Mysterious Pyrocat HDC failure

[Tumbles]

So I just mixed up a fresh batch of Pyrocat HDC, and I just developed my first roll and I got no development what so ever. I measured the pH of the working solution and it was around 11. I put a strip of photo paper in and it turned pink but otherwise no signs of development. It's staying completely clear as I let it sit.

The only difference in the mixing process was I used some brand new catechol and propylene glycol that I ordered from Formulary. The old catechol was slightly tan and the new stuff is completely white. To test it out I mixed a bit of it in water with a pinch of lye, and the solution turned tan, so that seems to behave properly.

Does anyone have any ideas? It just seems like there was some sort of mysterious chemical failure in the mixing process. Could it be possible that I got the glycol too hot? That's the only thing I can think of.

 

[Ian Grant]

Test the Pyrocatechin by adding a small amount to some Sodium or Potassium Carbonate solution, see if it develops a strip of paper.

Something sounds suspicious, this is the simple re-developer used with Ilford IT-8 toner:

Developer
Pyrocatechin 1.75 g
Sodium Carbonate (anhyd) 15 g
Water to 1 litre

This would be a quick way to test the Pyrocatechin if it evelops a pice of exposed paper it's OK if not you have a problem with it. It maybe you've made a mistake and not added it to the Part A.

Ian

 

[juan]

Did you mix a B solution? If so, I have seen that go bad, though that seems to be a rare situation. Try mixing your given amount of A solution with your water, then multiply the ml of the A solution by .75, take that number and add that amount of grams of dry carbonate to the solution and see if that develops paper. In other words, if you use 10ml of A, use 7.5 grams of carbonate (or 8g would be close enough).

 

[Rudeofus]

This is extremely strange: even if your Catechol is completely shot for whatever reason, the Phenidone + Ascorbate combo should develop, especially at such high pH.

 

[craigclu]

Per Juan - - I also had an incident with a B solution losing potency. It was a puzzle to me as I had never had issues with that and I recall that my solution wasn't all that old. I may have gotten oblivious to its age because of it never being an issue but I'm certain I had used much older B solutions with no sign of depleted activity previously.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I've never ever heard of solution B going bad. I have solutions that are several years old, and still work well. Solution B should last indefinitely.

 

[John Wiegerink]

I use Pyrocat-HDC as my main developer now after going with the HD version and for a long time the MC version. When I was using the MC version I noticed my negative density shifted slightly and could not figure out why. Seems I used some grocery store sodium carbonate and after about a year and a half it just wasn't the same as fresh. I mixed some new and it was fine. Since then I have switched to all potassium carbonate instead as it seems to go into solution(H2O) much, much easier. A few folks here condemn the use of these pyro developers, but "I don't give a damn Scarlet, I love them"! Printing is just so easy it's almost ridiculous. Of course that's just my very narrow minded opinion, but to me that's the only opinion that really counts.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I totally agree with you John. It's pretty sick how my pyrocat negatives print so easily. It's great how I can print the same negative on silver, kallitype, carbon...and scan, too.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Yes Andy, life is easier when you use the right tools. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who marches the beat of a different drum. I had read the stories from Sandy and a few others plus the bickering back and fourth between Jay D and Sandy and made me even more curious. Still, it wasn't until I read the words of Ian Grant on Pyrocat that I became convinced I had to find the chemicals and give it a try myself. I figured that with the years experience he had in the chemistry field and photography that Ian was concrete proof that this stuff was as close to a "Silver Bullet" as I was going to find. I'm very glad I didn't listen to the naysayers and gave it a try before I went to the big photo-shoot in the sky or wherever.

 

[Tumbles]

I did not know the part b could bad. I usually just see crystals precipitate out over time.

I figured out what happened. When I finished mixing up part A, I poured into a 250ml bottle and it filled a bit too far from the top. For a reality check I filled another of the same bottles with water measured with different beaker and compared. It turned the marks on the beaker I had been using forever were totally wrong.

So I somehow managed to get the bottle of water mixed up with with the part A bottle. Whoops.

 

[Rudeofus]

Cool find, and one which completely explains the result we see.

PS: Part b will lose some activity over time, but won't go bad anytime soon. In your case it clearly wasn't the culprit, since the pH 11 you reported should be plenty alkaline for a very active developer.

 

[craigclu]

So I somehow managed to get the bottle of water mixed up with with the part A bottle. Whoops.

These are called "forehead flattening moments" and I could entertain you with many of my own moments...