Home brew D-76

[Kvistgaard]

Dear all,
how should I go about mixing D-76 from raw chemicals? I've bought the "ingredients" from Silverprint in the UK - now, do I just mix the appropriate amounts of each dry raw chemical, then dissolve in water, or is there a specific order in which the raw chemicals must be added to the water?

I assume the former to be correct (as pre-mixed D-76 just pours straight out of the bag into water), but would like a confirmation from more experienced home brewers.

Thanks in advance!

 

[srs5694]

I mix the ingredients for any developer formula in the order in which they're listed. For instance, D-76 is:

Water (125°F/52°C) 750ml
Metol 2g
Sodium sulfite (dessic) 100g
Hydroquinone 5g
Borax 2g
Cold water to make 1000 ml

So I start with 750ml of water, then add the metol, then add the sodium sulfite, then add the hydroquinone, then add the borax, and finally top it up with water to 1000ml. (Actually, I've never made D76 from scratch, so I can't promise this procedure will work. It's worked for me for everything else I've ever made, though.)

That said, I don't see why pre-mixing the dry ingredients and then dumping them all at once wouldn't work.

 

[Kirk Keyes]

In general, chemicals should be dissolved in the water in order they are listed in the formula. For developers with metol, you can add a pinch of sodium sulfite to the water before you add the metol to help it dissolve faster.

I'm sure a bunch of people will reply after me and give more explicit instructions...

 

[naeroscatu]

I assume you know the recipe. Dissolve the chemicals one at the time in the order given in the recipe into 750 ml water at 55 deg Celsius.
Stir well until each component dissolves without leaving residues on the bottom of your grad cylinder and only then pour in the next one.
When done complete with water up to 1000 ml. Let it sit for a while to cool down. You can use direct or dilutet 1:1.
I prefer to use distilled water because my tap water has lots of minerals - lime mostly - that I would like to keep off my developers. I hope this helps

 

[rmolson]

Follow the formula and dissolve in order.There is a reason why it is important to do it that way. Metol for instances does not go into solution well in the presence of sodium sulfite, Although I used to use a pinch of sulfite to kept the metol from oxidizing while stirring. Follow the formulas for best results other wise you may get very unexpected results

 

[Bertil]

The standard order is (according to Kodak in "The Compact Photo Lab Index"): for 1 liter: 750 ml Water 52°C, Metol 2g, Sodium Sulfite 100g, Hydroquinone 5g, Borax 2g, water to 1 liter. (Some say it is easier to solve Metol in water if you start by adding just some grams of the Sulfite in the water before the Metol - perhaps depending of the quality of water? Both ways works.)
Good Luck!
//Bertil

 

[jim appleyard]

Whatever you do, *DO NOT* discuss which type of borax you use for your fomula! The chemistry police are watching. You may use the finest grade of borax, available from a chem supplier, or, you may use 20 Mule Team Borax from the grocery store; whatever works for you. However, TELL NO ONE!

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[Anon Ymous]

I've bought the "ingredients" from Silverprint in the UK...

Sorry for being off topic, but did you order from Silverprint, or did you actually visit their shop?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Anscojohn]

Dear all,
how should I go about mixing D-76 from raw chemicals? I've bought the "ingredients" from Silverprint in the UK - now, do I just mix the appropriate amounts of each dry raw chemical, then dissolve in water, or is there a specific order in which the raw chemicals must be added to the water?

I assume the former to be correct (as pre-mixed D-76 just pours straight out of the bag into water), but would like a confirmation from more experienced home brewers.

Thanks in advance!

******
No, no, no. The ingredients MUST be mixed in the order given. And each must be completely dissolved before the next is added. The exception is the metol-sodium sulfite. When your water is proper temp, add a pinch of sodium sulfite to the water and mix that until dissolved. Then follow in the order given beginning with the metol. What is a "pinch?" Just that, really. I use about 1/8 tsp.

 

[Anscojohn]

That said, I don't see why pre-mixing the dry ingredients and then dumping them all at once wouldn't work.[/QUOTE]

******
All the old, cigar-chewing darkroom rats who taught me are now turning over in their graves. Packaged developers have sequestering agents attached to the individual chemicals (so I am told) so that the chemicals in the package ACTUALLY do dissolve in the order given.

 

[Kvistgaard]

Sorry for being off topic, but did you order from Silverprint, or did you actually visit their shop?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Anonymous,
I ordered via their website - would have loved to visit the shop, though.

 

[Kvistgaard]

Hi all - thanks for the good advice. To avoid DR rats turning in their graves, I will definitely mix in order according to the recipe!

 

[markbau]

Just curious but why would you bother mixing a developer that is available off the shelf? I've mixed many developers and toners but they were always ones that could not be purchased off the shelf.

 

[Kvistgaard]

Hey Mark - fair question. Basically I just want to get started on mixing chemicals myself, and found that D76 was a good place to start. Checking cost, it's no bargain, believe home brewing works out at roughly the same cost as buying the pre-mixed stuff. So more of an education thing, I want to learn what works, why it works, what would have been a better idea etc etc.

 

[Anscojohn]

Good thinking, So/ren. And I am glad you have decided to spare those old darkroom rats of mine. Let them rest in peace.

Now, here is a word from a darkroom dinosaur. I, myself. Next step is for you to descover the wonderment of the best-kept secret in all film developing lore. Eastman D-23. Just mix 7.5 grams of metol in the same amount of sodium sulfite you are currently using for D-76. You can use D23 straight; 1;1; or 1:3--just like 76. However, D23 has less tendency to block up the highlights if you are giving extra film development to boost your shadows and other lower tones. And D23 is a film developer you cannot buy over the counter.
Moreover, if you can get access to some sodium metaborate (or fabricate some with borax and sodium carbonate) you can make up Eastman Dk-25R replenisher. This will allow you to process 20 to 25 rolls of film per liter of D23 before you have to dump it.

 

[cinejerk]

Hi
This kind of goes along with the theme of mixing your own chemicals. I recently bought a bulk bag of D76 developer. This was the 10 gallon size. My idea was to be able to use it in small quantities, say a quart at a time.
Well I got to thinking. When they made up this big bag of chemicals how well do they mix everything?
They probably don't mix them at all. This was intended to make a batch of 10 gallons. So there is 8 pounds of sodium sulfite with the rest of the chemicals just randomly dumped in.
Who knows if the small portion that I take out to make my quart has the chemicals in the right proportions to work correctly.
First off after I opened the bag, even though it was vacuum sealed, I noticed many large clumps. I poured this out in a large pan and began to sift it through a sieve. Then mashed the clumps. Then tried to mix everything together.
Now after all this I'm still not sure that everything is proportioned correctly.
I'm still going to try this and see how it works.
Your thoughts.

 

[Lee L]

5 pages of thoughts in this thread alone: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

There's a new thread on the same topic every few weeks, but this one thread should cover it.

Lee

Hi
This kind of goes along with the theme of mixing your own chemicals. I recently bought a bulk bag of D76 developer. This was the 10 gallon size. My idea was to be able to use it in small quantities, say a quart at a time.
Well I got to thinking. When they made up this big bag of chemicals how well do they mix everything?
They probably don't mix them at all. This was intended to make a batch of 10 gallons. So there is 8 pounds of sodium sulfite with the rest of the chemicals just randomly dumped in.
Who knows if the small portion that I take out to make my quart has the chemicals in the right proportions to work correctly.
First off after I opened the bag, even though it was vacuum sealed, I noticed many large clumps. I poured this out in a large pan and began to sift it through a sieve. Then mashed the clumps. Then tried to mix everything together.
Now after all this I'm still not sure that everything is proportioned correctly.
I'm still going to try this and see how it works.
Your thoughts.

 

[JDP]

Hi
This kind of goes along with the theme of mixing your own chemicals. I recently bought a bulk bag of D76 developer. This was the 10 gallon size. My idea was to be able to use it in small quantities, say a quart at a time.
Well I got to thinking. When they made up this big bag of chemicals how well do they mix everything?
They probably don't mix them at all. This was intended to make a batch of 10 gallons. So there is 8 pounds of sodium sulfite with the rest of the chemicals just randomly dumped in.
Who knows if the small portion that I take out to make my quart has the chemicals in the right proportions to work correctly.
First off after I opened the bag, even though it was vacuum sealed, I noticed many large clumps. I poured this out in a large pan and began to sift it through a sieve. Then mashed the clumps. Then tried to mix everything together.
Now after all this I'm still not sure that everything is proportioned correctly.
I'm still going to try this and see how it works.
Your thoughts.

I have divided up commercial packets of film developer (simply poured out the approriate amount) and not had any problems. I presumed (dangerous I know!) it is mixed in a large container before being packed into smaller quantities, and that would require the chemicals to be well mixed.

 

[Lee L]

I provided the link to other threads in hopes of this one not being hijacked into a repeat of all the other existing threads on mixing partial chemical packages. Sorry if I contributed to that happening.

Lee

 

[Bertil]

Anscojohn, you darkroom dinosaur! I would very much like to make DK-25R to replenish my D-23 (D-23 is great, I agree!). How do I make sodium metaborate out of borax and sodium carbonate, I have both these but not sodium metaborat.
//Bertil

 

[BetterSense]

I would like to know too. I'm about out of D76 and was thinking about trying D23, but I didn't know it needed sodium metaborate for the replenisher.

 

[john_s]

Anscojohn, you darkroom dinosaur! I would very much like to make DK-25R to replenish my D-23 (D-23 is great, I agree!). How do I make sodium metaborate out of borax and sodium carbonate, I have both these but not sodium metaborat.
//Bertil

You need some sodium hydroxide (caustic soda in my part of the world, lye in the USA).

Most of the article below is about nomenclature. Mixing instructions towards the end of the page.

Dead Link Removed

 

[Anscojohn]

Anscojohn, you darkroom dinosaur! I would very much like to make DK-25R to replenish my D-23 (D-23 is great, I agree!). How do I make sodium metaborate out of borax and sodium carbonate, I have both these but not sodium metaborat.
//Bertil

*****
Hi Bertil,
I am relying on memory by saying sodium metaborate may be made that way. Perhaps the real chemists (and those with better memory) shall chime in here. For myself, I just use the remaining jar I have of Kodalk Balanced Alkali. Let me check my Darkroom Cookbook next time I am upstairs, unless someone like Gadget Gainer chimes in first.

 

[Anscojohn]

You need some sodium hydroxide (caustic soda in my part of the world, lye in the USA).

Most of the article below is about nomenclature. Mixing instructions towards the end of the page.

Dead Link Removed

********
Ahhh, there it is. Thank you. Serves me right for trusting my memory. It is hydroxide and borax, not borax and sodium carbonate. And, as I said in my previous post, I just use Eastman Balanced Alkali, which the Great Yellow Father at one time called Kodalk.

Replenished D23 is very economical. Not only that, it gives me a gutsy negative that is easy to print, with outstanding shadow detail.

Who's going to start the fight over whether 20 Mule Team Borax and household lye can be used!?(grin).

 

[Bertil]

Thank You, John_s and John!!
According to Lab Index I need 20g Kodalk/sodium metaborate to 1 liter DK-25R (starting with 10g metol and 100g sodium sulfite), then according to the "silvergrain link", if I get it right, I can as well use 13,84g borax and 2,9g sodium hydroxide. Great! I'll do that tomorrow! (now, in the middle of the night in Sweden!)
//Bertil