Source of Triethanolamine in the UK

[ben_jeffs]

I have had a good hunt around but the sources I knew of have gone. Does anyone

have a good supplier of tested TEA (Triethanolamine) in the UK. It would help

if they did Phenidone as well so I can combine shipping.

 

Even vague pointers would be appreciated.

 

As you can no doubt guess I am using PC-TEA, but I have run out...

[paulh]

Try asking <A HREF="http://www.retrophotgraphic.co.uk">Retrophotographic</A> or Silverprint. Retro definitely have Phenidone, and should be able to get TEA, or at least point you in the right direction.<P>

 

You can also get TEA from companies like Merck, although I believe this is often a higher quality/purity than is needed for photographic developers.<P>

 

HTH

[rui_alves_da_silva]

For Phenidone one of the best price that I'd found is http://www.digitaltruth.com. And maybe is good to consider to ship it, 100g for very low price. I don't know if they ship Triethanolamine, they sold it for avery good price too. If you really want from UK, the bets way to find who is selling, is first try you local pharmacy and ask for this chemicals, bring with you the CAS number, if they don't sell it ask if they know for a reseller, ask your friends from Bio/analysis labs, check yellow pages for drugs/chemicals sellers. I think you're understanding what i'm trying to tell you. Sniff the industry and you will get the results, I have done the same, not in UK unfortunately.

Regards,

Rui

[chris_waller]

Another vote for Retrophotographic; they've managed to get some of the less common chemicals for me.

[patrick_gainer]

You could also mix the PC part in a glycol, same proportions, and add the alkali to make the working solution at time of use. While less convenient, it would be more flexible. The glycol can be any of several if you are not worried about pets or children. You can use glycerine, but its viscosity is much higher.

 

The alkali may be a carbonate or metaborate solution. It has been a while since I did it this way, and I am in my 80th year, so I don't remember the details, but it should not take too much experimenting to find a suitable combination.

 

TEA should be available, as it has many uses. Propylene glycol likewise is widely used. I suspect that in UK the safe auto antifreeze is mostly propylene glycol. My first experiments used auto antifreeze as solvent. Whatever additives were in it did not seem to keep it from working.

[pete_andrews10]

I sympathise with you Ben. The UK has become so "safe" that you can't even buy a domestic cleanser that actually works anymore. I'm surprised that tap water hasn't been classed as a hazardous substance and licensed for industrial use only.

 

You can only buy materials deemed to be "chemicals" from licensed retailers, and not direct from the supplier these days. I'm glad I've got a stash of half-a-kilo of Phenidone set aside in a secret location, unknown to the Safety Police. I'm also glad that there are still Health Freaks around who overdose themselves on vitamin-C, so that I can buy Ascorbic Acid at a reasonable price.

 

Sorry I can't help with a supplier for TEA Ben, but you can make Sodium Sulphite from Caustic Soda "drain cleaner" and Sodium Metabisulphite. Also; caustic soda and sodium bicarbonate will make sodium carbonate. Metabisulphite is sold by home-brewing shops as a cleanser and steriliser for winemaking. I recently bought some for 80 pence a half-kilo - much cheaper than from the specialist photo-suppliers. And sodium bicarb is sold by pharmacists as an antacid remedy, as I'm sure you already knew.

 

If you don't need the convenience of a highly concentrated developer, I can give you a recipe for a two part Phenidone-Ascorbic-Borax formula that gives results very similar to diluted D-76. The second part is just a caustic soda "activator" that enables the developer itself to have a longer shelf life. It has the advantage that all the ingredients, apart from the Phenidone, are readily available from alternative sources (pharmacists, health stores, hardware stores etcetera), and at a reasonable price.

[pete_andrews10]

PS to the above.

 

I don't have the formula to hand at the moment Ben, and rather than rely on my aging memory, I'll post it later, that's if you're interested.

[ben_jeffs]

Thanks for the responses everyone, you have been most helpful; it's nice to know there are a few out there still using raw chemicals.

 

I have found a source at http://www.sigmaaldrich.com they do various grades and prices of the stuff from stock, as well as other photo related chemicals, they are very expensive on small quantities but for very large orders it may be worth a look.

 

I also got in touch with Nigel Dear at Retrophotographic, he has been fantastic and has located some. He will have it in in a few weeks. If anyone wants to try this stuff it is well worth it. He is also getting Glycerol at the same time.

 

I have just ordered the rest of my chemicals through them, for fix and archival wash, they work out very cheap, so thanks for pointing me in that direction.

 

Pete, that developer formula would be appreciated; I am keen to try new ones, especially as straight forward as that, though I wanted the PC TEA for travel since it is nicely concentrated.

 

Thank you all again.