Support our Sponsors, they keep FADU free:   AG Photographic   The Imaging Warehouse   Process Supplies   RH Designs   Second-hand Darkroom Supplies  

Notices

Go Back   Film and Darkroom User > Chemistry > Manufactured brews

  ***   Click here for the FADU 2015/2014 Yearbooks   ***

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 3rd May 2019, 02:58 PM
Svend Svend is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,193
Default Cloudy D-76, old package

Something odd occurred yesterday after I mixed up a gallon batch of D-76 from an old package. The powder looked nice and white, no oxidation evident; it mixed up fine, clear and with no discolouration; several hours later I did a clip test with some TMY-2 and it turned black within about 5 minutes....so far so good. I then proceeded to develop 2 rolls of the TMY and they seemed to come out OK - decent contrast, good grain and sharpness under the loupe.

Note that this was one-shot, at 1+1, developer discarded after use.

But several hours later I noticed all the bottles of the remaining stock solution had become cloudy-white. They were all full to the brim with no air space. Colour was whitish, no brown tint evident. By this morning the solutions had cleared and there is now very fine white sediment on the bottom of the bottles.

So what's going on here? I've never noticed this from any other developer. Mind you, I haven't used many old packages of anything - maybe some ID-11 and Microdol-X, both of which were fine. This D-76 package was one of the old Kodak foil-backed paper pouches. I checked the package prior to opening, and there were no tell-tale pinholes (brown stains on the outside of the pouch).

What is the fine white particulate? And does it affect the development at all?

Some more background -- I always use tap water to mix my chems; water is soft, and general water quality is very good. Mixing temp. was exactly as Kodak called for: 52C. Powder was added slowly and gently stirred to dissolve.

Any insight would be much appreciated. Thanks!
__________________
Regards,
Svend

Last edited by Svend; 3rd May 2019 at 03:03 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 4th May 2019, 12:00 PM
Rob Archer's Avatar
Rob Archer Rob Archer is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Kings Lynn, Norfolk - flatlands and big skies.
Posts: 1,244
Default

I've had this happen with home-brewed D76/ID11 from the raw chemicals. I suspect it's related to the hardness, or otherwise, of your local water supply. The good news is that mine worked fine despite being cloudy. Might be worth testing it with something less important though to be on the safe side.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 4th May 2019, 02:58 PM
Svend Svend is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,193
Default

Hi Rob,

We have quite soft water here, so I don't suspect it's a hardness thing. And I have mixed many batches of D-76 from raw chems and store-bought packages, but I've never seen this before. Very puzzling.

BTW, as mentioned, I did do a clip test before I committed the TMY rolls, just to make sure it was still active, and all seemed fine. It turned black in about 5 minutes. I will carry on doing clip tests with every future roll I put into this batch.

I wonder if it has something to do with the foil pouch? Some kind of metal salt that has formed over the years of just sitting there?

FYI, I also did a web search for this before posting here, but came up blank.
__________________
Regards,
Svend
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 8th May 2019, 10:27 AM
photomi7ch's Avatar
photomi7ch photomi7ch is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: East Midlands
Posts: 2,516
Default

Does the cloudiness disappear if you shake the bottle.
__________________
Mitch

http://photomi7ch.blogspot.com/

If you eliminate the impossible whatever remains no matter how improbable must be the truth.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 8th May 2019, 12:58 PM
Svend Svend is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,193
Default

Hi Mitch,

No it doesn't. Quite the opposite in fact. There is now a very fine milky-white sediment on the bottom of the bottles, which gets re-suspended once the bottle is shaken. I just tried shaking one for about 30 secs, and it did not clear - still cloudy; all that did was disturb the sediment. I expect that the stuff will settle out again overnight.

BTW, all bottles (those undisturbed) are still nice and clear - no brown oxidation evident.

Do you have a theory? I'm really quite curious about this.

I'll be shooting a few more films this weekend and will certainly do a clip test before I develop the rolls. I'll make sure to decant the developer very slowly so as to leave the sediment behind. Hopefully it will still be active.
__________________
Regards,
Svend
Reply With Quote
Reply
Support our Sponsors, they keep FADU free:   AG Photographic   The Imaging Warehouse   Process Supplies   RH Designs   Second-hand Darkroom Supplies  

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 09:06 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.