Small batch developers...

Terry Christian said:

Other threads explain replenishment and its benefits more in detail, but just briefly for anyone else reading who might be interested:
To replenish XTOL, you mix up your 5L stock and then divide it into two (or more) bottles that you designate as developer and replenisher. Every time you develop film, you pour it right back into your developer bottle, except for 70 mL (if I recall correctly) per roll developed, which you discard down the drain. You then fill up that space with fresh stock from the replenisher bottle.

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Terry has it right, although I put the correct amount of replenisher (70 ml per roll in the case of XTOL) in first, and then just pour back the recently used developer until my "working developer" bottle is filled to the brim.

In any week that I don't develop film, I just do one roll's worth of replenishment instead - it keeps the developer fresh, and you don't have to test. I would recommend some testing though after 6 months of use.

There is one further advantage. Your developer is always mixed up and ready to go. I always develop at whatever the ambient temperature of the developer is - adjusting the time as required. It is the same for fixer and HCA. The only temperature I have to adjust is the stop and the wash, and I generally can just let the stop come naturally to room temperature.

Ooohhhh, I get it now.

For fixer I mix 5L, and just keep pouring it back in for a while, and then mix a new 5L every so often.

ChristopherCoy said:

Ooohhhh, I get it now.

For fixer I mix 5L, and just keep pouring it back in for a while, and then mix a new 5L every so often.

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If you mix up 1 litre (1 + 4) of Ilford Rapid fixer, it should comfortably develop 16 rolls - Ilford says 24, but I am conservative.

Just do a clip clearing time test regularly, and discard the fix when the clearing time is double the time for fresh fix.

You can also buy special fixer testing drops from any photo retailer. Put a drop or two into a small amount of your fixer. If it makes a white precipitate, your fixer needs replacing. Also, fresh fix smells sharp and acrid, somewhat like ammonia; bad fix smells sulfurous.

There are a lot of liquid concentrates out there. Rodinal and HC-110 are famous for long life, and Pyrocat-HD (an excellent developer) does quite well. I usually mix my developer from scratch as needed. If you have a scale, it's easy and cheap. D-23 is trivial, and D-76 (which I use most often) isn't much harder. It only takes a few minutes to mix, but you may need to let it stand an hour or two to cool down and stabilize.

Terry Christian said:

You can also buy special fixer testing drops from any photo retailer. Put a drop or two into a small amount of your fixer. If it makes a white precipitate, your fixer needs replacing.

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The chemistry behind these drops is a bit flawed. A positive test really tells you that your fixer has been effectively exhausted by modern standards for some time previous. Relying on this form of test can lead to problems later. It is much better to just keep track of the number of 8x10 sheets or equivalent that have been fixed and not exceed the manufactures recommendation.

ChristopherCoy said:

Thats what I'm looking at. I was just figuring out the dilution for a 1L batch. Looks like 1.4oz of Rodinal to 32.6oz of water will give me a 1:25 dilution factor for a 1L batch.

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Just figure out what you need to fill your tank. You CAN"T keep it once mixed. I tend to use it 1 part concentrate to 50 parts water, (and the chemists who don't like that way of thinking can please go for a coffee. diluting each millilitre to make a total of 50 parts is much more complicated and gives almost the same solution and so the same result)

Typicaly for 35mm film in a small tank, you need 250ml of developer minimum, so I use 250ml of water and 5ml of the concentrate (gives 255ml but who is counting.

for my 5 reel Jobo, I need 1210 of developer and so I can use 1200 ml of water and 24ml of concentrate.

Ilford ID-11, very similar if not identical to D-76, is available in a 1 liter packet for about $6US. It is not as cost effective as the 5L powder or one gallon of D-76. It does have decent shelf life, and even a casual user would likely use up the developer before is wears out.

I received my bottle of Rodinal today. Looks like I'll be doing some darkroom work this weekend!