Worker 11811
Allowing Ads
Just went downstairs to develop a roll of film. I got everything out and tested my fixer. It was bad. No problem, really. I just mixed up a new batch from syrup and moved on. The roll of film came out well.
When I went to clean up at the end of the session, I noticed that something had precipitated out of that bad batch of fixer. I'm wondering what it is.
I keep three bottles for fixer:
1) Fresh fixer.
2) Used fixer. To be used several times, developing film until it expires.
3) Expired fixer. Where old fixer goes to retire until Haz-Mat amnesty day.
When I dumped fixer from the "Used" bottle to the "Expired" bottle, I noticed some silvery, gray precipitate had formed at the bottom of the bottle. It looked kind of like fine flakes of oatmeal. If I pick up a finger full, I can grind it up between my fingers until it breaks up into fine, sandy particles.
I'm just wondering what it is, why it happened and maybe if it can tell me why that batch of fixer expired before its time.
Could I have possibly contaminated it? Not rinsed well enough between stages and gotten too much stop bath in the mix. Accidentally spilled developer or hypo-clear into the mix?
Maybe there is something in the water? I have never had trouble with the water before.
Or, maybe, does the silver in used fixer spontaneously precipitate out if it sits for a long time? Gee! Maybe I should collect it up and save it in an old medicine bottle until I get enough to cash it in!
Okay, probably not... but it would be funny if it did.
It was Kodak Kodafix. (Rapid fixer + hardener.)
I almost always develop Legacy Pro (Fuji Neopan). I think I have developed one roll of T-Max 400 with that particular batch of fixer.
It had only been reused two or three times. I can usually get 5 or 6 uses out of it before it's time to retire it.
It had been sitting in a capped plastic "Datatainer" bottle. Half gallon. Half full. I store all my stock chemistry on the floor.
(In case of accident, it doesn't go all over the tabletop and the shelves. It just runs down the floor drain.)
Always in the dark, except when I'm in there. Temperature is always moderate because it is in the basement. Temperature probably never goes above 24ºC or 75ºF.
I'm not worried, per se. I'm just wondering what the precipitate was and whether it indicates anything out of the range of normal conditions which I should be on the lookout for.
When I went to clean up at the end of the session, I noticed that something had precipitated out of that bad batch of fixer. I'm wondering what it is.
I keep three bottles for fixer:
1) Fresh fixer.
2) Used fixer. To be used several times, developing film until it expires.
3) Expired fixer. Where old fixer goes to retire until Haz-Mat amnesty day.
When I dumped fixer from the "Used" bottle to the "Expired" bottle, I noticed some silvery, gray precipitate had formed at the bottom of the bottle. It looked kind of like fine flakes of oatmeal. If I pick up a finger full, I can grind it up between my fingers until it breaks up into fine, sandy particles.
I'm just wondering what it is, why it happened and maybe if it can tell me why that batch of fixer expired before its time.
Could I have possibly contaminated it? Not rinsed well enough between stages and gotten too much stop bath in the mix. Accidentally spilled developer or hypo-clear into the mix?
Maybe there is something in the water? I have never had trouble with the water before.
Or, maybe, does the silver in used fixer spontaneously precipitate out if it sits for a long time? Gee! Maybe I should collect it up and save it in an old medicine bottle until I get enough to cash it in!
Okay, probably not... but it would be funny if it did.
It was Kodak Kodafix. (Rapid fixer + hardener.)
I almost always develop Legacy Pro (Fuji Neopan). I think I have developed one roll of T-Max 400 with that particular batch of fixer.
It had only been reused two or three times. I can usually get 5 or 6 uses out of it before it's time to retire it.
It had been sitting in a capped plastic "Datatainer" bottle. Half gallon. Half full. I store all my stock chemistry on the floor.
(In case of accident, it doesn't go all over the tabletop and the shelves. It just runs down the floor drain.)
Always in the dark, except when I'm in there. Temperature is always moderate because it is in the basement. Temperature probably never goes above 24ºC or 75ºF.
I'm not worried, per se. I'm just wondering what the precipitate was and whether it indicates anything out of the range of normal conditions which I should be on the lookout for.
Last edited by a moderator:
