ilfostop storage question...

[grat]

Yes, it's like +13 dollars for shipping in a $7 item... As far as I know on my city there is not one single retailer who sells neither film, chemicals or anything darkroom related!

Health food shops, cooking supply shops, and others will sell food-grade citric acid.

 

[MrFus]

It looks like Midwest photo will ship it:

Mpex

Midwest Photo

mpex.com

They even offer free shipping... I could get some film and two bottles of stop bath and that will get me on the free shipping category!

 

[AgX]

I see no advantage of readymade indicator stop-bath concentrate over a home-made acid bath of any kind.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

I see no advantage of readymade indicator stop-bath concentrate over a home-made acid bath of any kind.

Here in the U.S.A., Kodak Indicator Stop Bath is cheaper than just about any other alternative. Much cheaper than white vinegar from the supermarket. A couple of bottles will last years and years. It's easy to store, mixes quickly (unlike citric acid powder) and even lets you know when it's going bad.

As far as effectiveness goes, homemade is just fine.

Doremus

 

[Moose22]

Agree with everyone above. Kodak stop bath is butt cheap here. And it's fun to use, it starts out very light yellow then turns a color like pee when you've been drinking gatorade, then eventually goes purple and you make more.

I mix the stuff a liter at a time and I'm only on my second liter after running one batch of Xtol out, so I'm guessing based on 1 roll of 120 a week you should have, roughly, a lifetime's supply for your $7 or whatever it costs. I just bought mine when I was buying film and some other supplies so the shipping cost was mitigated. But if you DO pay for shipping, call it $20 for a lifetime supply.

 

[MattKing]

And the stop bath concentrate bottle is small - way smaller than the big bottles of vinegar.
Just don't spill the concentrate on anything that might discolour, like counter laminate!

 

[AgX]

Agree with everyone above. Kodak stop bath is butt cheap here.

Here 25% acetic acid from the grocery in its tiny bottle makes stop-bath at 30Cent per Liter. I can live with this.



(If there is commercial or homemade concentrate which is buffered, then it would hold on longer throughput-wise and one would have to make a different calculation on economics.)

 

[MrFus]

Agree with everyone above. Kodak stop bath is butt cheap here. And it's fun to use, it starts out very light yellow then turns a color like pee when you've been drinking gatorade, then eventually goes purple and you make more.

I mix the stuff a liter at a time and I'm only on my second liter after running one batch of Xtol out, so I'm guessing based on 1 roll of 120 a week you should have, roughly, a lifetime's supply for your $7 or whatever it costs. I just bought mine when I was buying film and some other supplies so the shipping cost was mitigated. But if you DO pay for shipping, call it $20 for a lifetime supply.

15 rolls of ilford FP4+ and two bottles of Kodak Stop make it +-$100... That should be enough film for two or three months and a looottttt of stop bath!