I too would give a thumbs up, for mixing your own D72, being very similar to Dektol I've read many times....I had everything I need to mix its equivalent, D-72. You might consider that and if you use a lot you'll save a lot, since you are willing to work with powdered chems anyway.
Ideal for my darkroom workflow would be a long-lasting stock solution of print developer. In terms of negative development, I changed to T-max developer in the 1980s and can say I have never thrown out a drop of stock solution. Even when going almost a year between negative processing sessions.
Ansco 130 will last a couple years.
I mixed my current batch (1 gal) of Dektol in May 2019 using distilled water. I placed it in brown glass quart bottles .
I'm surprised no one has mentioned D-72 yet.
Doremus
Use marbles to replace any developer used to keep the bottles full. Or wine preserver (a heavier-than-air gas...forms barrier between developer and oxygen) in partially full containers.Correct me if I'm not reading this correctly, but it appears you are splitting the stock solution between multiple bottles, keeping the bottles sealed until needed. Seems brilliant.
Yea .. I bought some dektol within the past year from someone and it looked like chocolate milk, I'll never use store bought again, like you I'll mix my own cause its pretty easy. .. I wish I didn't need a scale though and could just figure out how many teaspoons it required, and for processing film it doesn't need to be like 72ºF like ansco130 and can be used the same dilution ( 1: time) for (time) minutes ( like 1:6 / 6 mins, 1:10 / 10 mins &c ). only down side of d72 is it doesn't last as long as ansco 130, the gigantic shelf life is reason alone to buy glycin and mix a few liters . I enjoy the fizzzzzzz when i mix it, kind of fun.I bought a bag of Dektol last week and returned it today. It would have cost me $13 for a gallon, but I realized I had everything I need to mix its equivalent, D-72. You might consider that and if you use a lot you'll save a lot, since you are willing to work with powdered chems anyway.
Yea .. I bought some dektol within the past year from someone and it looked like chocolate milk, I'll never use store bought again, like you I'll mix my own cause its pretty easy. .. I wish I didn't need a scale though and could just figure out how many teaspoons it required, and for processing film it doesn't need to be like 72ºF like ansco130 and can be used the same dilution ( 1: time) for (time) minutes ( like 1:6 / 6 mins, 1:10 / 10 mins &c ). only down side of d72 is it doesn't last as long as ansco 130, the gigantic shelf life is reason alone to buy glycin and mix a few liters . I enjoy the fizzzzzzz when i mix it, kind of fun.
Correct me if I'm not reading this correctly, but it appears you are splitting the stock solution between multiple bottles, keeping the bottles sealed until needed. Seems brilliant.
D-72 by volume measures
Water 125F 750 ml
Metol .85 t
ss anhy 5.9 t
hq 4 t
naco mono 13.3 t anhydrous 17 t
kbr you need 2 grams and 1/4 t is 1.6 g. Much much better to have a 10% solution handy and use 20 ml, it lasts for years.
water to make 1 liter
Someone better check my math, I've not finished my first cup of coffee yet...
Curious if you could mix a stock solution at 2 or 3 x strength (less water) then dilute it for use later as needed? I have done that with Ansco130 and gotten 2 years out of it so far and still a light tea color.
I've mixed Dektol from the commercial 5 gallon package (expired bag, and this was 2005) at double strength; in 120F distilled water it dissolved okay (took a lot of stirring, but it cleared). It was a little darker than normal -- but this past April I opened one of the pickle jars I had the solution stored in, and it still worked at Massive Dev Chart times for film.
That's fifteen years in sealed glass jars. Stored in a shed, temperature ranging from near zero F to over 100F (didn't freeze, either, seemingly, else it would have broken the jars). The double strength stock is as dark as weak coffee, but it still works.
This suggests that 3x is probably a no go.
Not a problem. To go further you'd need to change from sodium carbonate to potassium carbonate. You'll run into solubility problems somewhere between 5 and 10% hydroquinone (I think around 6% if memory serves) which you can stretch a bit (but not much) by adding some ethanol. Propylene glycol may also do the trick.Curious if you could mix a stock solution at 2 or 3 x strength (less water) then dilute it for use later as needed?
My spoon recipe for D-72
Water at 110°F ------------------- 750ml
(pinch of sodium sulfite added first to help the Metol dissolve)
Metol -------------------------------- 1/3 tsp (just estimate - if you've got a 1/4 tsp measure then that heaping)
Sodium sulfite -------------------- 4 tsp (1 Tbsp + 1 tsp is easiest; 1 Tbsp = 3 tsp)
Hydroquinone -------------------- 1 1/2 tsp light (i.e., just a smidge less; really doesn't matter)
Sodium carbonate, mono. --- 1 1/2 Tbsp
Potassium bromide ------------ 1/8 tsp
Water to make ------------------ 1 liter
I usually double this and make 2 liters of working solution at a time.
There's lots of leeway in D-72. You can vary the proportions by quite a bit and still have a great print developer. If you want more active, add a bit more carbonate. I'll often at BTA to this as well during printing to clear whites a bit if I need. As long as you are relatively consistent, you'll have a developer that mixes easily and acts the same every time. I've got balance beam scales and digital scales for more precise things, but I don't need them for mixing D-72 or ID-62.
Hope this helps,
Doremus
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