Getting chems to the right temp.. gotta be an easier way.

P C Headland · Jun 22, 2007

You could also consider a developer that is not temperature sensitive (within reason), like Diafine.

Store everything at room temperature, and develop away!

Mike Wilde · Jun 22, 2007

Look for an old Kodak Dataguide calculator

It has a wheel type claculator - one part stays still, and shows temperature through a window in the part of the dial that moves. The edge of the moving window is calibrated in minutes (or I might have that reversed) On the bottom of the dial that moves there is a pointer scale with calibrations that goes something like 50% through to 200% of the normal time mark (which falls at 100%) The pointer matches up against a number scale that I remember as being called a development number.

I mix my diluted developer - rarely is it spot on 68F/20C. I know from past experience /testing/ dataguide recommended starting point now refined, that say, 35mm TriX D76 1:1 is Development Number 39 to give the best gamma to print mid multigrade on my diffusion enlarger. So I place the development 100% mark opposite 39. The window now shows the time temperature options available to me. I look at the thermometer, and pick off the time to put on the old Gralab 300, pour the solution in, and start the timer.

It should be possible to finf other sorces to make your own dial or sliding scale. I recall that Ilford in their published data showed the curves for times at different temperatures- that will guve you the answer as well. Locate the time for any developer at the 20C line, then follow the curve that intersects your time at 20C, to find the appropriate non 20C time.

Thomas Bertilsson · Jun 22, 2007

You may find that at 75*F, you can get results that are even better with some paper chemistry when printing.
Developing film - there are lots of people that are film shooters in warm climates, such as Arizona. Tap water definitely is a problem, but if you keep some around in gallon jugs at room temp, you should be good to go. All you need to do is compensate by shortening the developing time appropriately.
- Thomas

darinwc said:
Thank you for all the advice! I dont have a basement, but I will add that as a requirement for my next house =]

I live in a warm environment. What will probably work best for me is to keep one bottle of water in the fridge and one at room temp. Mixing the two to get the right temp when I develop.

We usually keep the house at around 75 degrees. I will have to experement with just using the room temp water to develop and adjust the times.
Question: will that throw off the curves or change contrast??

dpurdy · Jun 22, 2007

The only trick I can add to all this is that I freeze filtered water in a few ice cube trays and then when mixing my batches of XTOL I put a bunch in after the chems are disolved to bring up the volume. Also chems will cool down much faster in a water bath if you have them in a metal container rather than plastic.
......Dennis

pelerin · Jun 22, 2007

Mike Richards said:
I mix all the solutions within a few minutes, but usually the developer first since that is the one that is temperature critical. I'm sure you are right about SS graduates being fast, but I use plastic measuring cups because they are cheap and effective. Done all this so many times that I have a sense of what it will take to reach the right temperature. A half hour or so of temperature compensation after mixing does not seem to affect the potency of the developer.

I realize this doesn't sound scientific enough for purists, but that's part of my point. It doesn't need to be super-scientific or "CSI mode" to get good and consistent result.

Hey,
I think you are right that "CSI mode" is not necessary. I simply stir the dilute solution with the thermometer stem so that I can monitor the temp change. If you have tested and found that 1/2 hour has no effect on the developer then I see no problem with your method. I have certainly not performed any tests to validate my concerns (i.e., that leaving the developer sit has an effect on development).

It is certainly a fact that SS grads are far more expensive than plastic ones. All the ones that I own were purchased second hand to mitigate the expense. I hope that they will pay back their greater cost with greater durability but, if the sole trade off was the time savings each time I developed some film, I would consider them worth the investment.

However SS grads are not the first (nor probably the last) item that I have purchased do in some part to my respect for the item's intrinsic swellness.

dancqu · Jun 22, 2007

darinwc said:
We usually keep the house at around 75 degrees. I will
have to experement with just using the room temp water ...

There may be some convenient 'cool' areas where a gallon
jug or two might be kept a little cooler. Have you considered
evaporative cooling? Place those jugs in a tray or tub of
water. Locate where there is some free flo of air. At
least short term cool water is at bottom. Dan

Gary-M · Jun 22, 2007

It is currently 110F here. I keep my darkroom at 68F. Film is processed in a Jobo at 75F. I have a chiller in-line with a Hass Intellifaucet. Since the darkroom is 68, the ambient solution mentioned above works fine. The only problem with printing is that if you use your hands instead of tongs (I do because I got tired of marred prints) that after a bit your hands will warm the chemistry in the trays. You can circumvent that by keeping a small bowl of ice water nearby and periodically dip your hands in the ice water to cool them. Washing prints usually ends up at 85F most of the year because that is the "cold water" temperature here most of the time and washing outruns the chiller capacity.

Gary

Max Power · Jun 23, 2007

My solution was a second-hand Jobo TBE 2 Tempering Bath. I picked it up a couple of years ago for about $100 and it came with 4 Kindermann tanks, the 6 chemistry bottles and a hockey-sock full of stainless reels.

I know it's a bit of overkill for B&W, but it sure makes life simple.

craigclu · Jun 23, 2007

My basement darkroom gets quite chilly in the winter up here in the northwoods. I made up this spreadsheet to make it faster to get solutions mixed to working temperatures. It might prove handy for some of you for that.

craigclu · Jun 23, 2007

Sorry.... I was told that xls (Excel) spreadsheet files could now be uploaded but the system seems to have added a gif cue for some reason. If anyone wants the sheet, let me know and I'll drop a copy directly to you.

srs5694 · Jun 23, 2007

I'm not sure what you mean by a "gif cue." I was able to download the TempBlender.xls file and it loads into OpenOffice.org Calc just fine.

Helen B · Jun 23, 2007

Here is a spreadsheet I wrote when I lived in Singapore. I used to keep some water in the fridge and some at ambient temperature, so the spreadsheet allows for three temperature inputs - the stock solution, the warm water and the cold water. It also works out the quantities of stock and water for any dilution and any final quantity.

The sheet is protected but not with a password, so you can alter it as you wish.

Best,
Helen

craigclu · Jun 24, 2007

srs5694 said:
I'm not sure what you mean by a "gif cue." I was able to download the TempBlender.xls file and it loads into OpenOffice.org Calc just fine.

When I first uploaded it, it showed a "gif" inserted in the name on the site. I see it doesn't now and it opens fine for me, too.

darinwc · Jun 25, 2007

UPDATE: I developed some negs over the weekend. I used bottles of distilled water kept at room temp. The water stayed a constant 74 degrees. I processed at 12 minutes. I used PMK pyro from photographers formulary. It was the first time I've used a pyro developer and I must say I was EXTREMELY pleased with the results. 12 minutes in a 1:2:100 solution.

Getting chems to the right temp.. gotta be an easier way.

P C Headland

Mike Wilde

Thomas Bertilsson

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pelerin

dancqu

Gary-M

Max Power

craigclu

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