Gaf isodol

[Luseboy]

Hello,
So i got a bunch of darkroom chems of craigslist, and one thing i got was gaf isodol developer, along with about 7 cans of replenisher for it. So my question is this: since i have one gallon of isodol, and 7 gallons of isodol replenisher, does that mean i can use that one gallon until it starts going bad, then add in replenshiner, then use that, then ad more replenisher? I ask because i normally just use one-shot developing with d76, so i'm not really familiar with using replenishers. I also got 7 gallons worth of ansco hyfinol, is it possible to use the isodol replenisher with that?
thanks!
-Austin

 

[Rick A]

Replenishing is done by adding the replenisher at a specified amount every time you use developer. eg: one oz replenisher added to the developer bottle before returning developer back to the storage bottle. Any left over developer is then tossed out. this keeps the stored developer bottle full and fresher. I used to use D-76 replenished instead of one shot, it keeps the costs down, but I no longer use that much quantity to justify replenishing. Some believe that "seasoned" developer gives superior results.

 

[Luseboy]

oh i see. so if you use lets say 240ml (what i use in my jobo), then you put in 240ml of replenisher back in? and the whole thing regarding seasoned developer, i find this to be true with my PF 130 (ansco 130) developer. It gets better each time i use it!

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

gaf isodol ... ansco hyfinol

The developer is likely around 40+ years old. If the powder is still free-flowing and white it is probably still good. Hyfinol may (or may not...) be the same as D-76. Now all you need is some "All-weather Pan".

The usual replenishment scheme is to add an oz of replenisher back to the stock for each 80 square inches (1 35mm 36 exp or 120 roll) and then return the just-used developer to make up the original volume, discarding the overage.

After you have used up an equal amount of replenisher (ie. 1 gal developer & 1 gal replenisher (128 rolls)) then both solutions are discarded and you start over.

Most people don't develop enough film to make replenishment worth while. The solutions are meant to be used in 3 months - that's 10+ rolls of film a week.

Replenishment works best with machine processing. Large nitrogen burst, movie and dip-n-dunk systems often had replenishment pumps that added replenisher with each film.

There were all sorts of seasoning tricks to pre-age a new tank of developer by adding either p. bromide, color developer, color starter or a measure of the last batch of replenished-out developer. Color starter (if you can find it) or bromide are the best bets.

It was the build up of bromide from developed film that is credited with the 'cleaner working' of replenished systems.