either dye from the film or colloidal silver caused by the high solvent action of the D-76. In the latter case the silver should clump together in a few days and settle as a sludge. Just filter it out.

I suspect Gerald has it right pointing towards collodial silver and as he suggested just filtering it through a white coffee filter took care of business..

pentaxuser · Mar 31, 2015

As far as I am aware as a Scotsman who used to live in Scotland all of the country has soft water and in some areas very soft water. Maybe the residents will chime in but I think we can stop speaking of water hardness in the context of the OP's problem.

pentaxuser

cliveh · Mar 31, 2015

Ignore the colour, as it will work just as good next time round.

Gerald C Koch · Mar 31, 2015

pentaxuser said:
As far as I am aware as a Scotsman who used to live in Scotland all of the country has soft water and in some areas very soft water. Maybe the residents will chime in but I think we can stop speaking of water hardness in the context of the OP's problem.

pentaxuser

And soft water is an important requirement of making good whisky. It is well known that hard water will ruin the flavor.

MattKing · Apr 1, 2015

Gerald C Koch said:
There are two kinds of water hardness; temporary hardness and permanent hardness.

Gerald:

You forgot the third type of water hardness: frozen hardness

plankton · Apr 9, 2015

Hi everyone, thanks for all the interesting theories and my apologies for the very late reply! To clarify this was the first developing I've done so my potential sources of error are...err... limitless!

The D76 has turned a sort of greyish yellow which is worrying but I'll run it through a coffee filter and test it before I next use it.

More alarmingly, I've just got my scans back and they are atrocious. I've never seen HP5 look so grainy and the contrast is crazy, many are almost ruined. I used D76 stock for 7.5 mins, would I be better off diluting it in future?

D76 Turned Grey After 1 Use

plankton

removedacct1

CropDusterMan

Xmas

snapguy

pentaxuser

M Carter

Gerald C Koch

fotch

ParkerSmithPhoto

Richard S. (rich815)

desertrat

pentaxuser

Gerald C Koch

RalphLambrecht

pentaxuser

cliveh

Gerald C Koch

MattKing

Moderator

plankton

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