DEvelopoer exhaustion

[FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]Developer Exhaustion ?[/FONT]


[FONT=Trebuchet MS, sans-serif]I think I already know the answer. After a year of waiting I got back in my darkroom and developed a roll of film. The results spooked me. The image on Aristo EDU 100 were barely visible and the edge marks were faint also. I use Claxtons f-76 1:9 For 6 mins at 71 degrees. I get the developer by the gallon and decant into hard plastic quart containers and then further decant into 2 oz glass bottles to the top and seal with cap. I have been using this technique for some time with consistent results. But yesterday raised real doubts. I still have 3 quarts of capped developer remaining. And wonder if there is anyway to test the solutions other than shooting a roll and developing it to see. I happen to have litmus paper to test alkalinity ,would that be usable as a test? [/FONT]

Dear bobmolson,

If you used developer that was diluted a year ago and stored even in glass bottles, that is probably the issue. Developer concentrate stored for 1 year in the manner you describe seems quite reasonable. Is it possible that you inadvertently over diluted the developer before using?

You might expose a clip of film to room light and see how long it takes to turn black. I keep the cut ends of 35mm film around just to test developer and fixer (yes, I realize that even "quick and dirty" is too positive a description for such a test). Not great but it will give you an idea as to the developer's activity.

Good luck,

Neal Wydra

Diluted developer can't be stored more than a few hours.

Ian

Ian Grant said:

Diluted developer can't be stored more than a few hours.

Ian

Click to expand...

Not totally true.

If you use a replenishment regime with a developer designed for that, by definition your working solution is stored for long periods of time.

You just need to regularly "exercise" it (by developing film, and replenishing it).

MattKing said:

Not totally true.

If you use a replenishment regime with a developer designed for that, by definition your working solution is stored for long periods of time.

You just need to regularly "exercise" it (by developing film, and replenishing it).

Click to expand...

Except that you don't replenish dilute film developers Usually developers designed for replenishment have a high Sulphite level and this itself helps prevent oxidation.

Ian

Ian Grant said:

Except that you don't replenish dilute film developers Usually developers designed for replenishment have a high Sulphite level and this itself helps prevent oxidation.

Ian

Click to expand...

Ah but Ian I do replenish HC-110, which has to be diluted (from concentrate) before you can even use it.

The same applies to T-Max RS.

I think you are referring to developers like ID-11, where the choice is between using "stock" one shot, "stock" in a replenishment regime, and diluted stock (eg 1 + 1) one shot.

In essence, we are using "diluted" in two slightly different ways.