bleck Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Here's my problem:<br> I'm using a two reel paterson tank. I wash this tank and any reels I used during a developing session by soaking in super hot water for an hour or so, then rinsing completely.<br> When developing with HC-110B, I've been having serious problems with the developer foaming. So much so that I can't agitate the tank unless I remove the top cover and let some of the foam spill out to relieve the pressure.<br> When using the same equipment and XTOL, I don't have this issue.<br> Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Dunno what's causing the developer to foam but I don't see any need to soak plastic tanks and reels in super hot water for an hour or so. It might degrade the plastics. Some plastics are fine at high temperatures but I don't know what developer tanks and reels are made from. Are you using any kind of soap when cleaning the tank and reels? Soap is a wetting agent (surfactant). It's conceivable that the high heat is allowing soap to become trapped in the plastic and released during development, contributing to the foaming. Just a wild guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed b. Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 I seem to recall a recent post about PhotoFlo building up on reels, and another post stating that Kodak advises using PhotoFlo at a dilution about 100 to 1000 times more concentrated than is really necessary. If you use PhotoFlo in your tank, this could be part of the problem. Otherwise, I've never known HC-110 to foam on its own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Doesn't Xtol contain sodium ascorbate? Seems that would inhibit wetting agents/surfactants, which would explain the absence of foaming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleck Posted January 14, 2003 Author Share Posted January 14, 2003 Interesting, about XTOL...<br> Any advice on giving a good cleaning to my plastic reels and tank then, assuming it's photo-flo residue that's the problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Since Photo-Flo in distilled water is always the last thing through my tank and reels anyway, all I do after that is rinse in clean, warm tap water. Nothing special. How's the water you're using? Soft well water or water run through a water softener? That might contribute to foaming and require cutting way back on the use of Photo-Flo or other wetting agents. When the softener for our well is freshly charged I can hardly rinse the shampoo outta my hair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_hicks___ Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 Assuming the problem isn't caused by residue on the tank or reels and there's nothing weird about your water, a drop or two of Edwal LFN in the developer working solution will pretty much cure the foaming without any other ill effect. I had to use it for the same problem with AB-55. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
William D. Lester Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 Grant I've noticed the same thing. I use both HC110 as well as Xtol. It's never caused a problem so I've never looked for a solution to it. William D. Lester Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_waller Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 You sure you're not trying to develop in Budweiser? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_munn Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 I experienced foamy HC110 myself last night. Photoflo never makes it anywhere near my tank (I usually mix the Photoflo up in a container and soak the film in it after unwinding it from the reel). I also recall experiencing foamy Ilfosol-S on occasion as well, with a totally different tank. As far as washing my reels and tank goes, I simply rinse them out with luke-warm water after development. I am thinking it could possibly be excess air trapped in the developer solution, but that's just my 2c. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_munn Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 Actually, what film were you developing in the HC110, and what was your development time? When I experienced the foamy HC110, it was while I was developing some Plus-X in it as a trial, the time was 3:30, 20'C, agitation every 30 secs. From memory, the foamy Ilfosol I experienced was while developing Pan F plus for 4 minutes, so perhaps the foam could be attributed to the developer acting rapidly with the film (less than 5 mins development)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleck Posted January 15, 2003 Author Share Posted January 15, 2003 I was getting the foam with HP5+, 20C, 5-6 minutes, inversions every minute (but the foam starts right away... during the initial inversions). Definitely a short development time.<br> I'm trying to think of other films I use it with... Tri-X for sure (the old Tri-X), which I was doing 20C, 7.5 minutes, inversions every 30 seconds. Don't remember getting any foam with that film. <br> Interesting thought... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_munn Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 Yeah, it seems odd to me that a 5-6 minute time would cause foaming. I mostly develop (the old) Tri-X in HC110 without any such hassles, it was only when I went to develop (the new) Plus-X that I experienced foaming. Normally I use D76 1:1 for PX to have an acceptably long dev time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alessandro serrao Posted January 17, 2003 Share Posted January 17, 2003 It happened to me once. Thinking about it, I recall it was an old batch of Hc-110. Maybe it's just your case... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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