Fixer formula using these two chemicals

[wildbill]

thank you!

 

[Ian Grant]

I'm actually using that formula or someting very similar simply because I have plenty of Sodium Thiosulphate and Ammonium Chloride that needs using up, it works very well is equally as good as any commercial fixer.

Ian

 

[John Wiegerink]

If you want simple and effective then use 200g Ammonium Thiosulphate and 20g Potassium or Sodium Metabisulphite, alternately use the Agfa 304 formula which is

Agfa 304 Rapid Fixer

Sodium Thiosulphate 200g
Ammonium Chloride 50g
Potassium Metabisulphite 20g
Water to 1 litre

For films and papers.

(Note this is an Agfa /Orwo formula and not Agfa Ansco/GAF)

Ian

Ian,
Isn't Agfa 304 close to Ole's Quick Fix (OF-1)? Of course Agfa 304 looks like it's easier to brew up and probably works just as well. I had most of the stuff on hand to make Ole's fixer, but had to order some Ammonium Chloride. Should be here by tomorrow. I'm a KISS kind of person as long as the end product does what it's suppose to do and is on the cheap side, since I'm a Dutch kind of person also. JohnW

 

[Gerald C Koch]

The simplest practical fixing bath consists of two chemicals; sodium or ammonium thiosulfate and sodium sulfite. The bath does not have to be acidic if a acid stopbath is used first. However, if a hardening agent such as alum is to be incorporated then the bath must be made acidic before the addition of the alum. The bath may be acidified in several ways. The most common is with acidic acid but sodium bisulfite or potassium metabisulfite can also be used. The acidifying agent must be well diluted and introduced slowly with stirring into a cold thiosulfate solution. It is tricky to make a bath without additional sodium sulfite when using a bisulfite. The solution should contain sufficient sulfite ion before the acid ingredient is added.

BTW, MSDS forms are not always completley accurate and their interpretation often requires some knowledge of chemistry.

Ansel Adams mentions the formula for the a two ingredient bath in The Print.

 

[jochen]

My experience with the ammoniumchloride containing AGFA 304 is that it has a tendency to get turbid and separates sulfur more quickly than AGFA 300 since NH4Cl and K2S2O5 give more acidity than K2S2O5 alone.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Ian,
Isn't Agfa 304 close to Ole's Quick Fix (OF-1)? Of course Agfa 304 looks like it's easier to brew up and probably works just as well. I had most of the stuff on hand to make Ole's fixer, but had to order some Ammonium Chloride. Should be here by tomorrow. I'm a KISS kind of person as long as the end product does what it's suppose to do and is on the cheap side, since I'm a Dutch kind of person also. JohnW

Whoops, I just looked up Ole's and now see it's not close. Good thing I'm not a chemist for Eli Lily or Johnson & Johnson or there would be a lot of deadly pills out there. JohnW

 

[Rudeofus]

The biggest practical difference is that Ole's quick fix is rather alkaline while Agfa 304 is acidic. There are pros and cons for either one and one has to pick whatever is more suitable.

 

[John Wiegerink]

The biggest practical difference is that Ole's quick fix is rather alkaline while Agfa 304 is acidic. There are pros and cons for either one and one has to pick whatever is more suitable.

Since I'm using some WD2D+ for some 4x5(Chinese) film I guess I'll go with Ole's. It should work just a well for paper I would presume? Plus, I have all the chems to make it up from scratch on the cheap side. JohnW