E6 failed chemicals or something else?

[Mozg31337]

Hello everyone.

I would like to share my recent failed development of two E6 120 films. Would like to understand what could have happened and if there is a way to avoid it in the future.

I have bought Tetenal E6 kit back in April and have mixed 1L solution to develop the first set of 10 films. This was back in August.These were developed okay. I am using ANOVA gadget to control the temperature.

A week ago I've mixed the remaining 1.5L solution to develop some more film. The docs say that the unmixed solution will last 24 weeks if opened. I've noticed that the First Developer chemistry set bottle was pretty hard and when I was shaking it I've heard some rattling like there were some loose bits in the bottle.

I went ahead and developed two rolls of film, which turned out totally dark. No exposures even when looking at a bright light source. I can't even see the make and the frame numbers.

Does anyone know what went wrong and if there is a way to test the chemicals for E6 and C41 before starting the development?

Cheers

 

[Anon Ymous]

Dead first developer? Put a piece of film in your FD in daylight, any film will do. If it darkens, then it shows signs of life. If not, then there's the culprit.

 

[Rudeofus]

E6 FD does get weaker over time, both as concentrate and as working solution, but this shouldn't happen at that fast a pace, and it does not happen abruptly in my experience.

@Mozg31337: How "black" is your film? Is it not even slightly translucent if you hold it against some point light source? Also, what did your BX-2 concentrate look like? Did it have thick, yellow precipitate?

 

[Mozg31337]

Rudeofus, The film is pretty black, but if you hold a light source, like a torch against the film you can see a fain source of light. If you place the film against a window and try to look through it, you can't make up any objects outside, can barely see a light source.

I will have to check the bx-2 bottle when I get home. I've saved the bottles.

 

[Mozg31337]

Is there a way to test the colour developer and BLIX before starting the development process?

 

[Anon Ymous]

If you can barely see a light source through the film, then the blix might be dead. E6 CD will also darken (develop) any exposed film. It doesn't mean that it works as it should, but that it's not totally dead. Blix can be checked with any piece of processed bw film. It should clear the film. If you want to do a full check of your chemicals, then you will need to sacrifice a small piece of unprocessed and fully exposed E6 film. Cover part of it with tape and start processing as you would. After the first wash (the one after the FD) remove the tape and do the rest of the processing. You should have a piece of film where the one part is clear and the other (covered part) black.

 

[Anon Ymous]

So, did you test your chemicals? What's the culprit?

 

[Mozg31337]

I have been packed with work, but hoping to test a few things tonight if the 1 year old twins behave and sleep well )))

 

[Mozg31337]

Ah, what I have noticed is that the FD bottle had sediment and leftover bits in the bottle as well as both Blix bottles. Not sure if this has fully mess up the both solutions or just made them weaker.

 

[Rudeofus]

Sediment in the FD bottle is a sign of age, but typically not a show stopper. Sediment in the BLIX bottle indicates something very bad. If that BLIX sediment is yellow, then the Thiosulfate sulfured out and your BLIX is dead, which would nicely explain the opaque slides. The good thing is that you can re-BLIX with fresh BLIX and thereby recover your images.

 

[Mozg31337]

Really? Do I need to do anything else outside of the normal Blix times indicated by the manual? Or do I need to do anything in addition to recover the images?

It is good that I have not binned them )))

 

[Mozg31337]

Rudeofus, I think there was the sediment in both Blix bottles that are used for preparing the final solution. The dark red/brown bottle and the yellow one.

 

[Rudeofus]

The sediment in the yellow BX2 bottle is particularly bad, and it's a typical failure mode of Tetenal's E6/C41 kits with prolonged storage.

In order to recover your slides mix a fresh batch of BLIX from fresh concentrates, and follow the E6 process from BLIX step on including wash and STAB.

 

[Mozg31337]

Evening everyone. I have tried to do Blix on those slide film rolls and it didn't make a difference. The slides are still very dark and look the same. The Blix that I have has been used about 2 weeks ago to develop 3 rolls of film. Any idea if it is worth doing anything else? Could it be that my second batch of Blix is also dead?

 

[Gerald C Koch]

It sounds like the FD and the blix have gone south. Instead of throwing film after them ditch the kit.

 

[Mozg31337]

Right, okay, thanks! It is a shame really to waste two exposed slide films (((

 

[Anon Ymous]

Do you have any ferricyanide bleach? If yes, you can try bleaching your film in it, wash it, then use any fixer. If it changes the appearance of your film, then the FD wasn't totally dead. If it doesn't, there's nothing else that you can do. This bleach, as well as a random fix is not what you should use, but will reveal the source of your problem.

 

[Rudeofus]

Evening everyone. I have tried to do Blix on those slide film rolls and it didn't make a difference. The slides are still very dark and look the same. The Blix that I have has been used about 2 weeks ago to develop 3 rolls of film. Any idea if it is worth doing anything else? Could it be that my second batch of Blix is also dead?

Did you mix that BLIX from your old concentrates, or is this from a new kit?