D76H mixing instructions; stuff floating in it.

rpavich · Dec 1, 2017

Just a quick question about D76H.
I mix my own 1 liter at a time and I put all of the powdered chems (metol, sodium sulfite, and borax) in a cup and dump them all in the 125f water at once and what happens is I get a few little clumps of something that are hard to get to dissolve, it takes a LOT to get them to dissolve.
I'm wondering what that is and if I should mix differently to stop it from happening.

For reference this is the recipe I've been following:
https://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Developers/Formulas/formulas.html

RalphLambrecht · Dec 1, 2017

rpavich said:
Just a quick question about D76H.
I mix my own 1 liter at a time and I put all of the powdered chems (metol, sodium sulfite, and borax) in a cup and dump them all in the 125f water at once and what happens is I get a few little clumps of something that are hard to get to dissolve, it takes a LOT to get them to dissolve.
I'm wondering what that is and if I should mix differently to stop it from happening.

For reference this is the recipe I've been following:
https://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Developers/Formulas/formulas.html

happens to me too but since I use it 1+1 for working solution. I ignore it and it never caused an issue.

rpavich · Dec 1, 2017

RalphLambrecht said:
happens to me too but since I use it 1+1 for working solution. I ignore it and it never caused an issue.

Well, that makes me feel better. I ended up mixing the living crap out of it and they went away. I thought they never would

rpavich · Dec 1, 2017

michael_r said:
rpavich,

It is important to dissolve the ingredients in the right order. In particular the metol needs to be dissolved first or it will be difficult to get into solution. Dissolve the metol completely first, then the sulfite and borax.

Ahh...that must be what's happening. I'm dumping them all in at once. I'll change that on the next batch.

Gerald C Koch · Dec 1, 2017

Metol dissolves easily in water but only with difficulty in concentrated sulfite solutions. I once was making a batch of D-76 when I realized that I had forgotten to add the metol. Everything else had been dissolved. It was only with great difficulty that I got the metol to dissolve requiring heat and a lot of stirring. You will often see recipes that advise to first add a pinch of sulfite then the metol and after it dissolves the rest of the sulfite. It's always a good idea to filter developers after mixing. Any undissolved developing agent can cause black spots on the negagives.

rpavich · Dec 1, 2017

Gerald C Koch said:
Metol dissolves easily in water but only with difficulty in concentrated sulfite solutions. I once was making a batch of D-76 when I realized that I had forgotten to add the metol. Everything else had been dissolved. It was only with great difficulty that I got the metol to dissolve requiring heat and a lot of stirring. You will often see recipes that advise to first add a pinch of sulfite then the metol and after it dissolves the rest of the sulfite. It's always a good idea to filter developers after to mixing. Any undissolved developing agent can cause black spots on the negagives.

Ahh...good to know. thanks very much.

afriman · Dec 1, 2017

Ingredients are usually listed in the order they should be added and dissolved. Not adhering to this rule of thumb can, with certain chemicals, be dangerous.

Sirius Glass · Dec 1, 2017

rpavich said:
Ahh...that must be what's happening. I'm dumping them all in at once. I'll change that on the next batch.

Yes when all else fails, follow the directions. Hint: They are there for a reason.

Gerald C Koch · Dec 1, 2017

afriman said:
Ingredients are usually listed in the order they should be added and dissolved. Not adhering to this rule of thumb can, with certain chemicals, be dangerous.

The exception appears to be high sulfite metol developers like D-76 and D-23. Traditionally the assumption is that people will know to dissolve the metol first after scavenging any oxygen present with a bit of silfite.and the sulfite second. Photography HOWTO books all seem to make this point.

rpavich · Dec 1, 2017

Sirius Glass said:
Yes when all else fails, follow the directions. Hint: They are there for a reason.

There were none to follow

Doremus Scudder · Dec 2, 2017

Just for the record, some instructions:

Kodak D-76H

Distilled Water (125° F)........750 ml
Metol ..................................2.5 g
Sodium Sulfite (Anhydrous)...100 g
Borax................................... 2 g
Cold Water to make...............1 liter

Add a pinch of the sodium sulfite to the water, stir to dissolve and then add the rest of the ingredients, starting with the Metol in the order given, stirring to dissolve each one before adding the next.

D-78H is said to provide the same development times and effects as D-76, but without the variability that comes with aging. Read below about the difference between D-76H and D-7h!

Kodak D76h Fine Grain Film Developer

Distilled Water (125° F)....................750 ml
Metol..............................................2.5 g
Sodium Sulphite (anh).....................100 g
Hydroquinone....................................5 g
Borax...............................................2 g
Boric acid........................................15 g
Water to..........................................1 liter

Add a pinch of the sodium sulfite to the water, stir to dissolve and then add the rest of the ingredients, starting with the Metol in the order given, stirring to dissolve each one before adding the next.

There are both D-76H and D-76h. The former (above) was supposedly formulated on a recommendation from Grant Haist and is without HQ. It is said to mimic D-76 without the change in activity problems. D-76h is with HQ and is also supposed to ameliorate the activity problem.

Best,

Doremus

Chris Livsey · Dec 2, 2017

rpavich said:
There were none to follow

Then your source was a poor one and you seek a better one, or as you have ask here

rpavich · Dec 2, 2017

Th

Doremus Scudder said:
Just for the record, some instructions:

Kodak D-76H

Distilled Water (125° F)........750 ml
Metol ..................................2.5 g
Sodium Sulfite (Anhydrous)...100 g
Borax................................... 2 g
Cold Water to make...............1 liter

Add a pinch of the sodium sulfite to the water, stir to dissolve and then add the rest of the ingredients, starting with the Metol in the order given, stirring to dissolve each one before adding the next.

D-78H is said to provide the same development times and effects as D-76, but without the variability that comes with aging. Read below about the difference between D-76H and D-7h!

Kodak D76h Fine Grain Film Developer

Distilled Water (125° F)....................750 ml
Metol..............................................2.5 g
Sodium Sulphite (anh).....................100 g
Hydroquinone....................................5 g
Borax...............................................2 g
Boric acid........................................15 g
Water to..........................................1 liter

Add a pinch of the sodium sulfite to the water, stir to dissolve and then add the rest of the ingredients, starting with the Metol in the order given, stirring to dissolve each one before adding the next.

There are both D-76H and D-76h. The former (above) was supposedly formulated on a recommendation from Grant Haist and is without HQ. It is said to mimic D-76 without the change in activity problems. D-76h is with HQ and is also supposed to ameliorate the activity problem.

Best,

Doremus

Thanks!

D76H mixing instructions; stuff floating in it.

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