Syringes

[Donald Qualls]

A lubricant that is *known* not to be harmful to photo solutions in small quantities (because it's the carrier in HC-110 concentrate) is Propylene Glycol. I'm not sure I'd want to trust the dyes and anticorrosion additives in low toxicity antifreeze, however. Whatever you use, it should be fully miscible with water and not promote oxidation.

Anyone tested K+Y Jelly for this? It's hydroxymethylcellulose based, as I recall, water soluble, and has been successfully used to lubricate o-rings in assembling reloadable hobby rocket motors. Don't know if it would dry out in the syringe between uses, though.

 

[gainer]

A lubricant that is *known* not to be harmful to photo solutions in small quantities (because it's the carrier in HC-110 concentrate) is Propylene Glycol.

Where did you see this information? My bottle of HC110 says it has ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, several ethanolamines, but no mention of propylene glycol. Maybe it has changed since I got mine. It also says if you spill it on your shoes you should destroy the shoes if they are not washable.

Frankly, I don't see why it could not have been changed. PC-TEA only needs a "sulfite complex" and Q instead of C to make a safer clone of HC110.

 

[baronfoxx]

I use glass medical syringes made in Italy, very expensive but high quality and no problems with sticking etc
Happy new year to all Proper photographers

 

[Kirk Keyes]

I would suggest that after washing the glass syringe and plunger completely to remove any trace of chemicals, that the plunger be stored outside of the syringe body. And then when you want to use it, simply wet the plunger with water, and then insert it into the syringe.

All you should need is a layer of water to lubricate the plunger. There is no need for any other lubricants or greases. I think you guys are making this way to complicated...

 

[Donald Qualls]

Where did you see this information? My bottle of HC110 says it has ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, several ethanolamines, but no mention of propylene glycol.

Sigh. I guess my memory isn't what it used to be; my HC-110 concentrate bottle has been gone for a long time, as I divided up the concentrate into smaller containers to enhance its already impressive storage life.

The statement about shoes is probably CYA hype, BTW -- the stuff is surely not significantly more hazardous than anti-freeze, which is mostly ethylene glycol...

 

[gainer]

Well, it could be a combination rather than a single component. It has monoethanolamine if I read it correctly, which is more hazardous than TEA. The information on the Dow Chemical site scared me away from MEA. Hydroquinone is not too good for you , either. It may be that the spill warning is because something in it carries stuff past the skin barrier. The warning is on the bottle. I am not up to speed on acronyms. What is CYA? My speed is a Snail's Pace which is officially defined as "One furlong per fortnight".

 

[srs5694]

What is CYA?

CYA = "Cover Your Ass"

A great site for discovering the meanings of acronyms is http://www.acronymfinder.com. I've seen sites with lists of common Web abbreviations, too, but I didn't bookmark them, so I can't provide any references.