Zero Water for mixing chemicals?

I'm going to be moving soon for Grad school (yay)
But, because I'll be renting an apartment, installing a reverse osmosis filter on the water line is likely well out of the question. While I could always just keep buying distilled water, that's not always entirely convenient, especially if I run out unexpectedly. And, I'm also not a fan of all the plastic bottles.

Has anyone tried using those zero water branded filters? https://www.zerowater.com/30c-readypour.php

Similarly, does anyone have experience with these? https://www.amazon.com/Megahome-Cou...00026F9F8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

I figure that as long as the activated carbon in the filters for either don't add gunk that gets stuck to the emulsion, they would be the best way to have a reliable supply of water "on demand"

Also of note, I do my own C-41 and E-6, though not as frequently as B/W.

Any opinions?

I just use city water put through a Brita filtering pitcher, much like the Zerowater.

At a previous home (and before I got interested in photography), we distilled our water for several years using a system like the other one you post. The first gallon after changing the carbon filter would have a little bit of black powder in it, but after that it would be clear. The cooling fan does make a hell of a lot of noise and it put out a lot of heat - 2 things to think about if you have roommates or want to use it in the summer.

If you use commercially packaged chemistry then the city water is fine.

I do not see a reason for any treatment, aside of considering plain filtration, which would depend on iron tubing in the street and house.

Over here modern houses have particle filters mounted after the inlet.

I have always use tap water where ever I lived and I have lived in areas with very hard water. Try the water and see what happens, after all the locals drink it. WARNING: This does not apply in Detroit!

BradS said:

city water is fine

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What you mean is "city water is fine to try, but many areas have iron or other minerals that interact with developers in a bad way and many areas' water quality changes seasonally so it may work now but not later. If you do use city water always filter for particles and test occasionally."

Kawaiithulhu said:

What you mean is "city water is fine to try, but many areas have iron or other minerals that interact with developers in a bad way and many areas' water quality changes seasonally so it may work now but not later. If you do use city water always filter for particles and test occasionally."

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NO. What I mean is exactly what I said. City water is fine for mixing commercially packaged chemistry. High quality materials are designed to be mixed with city water. They incorporated "extra stuff" in the mix to deal with impurities that might otherwise be a problem. If it is safe to drink, it is safe to use with Kodak D-76, or HC-110, for example.

For commercially packaged chemistry (developers), Oxygen dissolved in the water is typically a bigger issue than mineral impurities when mixing with city tap water.

Shoom said:

I'm going to be moving soon for Grad school (yay)
But, because I'll be renting an apartment, installing a reverse osmosis filter on the water line is likely well out of the question. While I could always just keep buying distilled water, that's not always entirely convenient, especially if I run out unexpectedly. And, I'm also not a fan of all the plastic bottles.

Has anyone tried using those zero water branded filters? https://www.zerowater.com/30c-readypour.php

Similarly, does anyone have experience with these? https://www.amazon.com/Megahome-Cou...00026F9F8/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

I figure that as long as the activated carbon in the filters for either don't add gunk that gets stuck to the emulsion, they would be the best way to have a reliable supply of water "on demand"

Also of note, I do my own C-41 and E-6, though not as frequently as B/W.

Any opinions?

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Hi. First let me preface by saying I worked in the appliance (refrigerators) industry. There is NOTHING in appliances more profitable then selling replacement water filters.

1. I use RO. Our water is horrible hard. We NEED a softener just for dishwasher, shower etc. Softener converts Calcium carbonate into sodium carbonate, NOT good for developers.
2. A standard Britta pitcher filter is a carbon block filter with a silver based ion exchange material added to exchange silver ions for heavy metal ions. Since most tap water doesn't have Lead or Cadmium all these do is remove the bad tastes, organics, chlorine etc. and fine particulates. It does nor purify or de-ionize or remove dissolved mineral.
3 The Zero water system is quite sophisticated, something like 5 stages. Carbon, mixed bed de-ionizing removes everything ionic, removes everything. WARNING if you have really crappy water you will need to buy a $30 cartridge after 4 gallons of water. Because they work well, they are exhausted quickly with hard water.
4. I you can use a Zero Water pitcher for 50 gallons of water and still have the little conductivity meter say zero. You have good water and don't need to do anything.
5. The absolutely cheapest most effective simple solution is a simple inline particulate filter, but as with everything these days it's all about selling cartridges so these are hard to find.

I would look up the water quality for the municipal water supply. If it's not hard you probably don't need to do anything. First 40 years of my life I used beautiful Cedar Rapids, Iowa tap water absolutely NO Problems, E-3, E-4, C-22, C-41, CP-5, Ektaprint 300, B&W , Photo-flo for final rinse with tap water. Moved to a development 15 miles away, I couldn't make XTOL, so much mineral content it wouldn't dissolve. Really bad.

I have used a inline carbon block "icemaker" water filter for drinking water. This might be a solution. Or you could do what the old timers did. Stick a nice fat cotton ball in your funnel and use that to filter out the dirt.

Bottomline unless you have "problem water" you don't need to do anything.
MHO

Best Mike

I suppose you could use something like this. Many have adapted to work (slowly) on gravity so you should be able to get a gallon or 2 a day. But I agree with those who question whether it's really necessary. I've seen a number of minilabs in various locations that used plain old tap water, albeit through a particulate filter.

I have a Zero Water filter and it is a great option for when I need really REALLY clean water (for mixing Wet Plate chemistry). The water that comes out of the filter measures 2 to 4 ppm tds. It doesn't get much better than that. If your city water is bad, then the Zero Water filter is a fine idea. For me the filters last 4 months or more, and I sometimes push a lot of water through it.

TDS means Total Dissolveld Solids

paulbarden said:

I have a Zero Water filter and it is a great option for when I need really REALLY clean water (for mixing Wet Plate chemistry). The water that comes out of the filter measures 2 to 4 ppm tds. It doesn't get much better than that. If your city water is bad, then the Zero Water filter is a fine idea. For me the filters last 4 months or more, and I sometimes push a lot of water through it.

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No doubt . The Zero Water is the best that I know of for producing really nearly lab grade water. For my setup I was using RO then the Zero Water and the little conductivity meter would read zero. If you have terrible water, my guess is its cheaper to go to frigging Walmart. Zero Water cartridges go pretty fast when the tap water is really bad.

Of course if you boil rainwater, it's about as good as it gets, barring air pollution.

Dear Shoom,

Distilled water can be found easily at a little more than a dollar per gallon. It's so cheap I never mix chemicals with anything else.

Good luck,

Neal Wydra

If you have a basement and run a dehumidifier, you can salvage that water by running it through a particulate filter, but you have to keep the coil and reservoir clean and free of biological growth.

When I lived in San Antonio, the water was too hard to mix some chemistry in, plus the water softener in my apartment complex just added sodium salts to the water. Luckily, there were drinking water vending machines in every supermarket. You brought your own gallon jug and put in a quarter. It's probably more now, but still reasonable. If your city has lousy water, there are likely drinking water vending machines you can find that dispense water good enough for everything but the final rinse and mixing saturated stock solutions. I use distilled for my final rinse with Photo Flo and for mixing PMK stock solutions and a couple other stock solutions. Tap water or "drinking water" for working solutions of developer, stop, fix, toner and bleaches.

Best,

Doremus

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Spirit...D=31Q%2BuNvABwL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

I've got one of these. It's a pot still that has an air cooled condenser. On the nights you don't need distilled water, it can make vodka.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

If the Zero Water filter is the real deal, I think I'll look into that for the convenience factor alone.
Even if it's more expensive than buying from walmart, I'd rather not have to deal with all the plastic waste from those gallon jugs. And even if it isn't fully necessary, I'd rather be paranoid than have anything happen to a special roll of film.

John51 said:

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Spirits-Turbo-Air/dp/B00BWUJKHG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526399798&sr=8-1&keywords=airstill&dpID=31Q%2BuNvABwL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

I've got one of these. It's a pot still that has an air cooled condenser. On the nights you don't need distilled water, it can make vodka.

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Now THAT'S a tempting proposition.

Sirius Glass said:

I have always use tap water where ever I lived and I have lived in areas with very hard water. Try the water and see what happens, after all the locals drink it. WARNING: This does not apply in Detroit!

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See here's the thing... The grad school I'm going to is in Detroit.
It's fine though, the lead problems were Flint, not Detroit
Detroit is where Flint was getting its water from BEFORE the lead problems
I actually have a paper in peer-review right now on the cause of the lead crisis, so...

Shoom said:

See here's the thing... The grad school I'm going to is in Detroit.
It's fine though, the lead problems were Flint, not Detroit
Detroit is where Flint was getting its water from BEFORE the lead problems
I actually have a paper in peer-review right now on the cause of the lead crisis, so...

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I meant Flint.




.

Kino said:

If you have a basement and run a dehumidifier, you can salvage that water by running it through a particulate filter, but you have to keep the coil and reservoir clean and free of biological growth.

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+1

Doremus Scudder said:

When I lived in San Antonio, the water was too hard to mix some chemistry in,... Luckily, there were drinking water vending machines in every supermarket.

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If tap water is very hard, why would one need to buy drinking water at the supermarket?
The only reason I can think of is the taste, especially of coffee etc.

John51 said:

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Spirits-Turbo-Air/dp/B00BWUJKHG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1526399798&sr=8-1&keywords=airstill&dpID=31Q%2BuNvABwL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

I've got one of these. It's a pot still that has an air cooled condenser. On the nights you don't need distilled water, it can make vodka.

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That is what my mother has, it is the classic method to get pure distilled water evaporating and condensing it before passing a final active carbon filter. Will take four hours to make aproximately 4 liters out of 20 liters of tap water, There is a moderate noisy fan and some heat from the stainless steel beaker, It is ok as far as you don't stay in the same room that the equipment, my mother has it in the kitchen for example . The result is water with practically no organic or inorganic particles disolved: "pure water".

AgX said:

If tap water is very hard, why would one need to buy drinking water at the supermarket?
The only reason I can think of is the taste, especially of coffee etc.

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Exactly, the water didn't taste that good and would choke your coffeemaker and steam iron with scale quickly. Many people bought distilled water for their irons, but drinking water worked fine too. And, of course, we drank and make coffee with the drinking water. No worries about polluting the world with plastic, since you brought your own reusable container to the dispensing machine. I had glass gallon jugs.

Best,

Doremus

Why not buy a small counter top Water Distiller?

Have a couple, bought at rummage sales for under $10. Work well. One was never used.

Plug in, fill with water and in the morning have a gallon of distilled water. Re-fill and let it do its thing during the day and come back in the evening to another gallon of distilled water.

Simple, easy and solves a lot of problems with tap water.