Recant: D-76 does not last forever

cliveh

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I would say even longer in air tight bottles.
 

Helge

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Butane on top is better than any other solution.

It’s cheap, heavy, relatively inert and is readily available.

There is zero explosion risk in an airtight container. Less than with the pressure container that holds the liquid butane at least.

Apart from that, amber chemical bottles, generally more and smaller is better.
I find two 2.5 liter bottles for five litres is a good compromise between too many bottles and not having quarter-filled bottles standing around, for the two dilute, solvent developers I use.

The smaller the bottle, the more liquid surface is being exposed in comparison to the total volume contained to any potential oxygen, as the liquid sinks, versus a larger bottle.
So there is such a thing as too small.
Except:
The ideal would be a full bottle for one shot of ready developer solution.
But that is a hell of a lot of bottles and assumes the same film format and dilution every time.
 
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Bill Burk

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Well my bottles are 2 - HDPE

My run of 120 Double-X in this mixed 13-DEC-2020 D-76 1:1 15 minutes 68-Degrees F (real temperature 68.00 allowed to reach bath temperature) went overboard.

I have an EI 320 and CI 0.8

This is nuts. I don’t know what’s going on. The more careful I get the more this batch of D-76 looks like it’s as active as ever.
 
  • Bill Burk
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Just curious to know more from the experts and the experienced. When film manufacturers do sensitometry tests of their films, is the HD curve they report coming from a single test? Or do they do many tests under identical/similar conditions and average the data? To me the HD curves in data sheets always looked like idealized rather than from a single test, but what do I know about how film manufacturers do testing.
 

BMbikerider

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I have used ID11 which was at least 18 months old. The stock developer was still crystal clear and used 1-1 it always gave me ideal, easily printed negatives form Fomapan 200. It is I think all down to the way it is stored after mixing. 1 ltr stock solution split into 2 x 500cc amber screw top glass bottles. I have never had a problem at all, Even in partially emptied bottles. It is almost as stable as the original Rodinal.
 
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Bill Burk

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They do many and average them. But they work the shape of the curve in the emulsion formula to fit what they want the film to look like. So while we test to see what the film characteristics are, they test and tweak to make the film fit the curve they want to sell.

I just draw all the points without averaging so you see a few disjointed lines- reality is in the middle somewhere. Also I find readings vary near the edge (sprockets) or where in the roll the test exposure is (whether near the core of the reel, in the middle or near the outside.
 
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DREW WILEY

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The characteristics of D76 have been studied many times before, over many decades in fact. This particular developer should be standardized upon and used either when first freshly mixed, or about a week later when it has had time to reach equilibrium, which seems to then be stable for maybe six months or so provided its in stock concentration rather than in working dilution, and stored in full glass bottles.

I divvy up the mixed batch into an appropriate number of full tightly sealed little glass bottles with the right volume in each being sufficient for a single development session after its dilution to working strength. I never reuse or try to replenish any developer, although that once was done in big assembly-line style commercial labs needing large daily volumes.

I realize that people bend the rules in various ways, but always, I suspect, with some kind of penalty to quality or predictability being inevitable. When in doubt, carefully test relative to you own intended application.

Polyethylene containers are permeable to oxygen, especially if thin from recycled material. The cheap camera store variety are awful in that respect. Stick with lab-quality glass bottles and well-sealed tops instead.
 
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MattKing

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So Bill, would it be correct to say that since you have decided to Recant, you will continue to Decant (D-76, of course)
Life can always use more poetry.
 

DREW WILEY

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That's a Decent Recent rhyme that works. But I dumped D76 back in '76 when I found something better. Don't get me wrong - I don't dislike rap, I detest it, so just like 76, there's no need to re-test it.
 
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Bill Burk

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I will continue to decant D-76.

Just mixed a batch last night, cream soda color the way I like it.

But why do mice like Dektol bags? I found chew marks (breaches) on two bags and I only have three. I might just mix it up brown and see what happens to my prints. Maddening because it’s the old good stuff
 
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