Kodak HC110 premix in advance, or per development session?

[shawn2nd]

Hey Guys,

Quite new to developing here, and I just picked up a bottle of Kodak HC110, it's the 2nd bottle of developer I've ever purchased Compared to my last developer, Adox FX-39 II, the dilutions are much smaller. I use a single 35mm Jobo Tank which can only hold about 300 ml of liquid, so using dilution B would mean 290ml of water + a mere 10ml of HC110.

So I'm wondering, are you other HC110 users say just mixing a "batch" of HC110 in advance? Say mixing a 1 Liter in advance, and just using that bottle til it's done? My questions to this process are:

• How are you guys regulating the temperature of the developer? I've noticed that room temperature liquids get to about 24-25 degrees Celsius when left out in storage.
• How long does premixed HC110 stay good?

Thanks!

 

[Don_ih]

The advantage of a concentrated liquid developer is it is very easy to mix the amount you need. I don't think it's worthwhile to premix a litre of it, since there is a chance the diluted developer will oxidize after you've used half of it.

You can reduce the temperature of your working developer by putting a beaker of it in a tray of cooler water for a couple of minutes. A beaker holding 300ml of 24 degree developer will cool to 20 degrees pretty quickly if it's sitting in a tray of 16 or 17 degree water. Some people put ice cubes in the tray of water to get it to the lower temperature.

Premixed HC110 will probably stay good for weeks or months if no air gets at it - i.e., kept in full, sealed bottles. But it's really just too easy to measure out the 10ml of concentrate.

 

[shawn2nd]

@Don_ih cool thanks, I'll stick with that then!

 

[Mr Flibble]

I don't pre-mix either, too easy to mix up one-shot solutions.
I do decant the big bottle of concentrate in several smaller medicine bottles, reducing the amount of times the full volume of concentrate is exposed to air.

I mix warm and cold tap water to 20C in a couple of large measuring beakers, but if the cold tap runs too warm, I just put the beakers in the fridge. That cools the water down pretty quickly.

 

[Nitroplait]

I never felt the need to pre-dillute HC110. My attraction to HC110 is really how easy it is to work with, and how little you have to prepare and think before developing a few rolls of films.

I find it easy to pour small amounts of HC110 (both the thick syrup version and more viscous version) into a syringe (20ml size) from the top without the plunger.
I put a finger on the syringe tip to avoid dripping. If I pour too much, I remove my finger and let the excess drip back into the bottle.

I have already the exact amount of tempered water ready, typically cooled down around 2 degrees C below target temperature (20C in my case) with help from a few ice cubes if necessary.

I then hold the syringe over the measured water and insert the plunger and press the HC110 syrup into the water - I pull the mix back and forth in and out of the syringe a couple of times to get everything out and to mix the developer and water - I don't need to mix further than this.

When poured into the tank I expect the temp raise a few degrees. I don't obsess about this - indoor temperatures in my house are normally in the low 20's C most of the year so there are limits to how much it can fluctuate.

I aim for consistency by doing the same routine every time. I don't care if the temperature is really 1 or 3 degrees more than I think in the tank, or that it raises to say 25C towards the end of the process - as long as it is close to the same every time.

I use 20ml+1000ml water (1+50). It is easy for an old brain like mine to remember and enough to fill either my 4 reel Nikor Steel tank or my 3 reel Patterson tank.
It is also close enough to dilution H (1:63) in case I need some inspiration on the Internet regarding dev time for an unknown-to-me emulsion - I can then easily make a qualified guess for the time in my dilution.

 

[Rick A]

I use it at dilution H for large format negatives, quite economical (1+63). I don't mind the longer developing times, I'm used to it from using Pyro developers.

 

[Ballinderry-Michael]

I use it (and also Ilfotec HC and now Bellini's Euro HC) one-shot and, like others here, mix as required. In my case I use Tetenal Protectan, a short squirt before closing the bottle, to prevent further contact with oxygen. Unfortunately Protectan seems to be out of production at present (I have enough to do me a couple more years).

 

[mtnbkr]

I'm hardly an expert, but I mix it (actually LegacyPro LC-110) as I need it each time. I usually mix a batch using filtered water from the fridge and let it sit until it's up to ambient temp (68-75deg depending on time of year), calculate my development time based on the film, dillution, and temp, then develop, then discard the used developer. When I'm done there's nothing left so I have to mix another batch next time I'm developing film. I only do 1-2 rolls at a time and my tank uses 600ml of developer.

Chris

 

[otto.f]

I mix a stock solution of 1+3 and keep it in a dark bottle which I pulled vacuum with what’s called the Vacuvin in my country. I find the syrup much to thick to get reliable quantities, that’s one. And two, the syrup is so thick that it needs very long agitation to get an even solution in water. I have never seen any irregularities working with that stock solution over a length of time. I might work like many others here, if it was the new version which is much less syrupy.

 

[MattKing]

Welcome to Photrio.
My answer to your question depends a bit on what version/generation of HC-110 you have - made in Germany, made in China, post 2019 made in the USA or ???
If you have the made in Germany version, and possibly the made in China version, and are going to do a bunch of developing in the next short while, making up a 1 + 3 stock solution and then diluting from that for each development session makes some practical sense.
Here are Kodak's recommendations for storage life for that stock solution:

If you are going to work that way, use the further dilution instructions in the HC-110 datasheet for your dilution of choice. Here is a link (from Tim Gray's invaluable site 125px.com) to the datasheet: https://125px.com/docs/techpubs/kodak/j24-2017.pdf
If you have some of the post-2019 made in the USA HC-110, all bets are off about storage life.
Personally, I have mostly used HC-110 in two different ways:
1) in a replenishment regime, using the no longer available HC-110 replenisher; or
2) by mixing it directly from concentrate to working solution, one developing session at a time.
As far as temperature is concerned, my favorite dilution of 1+49 helps a bit with high ambient temperatures. Unofficial dilution H also helps.
Here is a link for Jason Brunner's Resource on the 1+49 dilution: https://www.photrio.com/forum/resources/hc110-made-simple.220/

 

[dynachrome]

I used to make the 1:3 mixture first and go from there to Dilution B. That was many years ago when I developed a lot of film. At that time, the concentrate was quite thick. To get the right temperature of my working solution I will use either of two methods. If my dilution is 1:10 or higher I will get the water temperature right and disregard the temperature of the concentrate. 1:1 is easy. If temperatures in my basement are too cold in the winter I will put somecwarm water in a Zip-Loc bag and dip it in the solution. The space is air conditioned so in the summer the temperature is just right.