Measuring Rodinal (Word Problem Ahead)

[Stephen J. Collier]

Ok, this may be a very dumb question, but it has flummoxed me and many of the people I have asked.

I am working on a solid Rodinal addiction and for the life of me I can't figure out how to measure the stuff appropriately.I am going to start using it at the 1-50 ratio and go from there.

I have a two 35mm reel S/S tank that holds about 16oz of liquid. I believe that 16oz is roughly 460ml. So it seems that the ratio for my tank should be 9ml of Rodinal to 450ml of H2O. But there doesn't seem to be a Graduate that measures from 1ml all the way up to 500ml. So do I measure my Rodinal in a small graduate and then add it to H2O already measured in a larger graduate?

I didn't think about it until I really tried to figure the actual measurements, but is rodinal really potent enough to be effective at 9ml to 450ml. I know it's true, but it seems nuts.

Am I wrong here? Is there an easier way to measure this stuff?

 

[clogz]

Hello Stephen,

For Rodinal and other devs I use a syringe that came with a DIY inkjet refill kit.
Your local pharmacy will have a selection.

 

[Peter Schrager]

Measuring Rodinal

I will send you a syringe if you PM me with your address. These hold 2oz. and are new shape-I'll send you 2 just in case. Oh yeah-no charge!
Regards Peter

 

[Leon]

I'm the same as clogz - use a 5ml syringe and rubber stopper from the local parmacist (it was free).

 

[modafoto]

I use either a syringe (10 ml. or 20 ml.) or a graduate. I measure the Rodinal and pour it into the beaker, then I take some water into the syringe or graduate to get all the Rodinal out and put that into the beaker too. Then I pour water into the beaker to make the desired amount of developer.

I use Rodinal 1+25, 1+50 and 1+100. The small amount the Holy Water (Rodinal) is quite enough as it is very concentrated.

One thing is for sure, making a "stock solution" of Rodinal (e.g. 1+5 or 1+7) for further dilution when making working solution is a very bad idea, although it would make measuring easier. Rodinal will keep for years if concentrated but will exhaust in a few days when diluted.


Greetings Morten

 

[Nige]

9mls of rodinal will do more than two film! I think there's a manufacturer recommended minium amount but anyone who uses it 1:100 probably undercuts that, I certainly do. Most measerly amount I've experimented with was 0.75ml in 300ml of water (1:400) and after 90mins of minimal agitation, my negs appeared. I don't recommend that ratio for everyday use though.

To use small doses, get a suitable sized sryinge (no needle) from the pharmacy. Measure it out, squirt into your 500ml (or whatever) graduate and then add the water.

 

[modafoto]

To use small doses, get a suitable sized sryinge (no needle)

Why not....a shot of Hot Rod into veins is quite refreshing (and helps your body develop properly )

Morten

 

[Stephen J. Collier]

Thank you all for your help!!!

 

[rogueish]

Try measuring 18.5 ml of Ilford HC (1+31) (sorry Morten, still resisting the militia) in a 50 ml graduate for 120 film or 20.3ml for 2 spools of 35mm!
:rolleyes:
Yes a syringe is definitly the way to go!

 

[titrisol]

just a sde note.... there are larger syringes @walgreens or @vet supply stores

I have an assortment of 2, 5, 10 ml, and I find the 5ml the most useful.

 

[photomc]

Try measuring 18.5 ml of Ilford HC (1+31) (sorry Morten, still resisting the militia) in a 50 ml graduate for 120 film or 20.3ml for 2 spools of 35mm!
:rolleyes:
Yes a syringe is definitly the way to go!

Now that can be a chore, and if it happens to be a little on the cool side -

I have been using Rodinal in tanks and trays for the past year or so and at 1:100 you have to wonder if it could work at all...but it does, anywhere from 5ml of R to 500ml of water, to 12 ml of R to 1200ml of water. I also, like to rinse out the graduate - seems like there is so little developer there, but boy does it work.

 

[titrisol]

1+200 rodinal works as well for standing development
2 ml Rodinal + 400 ml water
APX 100... agitate the first minute and go buy a pizza
Come back 2 or 3 hours later, fix, wash, dry, voila!

 

[oriecat]

Interesting thread, never thought about a syringe... I just use 12ml Rodinal to 600ml water. I measure them separately, then add the Rodinal to the water.

 

[BWGirl]

Hey All!

There is a really simple solution...go to almost any store (WalMart, Kmart, Walgreens, etc) and look for the section that carries meds for babies. There are rubber bulbed eye droppers and these things that look like small plastic test tubes with a lip on it (so the babe can drink the kiddie tylenol). These things are perfect for measuring Rodinal!
I put the appropriate amount of water into my cylinder, then add the rodinal to that. I 'suck up' some of the water from the cylinder and squirt it into the test tube thing-y. then dump it back into the cylinder (to get every drop)!

 

[modafoto]

Try measuring 18.5 ml of Ilford HC (1+31) (sorry Morten, still resisting the militia)...

It's ok. I use Kodak HC-110 (the same as Ilford's I suppose) too!

 

[TPPhotog]

It's ok. I use Kodak HC-110 (the same as Ilford's I suppose) too!

Morten your supposed to reply that "resistance is futile" but you may be mistakien for something from DR Who

My vote is using a syringe from a vet which they are usually happy to let you have either free or for a few pence / cents. Also I love it when I go into the vets reception and get asked in front of everyone are you here for your pets or you this time?

 

[Flotsam]

I have a nice 20cc glass syringe that a friend who worked in a lab gave me years ago. It's great. Accurate, easy to use and clean.

 

[Dean Williams]

Try not to make things harder than they really are. Rodinal gives dilutions in an additive notation, ie 1+50. Not 1-50 or 1:50. For each 50 ml of water ADD 1 ml of the good stuff. Make it easy on yourself and use increments of 50 ml if you want to use the 1+50 dilution. 500 ml water plus 10 ml Rodinal equals the 1+50 dilution. Piece o' cake!
Have fun.

 

[mikewhi]

I get a small graduate, put 9ml of Rodinal in it and the, out that into a 1 ltr graduate. Then, I measure 9ml of water into the small graduate and then pour that into the larger graduate. Then, I repeat that 49 more times. I then have a 1:50 mixture of Rodinal working solution. Of course, the temp will have varied by then so I dump it all out and repeat until it's exactly 68 deg. By that time, my film has aged to the point of having achieved physical development and fogged to the point where a high-energy developer like Rodinal is no longer the right choice. So, I brew a pot of coffee and develop it in that with a handful of benetriazole. I ma combine it with an XTOL-like soupd, so I will squeeze some orange juice into the tank.

-Mike

Or, you can just neasure 9ml of Rodinal into a small graduate and then pour it into 450ml of water at the right temp and be done with it.

 

[gainer]

The raptor signs say 1+50. That means one part of stock + 50 parts of water. That's easy to do. 9 ml of Rodinal + 450 ml or 10 + 500 and throw away what you don't need. If you don't want to waste even 1 ml, the amount of Rodinal concentrate is 1/51 times the amount of developer you want to mix and the rest is water.

 

[gainer]

The raptor signs say 1+50. That means one part of stock + 50 parts of water. That's easy to do. 9 ml of Rodinal + 450 ml or 10 + 500 and throw away what you don't need. If you don't want to waste even 1 ml, the amount of Rodinal concentrate is 1/51 times the amount of developer you want to mix and the rest is water.

I don't know how that word "raptor" got in there. It should have said "The instructions say 1+50."

 

[bjorke]

I never prepare quantities of less than a liter. I have two graduates, 1000ml and 200ml. Make it easy to put together 20ml of Rodinal by eye.

BTW, IIRC Ralph Gibson said he never used less than 20ml of Rodinal in any solution, that it needed energy. Sounds kind of like the kitchen lore of never making pasta (regardless of the amount) in LESS than a gallon of boiling water.

 

[TPPhotog]

Like Gadget Gainer I always mix up round figures (for 2 reasons). First I can always fill the tank and second, the more you mix the smaller the error if you don't get the ratio spot on. For me I feel it helps to keep everything consistent, there again I might just be too lazy to recalculate for different quantities.

 

[mikewhi]

1+200 rodinal works as well for standing development
2 ml Rodinal + 400 ml water
APX 100... agitate the first minute and go buy a pizza
Come back 2 or 3 hours later, fix, wash, dry, voila!

Can you tell me more about this standing development?
For one thing it takes sooooooooo long. Why would I do that instead of 1-13 minutes in a JOBO? Is there something in the outcome that makes this worthwhile?

Thanks.

-Mike

 

[Amund]

Can you tell me more about this standing development?
For one thing it takes sooooooooo long. Why would I do that instead of 1-13 minutes in a JOBO? Is there something in the outcome that makes this worthwhile?

Thanks.

-Mike

Using a Jobo with continious agitation ruins the nice effects of Rodinal.

At dilutions higher than 1+50 it has a nice compensating and accutance effect when agitated properly. The stand development increases these effects as far as I know.