Diafine problems

Hi this is my first post here and I bring a perplexing problem that I hope someone might be able to clear up.

I've used Diafine a few times now on three different films (Pan F+, HP5+ and Rollei IR), each time I have been having problems with streaking down the top edge of the negatives (illustrated in the pic below). I'm really enjoying Diafine as other than this streaking I find the results very pleasing.

At first I though it might have been something to do with the IR film but after trying the other two emulsions I have had very similar results.

At the moment I am inverting twice (very gently) as soon as the solution is poured into the tank, then once every minute from there. I have tried 3, 4 and 5 minutes in each solution to see if that changes things and have also used higher and lower temperatures. I am rapping the tank after pouring in the chemicals, using a water stop bath as the box said not to use an acid stop bath and not rinsing between solutions.

I'm sure none of the other chems are part of the problem since I have processed a roll in LC29 with no problems at all. I am re-using the Diafine as you would expect and have also tried different amounts of solution from 500ml-the whole 1ltr, neither made a significant difference to the end result.

I am now at a bit of a loss, the only thing I haven't tried yet is no inversions at all and instead just swirling the tank to see if that helps. By the way I'm currently using a Paterson tank with a plastic Paterson reel. The other thing that has been brought to my attention is that this might be down to the fact that I mixed the solutions with tap water and not distilled water, however I have never had problems with the water here before (we have pretty soft water, no limescale probles etc). Any input would be very much appreciated.

That looks a bit like bromide drag, a result of under agitation. Have you tried vigorous agitation cycles every 30 seconds like you would do with a normal single part developer?

I used Diafine for the first time last week on a test roll of Tri-X at 1600. I did everything by the book, mixed in distilled water, follwed their agitation suggestion to the letter & got the same results as El Gringo. All sorts of weird ugly streaks. I went home & did a search on "Diafine streaks" & it came up with quite a few hits, enough to suggest this is a common occurence. The suggestion given was to agitate more than the recommended amount.

So I did another test roll except this time I agitated every 30 seconds instead of every 60. Also I agitated for 10 secs at the start of both A & B solutions. End result was streak free negs. As glbeas has written the streaks are apparently bromide drag, when bromide released from the dev process runs down the film & leaves a mark. I suppose the extra agitation keeps it moving around. I also heard that it's the B stage where the extra agitation makes the difference.

I'm glad I sorted this out because as El Gringo says the film grain produced does look promising. What I don't understand is why the manufacturer continues to give these agitation instructions when it causes a problem for so many people.

I would confirm experientially, as well, that it is from under agitation. I have been using Diafine since 1978 and only if I fall below 5 inversions every minute does it happen. I sometimes get distracted while developing and miss a cycle... then it shows up.

I know it wasn't the tap water... I lived out in the provinces in Peru for a year and a half and mixed Diafine with river water filtered through some cotton gauze to get the big chunks of dirt and debris out... and it worked fine.

Did you start with wet reels or tanks?

One other thing you want to watch when doing roll film - be sure to get all the "A" solution out of the tank before you pour in the "B". Tanks tend to trap a little solution when you drain them. Turn the tank upright after draining, the tip it down again. You'll get a little more out. While it's tipped down, shake it around a little. More will come out. I've seen several folks who had steaking problems due to this. Yours does indeed look like bromide drag, but you never know. Agitation keeps the released bromide washed off the film.

Thanks for all the replies, hopefully this could be a result of under-agitation as that would be an easy thing to fix. I'll go back to my normal routine that I use with single stage developers and see if that helps.

I find it very strange that they stress the gentle agitation when it could cause such terrible results. Does anyone know why they would mention this, would over-agitation really do that much damage?

I always pour in solution A, invert tank slowly, then right way up, then rap, then stand. Repeat once per minute for 5 minutes. Drain solution A back into the right bottle, then follow the same agitation pattern for solution B.

I use a SS tank and reel for 35mm, and a plastic tank and reel for 120. Never had any streaking problems. The chemicals were mixed with Amsterdam tap water.

There is probably a happy medium with the agitation, since I've also seen examples where people have over agitated. I wonder which solution is most affected by under/over agitation?

I've always given my tanks constant agitation for the first 30 seconds. Perhaps this is your problem, you're not giving enough agitation at the beginning of the processing? That first 30 sec.-1 min is critical.

I am a newbie here, but have had the same issue with these streaks when using Diafine two bath film dev. It seems to be more prevalent when using my paterson spirals and tank rather than my metal reels and stainless tank. I read somewhere that long term use of photo-flo could also cause streaking like this?? I have since tried using the 1/2 bleach and water cleaning process of my reels and tanks but have not tried anymore developing for the last few weeks. I always used to leave my film and reels stewing in the final rinse then drop a few drops of photo-flo into the water to help with drying. I have always done this and have only heard in the last few weeks that this is bad practice. I will see if the issues go away next time round. Could the streaks shown in El Gringo's picture be caused by photo-flo problems?

Thanks again for the replies, I'll definitely have to shoot some test rolls and see what happens when I agitate more.

I'm not sure about the Photo-flo suggestion as this is only happening with Diafine and not with any of the other developers I have used (Ilfosol S and LC29). But I do use the Ilford equivalent of photo-flo and have been ever since I started developing my own stuff.

I've used Diafine for my last twenty or so rolls. I pour, invert once, bang the tank against something hard once or twice, and let stand three to four minutes. Pour out and repeat. I've never gotten any streaks.

Film should be completely dry for Diafine A to evenly saturate the emulsion. Make sure your film, reels and tank are dry before you add A. Of course, make sure you use enough of either solution to completely immerse the film.