Powdered Chemicals for Delta 400

[RJSPhoto]

I'm wanting to develop some 120mm ilford Delta 400 film in the future, and while I've used liquid chemicals in the past I always found that I went through it quickly or it went bad. I like the idea of powdered chemicals, in terms of weight, storage and economical reasons.

What are your suggestions for the best powdered Developer, Fixer etc for use with Delta 400?

 

[pentaxuser]

As a developer Xtol is pretty good but to address your concern about keeping qualities you have to mix all the powder at once into 5L of stock which then needs to be kept free of oxidization. I do this in winebags but you can decant all 5L into glass bottles of say 250ml/300ml, filled to the neck and use one at a time.

I'd be wary of trying to weigh any powder for developer into the correct quantities for say one film, mixing that into stock and leaving the rest as powder. Some seem to have had success with this approach with ID11 but ensuring that each small batch of powder has exactly the right ingredients is very difficult if not impossible. You could try keeping the right powder chemicals and mixing as required but that's another thread in all probability

pentaxuser

 

[albada]

A couple of long-lasting liquid concentrates are Rodinal and HC-110. I've kept a bottle of HC-110 refrigerated for over a decade, and it's still fine.
As pentaxuser said, developing one at a time with powders will probably mean mixing from raw chemicals each time, which is more hassle each time you develop.
I invented a liquid concentrate (called "Mocon") that lasts for years when frozen, and gives XTOL's image-quality. But creating the concentrate involves heating propylene glycol in a glass beaker and measuring the powders to dissolve in it, which few folks wish to bother with. For you, I suggest HC-110.

For fixer, I keep a bottle of Artfix powder in the freezer, and when I develop a roll, I shake the bottle very well, measure what I need (at 1/2 or 1/3-strength), and then check the clearing-time to be sure the fixer is okay.

Mark Overton

 

[bvy]

I'm wanting to develop some 120mm ilford Delta 400 film in the future, and while I've used liquid chemicals in the past I always found that I went through it quickly or it went bad. I like the idea of powdered chemicals, in terms of weight, storage and economical reasons.

What are your suggestions for the best powdered Developer, Fixer etc for use with Delta 400?

Usually it's the other way around -- liquid concentrates for ease of storage and longevity. Remember most powders are mix all at once, not mix as needed -- just in case you had that notion.

That said, I just shot my first roll of Delta 400 yesterday with an eye toward developing it in Perceptol. Not because it's a powder (it just happens to be) but because I'm curious about the combination. I've used Perceptol before on slower films and liked the results.

 

[Ian Grant]

Xtol, a great developer and very economic used replenished, unlike other developers you use fresh Xtol as the replenisher. So make up a batch split into two containers the first is the working stock solution, the other half you use to replenish, As it's 5 litre packs it's easy as you just use 2.5 litre storage bottles.

Kodak still make a powder fixer.

Ian

 

[Svenedin]

I like Xtol for Delta, for everything really. I use it 1+1 and discard. It keeps very well provided it is kept in brim-full airtight bottles. I mix up 5 litres and then I use dark green glass gin bottles for litres of it and then decant down into smaller brown glass bottles as it gets used up. I am still using some that I mixed up 10 months ago.

 

[jim10219]

I've mixed partial bags of developer from powder. You have to have an accurate scale, and you have to mix the powders up really well before measuring first, to get an even distribution of all of the chemicals. Also remember, than once you open up the bag of powder, you're exposing it to air that can still oxidize it, so you have to reseal it and get as much air out of the bag as you can. A decent digital kitchen scale should work (though make sure that you don't use it for food).

I use soda bottles to store my developer and fixer in. I clean them out really well (of course), and then squeeze the bottles before resealing the lids to keep all of the air out. By the time I'm nearing the end, the bottles get pretty flat, and I throw them away after they're empty. I use D76 and can usually get about 6 months out of a mixed liquid using that method, without losing any potency. After that, the developer weakens, so don't mix up more than about 4 months worth of that stuff (cause once it starts to go, it goes pretty quickly). As long as you keep it in powdered form, and away from air, it seems to last a lot longer. I have no idea how long the powder will last, as it's never gone bad on me.

Since I have to go through the trouble of heating up the water to mix it, and let it settle for a day or so before using it, I wouldn't ever consider mixing up roll's worth at a time. So I typically try to do 3 months worth at a time, that way I'm not mixing it all the time, and not having it go bad.

 

[iakustov]

I use XTOL developer for 5 l stock, never had problems with shelf life.
For fixer I use liquid - Ilford Rapid Fixer, and never had problems either, even if 200 ml is left in 1l bottle for 8 months.

 

[jeffreyg]

I've used ID11 for Delta 400, 100 and HP5 120 and 4x5 for many years and am pleased with the results. I mix the powders with distilled water and fill amber glass pharmacy bottles to the brim for storage. i haven't tested how long it will keep since I use it up before it turns unreliable. Our house is air-conditioned so temperature is not an issue and freezing down here just doesn't happen.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

 

[Huub]

I am another happy XTOL user, which i use 1+1 and discard as so many others do as well. When 5 L is too much for you, D76 and ID11 are excelent powder developers which can be bought per 1 L packages. Get yourself 4 small 250 ml brown glass bottles and devide the developer into 4 equal parts. If necessary you can add some extra water to fill the botles to the brim. They will store for months when kept closed. For each 120 film you then open one bottle and discard whatever developer is left. Most tanks use about 0,5 L for 120 film, so it should fit pretty nicely.

 

[trendland]

I'm wanting to develop some 120mm ilford Delta 400 film in the future, and while I've used liquid chemicals in the past I always found that I went through it quickly or it went bad. I like the idea of powdered chemicals, in terms of weight, storage and economical reasons.

What are your suggestions for the best powdered Developer, Fixer etc for use with Delta 400?

The cheapest way are homebrew developers.
You can store the raw chemicals as stable as powder developers to decades.
One of the very cheapest options is a replacement to neofin blue.
With the original Tetenal developer you have $16 to 5 - 10 films.
The max. is at $ 3,20 a film. If you want to develope 200 films in the future you could calculate 20 - 40 boxes Neofin Blue
at about $ 320 - $ 640 and nowbody will
guarantee the use of this liquit developer more than 2 years in the future.
I personaly suppose a livetime with unopened original well stored bottles
> 5 years. But this is no Rodinal soupe so I doubt strongly to a livetime more than 8-9 years.
Using the beutler formula you will have
cost of 15 Cent film. The price of just 3 original Tetenal boxes is enough to get
raw chemicals to 200 films with beutler formula.
And you are safe with raw chemicals to
> 50 years livetime.
That should be enough to most of us.

with regards

PS : Neofin Blue and Beutler in comparison of economic issues is the
most extreme example I personaly know.