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  #11  
Old 10th February 2017, 07:52 PM
Alan Clark Alan Clark is offline
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A while ago I thought I had problems with bits in the tap water that were sticking to my film after development. So I bought some big bottles of spring water. You know the sort of stuff..."This water comes from a 10,000 year old glacier in the Swiss Alps. .... Best before the 18th Feb."
Anyway I mixed my developer with it, washed the film with it. But I still got bits on the film. Turned out they were in the fixer, which had sort of precipitated out (i'm no chemist) into crystals.
So my tap water turned out to be fine.

Alan
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  #12  
Old 10th February 2017, 09:39 PM
John King John King is offline
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Originally Posted by Alan Clark View Post
A while ago I thought I had problems with bits in the tap water that were sticking to my film after development. So I bought some big bottles of spring water. You know the sort of stuff..."This water comes from a 10,000 year old glacier in the Swiss Alps. .... Best before the 18th Feb."
Anyway I mixed my developer with it, washed the film with it. But I still got bits on the film. Turned out they were in the fixer, which had sort of precipitated out (i'm no chemist) into crystals.
So my tap water turned out to be fine.

Alan
If you could see the colour of some of the ice on the Swiss Glaciers you would take the bottled water back to claim a refund. Once the winter snow has melted the ice underneath is a sort of khaki brown with bits on it. The Rhone Glacier is almost a coat of many colours.

As for the 'best before dates' I had a bottle of Isopropyl Alcohol with a similar message, I was still using it 5 years later!
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  #13  
Old 10th February 2017, 10:33 PM
M Stewart M Stewart is offline
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Originally Posted by big paul View Post
... I tried distilled water but it just added to the price and another thing I needed to buy...
I remember being severely warned off drinking distilled or deionised water. Upsets our bodies' salt balance.

Here in Milton Keynes our water is hard and also delivers sand to my kettle, so I normally filter it for photographic use.
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  #14  
Old 11th February 2017, 08:30 AM
winchman winchman is offline
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I remember being severely warned off drinking distilled or deionised water. Upsets our bodies' salt balance.

.
Thats correct as a lot of the salts and minerals have been removed it can leach them out of your body, giving sever head aches etc.
Drinking water is full of all sorts of stuff as whilst its clean it doesn't have to be as clean as other grades of water, it also changes as water can be taken from different supplies.
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  #15  
Old 11th February 2017, 02:24 PM
Martyn L Martyn L is offline
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Water here in Somerset isn't too bad.
PH of 7.5 tap water and clear, at the moment although my darkroom supply is filtered with a modest cannister fitted to the outside wall feeding hot and cold.
I also collect rainwater off the darkroom roof into 3 barrels which are filtered at the tap. I use this for alternative processes. PH for rainwater in barrels comes out at 6.5.
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  #16  
Old 11th February 2017, 07:47 PM
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cliveh cliveh is offline
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Originally Posted by big paul View Post
W.C Fields said I don't drink water ,fish XXXX in it www.essexcockney.com

For those who are not familiar with the quote and XXXX

W.C Fields said "I don't drink water, fish make love in it."
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  #17  
Old 12th February 2017, 12:44 PM
JOReynolds JOReynolds is offline
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Originally Posted by Lostlabours View Post
I worked closely with water boards at chief chemist level as part of my job in the early 200's, related to photochemical disposal.
In the 1990s I worked for Rockwell Hitec, manufacturers of bulk chemical mixing equipment for the photofinishing industry. Concentrates were delivered in vessels of 60 or 210 litres and, in the season, typical mix volumes were in the region of 25...150 litres per day. Historically, the overflow was diluted with wash water, which went into sewerage. The mixture produced huge quantities of smelly ammonia and resulted in dead waterways.
In Europe, Germany led the way in environmental regulation and some of their photofinishers relocated their laboratories to neighbouring countries where rules were less stringent.
Eventually the industry began to clean up and, in collaboration with photochemistry manufacturers, we designed equipment to collect and treat overflow and recreate replenisher. We measured pH, SG and conductivity inline so that precise quantities of solutions could be added to bring activity back into line. The concentration of some by-products inevitably increased as the liquids passed round and round the system - notably surfactants (added to film and paper emulsions to adjust coating thickness). To supress frothing, antifoam reagents were added to saturate the fatty end of the surfactant molecules. As with beer, it's difficult to measure volumes accurately if the head fills half the vessel.
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  #18  
Old 15th February 2017, 07:44 AM
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Martin Aislabie Martin Aislabie is offline
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The clear film is because after a few days emulsion floats off the backing - either film or paper.

Martin
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  #19  
Old 15th February 2017, 10:05 AM
John King John King is offline
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Originally Posted by Martin Aislabie View Post
The clear film is because after a few days emulsion floats off the backing - either film or paper.

Martin
I will agree with that. But since I first posted I tried the same again but this time in a measuring beaker which had been thoroughly washed out and filled with water and a piece of unexposed film dropped in. The effect has not been so great but has now got the appearance of a half fixed piece of film and has not floated off the backing.

I know that paper emulsion will break up after 4-5 days but this hasn't happened with the film -yet
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  #20  
Old 7th March 2017, 05:34 PM
JimW JimW is offline
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Quote:
"This water comes from a 10,000 year old glacier in the Swiss Alps. .... Best before the 18th Feb."
My friend was drinking some bottled water with a sell by date. The brand name was "Eternal"......
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