Stop bath and hypo clear.

Mike Kennedy · Dec 21, 2005

I first want to thank David Goldfarb and Dean Williams for sorting out my fixing dilemma. If you have never used exhausted fix then you can,t appreciate the mind freeze you get when 3 rolls of film come out looking fogged.
This leads me to ask if I can use the fix as a bench mark to gauge the life of my stop bath and hypo clear? Once the fix is past its prime I dump all the chemicals and mix up new batches. Or is this asking too much?

Thanks,
Mike

Tom Hoskinson · Dec 21, 2005

Mike Kennedy said:
This leads me to ask if I can use the fix as a bench mark to gauge the life of my stop bath and hypo clear?
Thanks,
Mike

The simple answer is NO!

Most Stop Baths are diluted acetic acid - CHEAP! Use it and dump it.

Hypo Clear (Sodium Sulfite mixed with Water) is also CHEAP - use it and dump it.

For film fixing, keep track of the amount of film you have fixed in the fixing bath and replace the fixer when you have approach its maximum fixing capacity. A good quick fixer check is to use a short piece of film - like the leader - and check the time that it takes the fixer to completely clear it. If the clearing time increases from the clearing time required in fresh fixer, your fixer is suspect.

For Fiber Paper Fixing, use the 2 fixing bath method. Plenty of information on this method posted in APUG - do a search.

removed account4 · Dec 21, 2005

hi mike

i had something else i had written, but tom wrote what i was thinking ...

"what he said"

good luck!

john

Gerald Koch · Dec 21, 2005

There are two ways of checking your fixer.

The first method is to take a piece of undeveloped film and note the time it takes to clear in fresh fixer. To check a used fixer again note the time it takes to clear. If the time for the used fixer is twice the time for fresh fixer then the fixer should be discarded.

The second method is to use something like Kodak's Fixer Test Solution. This consists of 10 g of potassium iodide dissolved in 50 ml of distilled water. In a small container such as a test tube, add 5 drops of water, 5 drops of the above test solution and 5 drops of fixer. Shake well. The formation of a white or pale yellow precipitate indicates that the fixing bath is exhausted.
Disregard a slight milkiness.

Mike Kennedy · Dec 21, 2005

Thanks for the info.
I will add another bit of information to my film development journal.

Mike

removed account4 · Dec 21, 2005

hi gerald -

the first way you suggest is the best way to check for fixer exhaustion. i used to test my fixer, using the store-bought "hypo-check" (salt water solution made of potassium iodide ) ... but after speaking with the good folks at sprint systems of photography i learned that with fixers like theirs have a very high capacity, so when the it gets milky suggesting it is "dead" it is about 1/2 gone.

... i guess it is better to be safe than sorry, but just the same, the film test is the best.

- john

Gerald Koch said:
There are two ways of checking your fixer.

The first method is to take a piece of undeveloped film and note the time it takes to clear in fresh fixer. To check a used fixer again note the time it takes to clear. If the time for the used fixer is twice the time for fresh fixer then the fixer should be discarded.

The second method is to use something like Kodak's Fixer Test Solution. This consists of 10 g of potassium iodide dissolved in 50 ml of distilled water. In a small container such as a test tube, add 5 drops of water, 5 drops of the above test solution and 5 drops of fixer. Shake well. The formation of a white or pale yellow precipitate indicates that the fixing bath is exhausted.
Disregard a slight milkiness.

Gerald Koch · Dec 21, 2005

jnanian said:
hi gerald -

the first way you suggest is the best way to check for fixer exhaustion. i used to test my fixer, using the store-bought "hypo-check" (salt water solution made of potassium iodide ) ... but after speaking with the good folks at sprint systems of photography i learned that with fixers like theirs have a very high capacity, so when the it gets milky suggesting it is "dead" it is about 1/2 gone.

... i guess it is better to be safe than sorry, but just the same, the film test is the best.

- john

I don't have a good feeling about Sprint claiming that their fixer is special and having a very high capacity. I see nothing special in the MSDS. it is just an ammonium thiosulfate based fixer. Perhaps their claim is based on it's being an ammonium thiosulfate fixer rather than a sodium thiosulfate fixer.

removed account4 · Dec 21, 2005

Gerald Koch said:
I don't have a good feeling about Sprint claiming that their fixer is special and having a very high capacity. I see nothing special in the MSDS. it is just an ammonium thiosulfate based fixer. Perhaps their claim is based on it's being an ammonium thiosulfate fixer rather than a sodium thiosulfate fixer.

i checked the msds too ...

the guy who told this to me a few years back isn't there anymore ..
maybe it was one of the few things was fired for ( misleading information ) ?

-john

dancqu · Dec 22, 2005

Gerald Koch said:
There are two ways of checking your fixer.

I'll suggest a third. A fourth will have to wait. Try the
ST-1 test. I think of it as the sulfide for silver test or
the-proof-of-the-pudding-is-in-the-testing test.

I use the ST-1 test only on paper. Other than a good
look at a film after fixing I do not test, film or fixer. I
use a predetermined amount known to completely
fix a roll of film and with some margin. The fix is
used very dilute one-shot.

Personally I can't see any reason to use fix more than
once as it works very well and swiftly enough. By that
method Archival results are obtained. The same,
I might add, goes for paper. Dan

MikeSeb · Dec 22, 2005

Let me answer the question you didn't ask and offer this bit of unsolicited advice: use once, dump it, no worries!!

Seriously. I have to do this since I use a Jobo, but it's a good idea anyway IMO. Chemistry is too cheap relative to the cost of film and the value of the time and effort required to take the photo to begin with.

Happy holidays and New Year 2006.

david b · Dec 22, 2005

I use Ilford's Rapid Fix and I dump it every 15 rolls. At the same time, I make new hypo-clear and photo-flo.

I use water for my stop bath.

Papa Tango · Dec 24, 2005

I have noticed that hypo-clear begins to pick up a slight purplish or charcoal cast depending on the film or paper as it nears exhaustion. I usually dump every tray I use for paper, and never more than a single roll of film before dumping. Mixing in half-gallon lots to keep fresh does not allow for a lot of loading of partially spent chemistry and its real cheap...

As far as non-indicator stop goes, one can use litmus strips or a small pH meter. I have a lab grade Fisher Scientific hung over the sink. The trouble with these is that the solution and Ag base in the probes requires monitoring and replenishment every so often, and replacing the probe every few years. These are great for developer monitoring also and determining time changes as the alkalinity of the developer changes with subsequent batches or long stand, high dilution process runs.

A very cheap solution for roughly checking pH is a garden monitor. These two probe affairs can be picked up for $4-10 at most larger home improvement stores and the evil Walmart.

lee · Dec 24, 2005

I use sodium sulfite as a hypo clearing solution. Make it new every time and dump after use.

lee\c

Stop bath and hypo clear.

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