working or replishment solutions for wing lynch E-6 processor

We use a Wing/Lynch E-6 processor in a community college environment. It is a

non-replenishment system. A one shot deal. Am I wrong in my understanding that the mix of

chemistry should be for working solutions and not replenishment? Does anyone know the length

of shelf life for working strength or replenishment strength of E-6?

Thanks in advance.

>> Am I wrong in my understanding that the mix of chemistry should be for working solutions and not replenishment? <<

Dave, no, you are not wrong!

Film processing is always done in the working tank solution. When using a replenished system, the replenisher is like a high strength version of the developer. Replenisher comes in different "flavors", so to speak, but the goal is always to add just the right amount of the things that get "worn out" as well as to keep the development byproducts adequately diluted in the working tank.

FWIW, the purpose of a "starter solution" is to convert the extra-strength replenisher into normal tank solution.

I don't know what the shelf lives are, but if you are using Kodak there may be info in the online Z-manuals. Do you know where to find them?

Hey Dave, I use a Wing Lynch model 4E to run E6 where I work...they are mainly a one-shot processor, although it is possible to reuse certain parts of the E6 process depending on what type of chemistry you use & how the machine is configured. We have a 5 gallon set up ,and run E6 only using the Kodak 5 liter kits. We mix up four of these to fill the tanks, and mix at least one kit a week--usually at the end of the week--to "top off" the tanks. The nitrogen keeps the chemistry from oxidizing a bit, but the chemistry sits there in the tank, always heated & ready to go. It will start to go bad even in this sealed tank...so you can get about 2 weeks maybe out of a kit--but within the first week even, the color developer will start to slightly darken. The first developer, rev bath and color developer are the most sensitive steps--the pre-bleach (used to be conditioner) bleach and fix are pretty hardy. Basically you need to use up the chemistry on a regular basis--the best way to do this is to try to use the machine every day, or as much as possible and top off the tanks weekly , so fresh chem gets mixed in and keeps the air space to a minimum at the tops of the tanks. Obviously if you use the 1.3 gallon tanks, this is easier than the 5 gallon. If you have a slow week, you can start to bump up the volume of chem in the trough to use up more chem....another trick you can do is when you mix chemistry, after you fill up a tank--leave the cap off and briefly hit the start of that step. The machine will try to pump chem but since the lid is off, it forces out any air in the tank....after about 30 seconds or so, screw the cap on and when it just starts to make it to the trough, hit "step" and stop, Flush out the trough with water and go to the next tank...this way you purge out any oxygen left in the tank and can squeeze a bit more life out of the chemistry.

You can get the machines fitted with bypass valves (or you can get them added later) so you can reclaim your bleach or fix. Usually you'd have one of these to capture the fix for silver recovery--we have a second one for the bleach as well, but you can only do that with the "real E6"-- the cubes or 1 gallon sized components that Kodak sells (the replenishable chemistry), *not* the 5 liter kits. The 5 liter kits are strictly one-shot, but are perfect for a Wing Lynch machine. The only 2 extra chemicals you might want will be sodium hydroxide 5N and sulfuric acid to tweak the pH of the color developer.

We don't reuse the bleach, but the way to do it is with the 5 gallon cubes of E6 and mix the tank volume down out of these. The bleach can be reused if you can bypass the drain, but you'll need to aerate it before getting it back into the tank--which is kind of a PIA in my opinion, as you have to use something like a small aquarium bubbler to do this overnight or for a few hours--but bleach is one of the most expensive individual chemicals in E6, so there's a reason why some folks go this route. ...fwiw, check this site:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/chemicals/proLabsMain.shtml

Hope this helps.

Thanks to everyone for their help and quick response. I appreciate it. I am about to post another Wing/Lynch question so hopefully you will be able to answer it as well.

Thanks

Dave