evan_parker Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 I'm in Columbus Ohio, and I'm an avid darkroom-ist. The only problem is, my parents refuse to air condition the house, and the house gets inordinately hot during the day (85+ deg F). Sometimes, later in the day, I can cool down my D-76 developer solution by mixing it with an equal part of cool water, but sometimes the water just isn't cool enough to compensate. My question: would it be wise to keep a gallon of water in the 'fridge and use it to mix up my developer solutions? Would there be any kind of adverse reactions in the developer by being mixed with, initially, very cool water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge_oliveira2 Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Get a Ziplock bag or equivalent, place some icecubes inside and use it to cool down the developer without adding water to it. Usually, chemicals will not dillute easily in cold water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim obrien Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 Use Rodinal or HC-110. The limited amount of developer will allow you to custom mix your water temp first, either by using refrigerated water or ice cubes, and the small amount of warm developer will not affect the much larger thermal mass of the water. tim in hot hot hot san jose (where I have the same issues and only use D-76 in the spring and fall) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evan_parker Posted July 17, 2003 Author Share Posted July 17, 2003 I've got Rodinal and HC-110 on hand, but.... I don't WANNA use Rodinal and get lots of grain (35mm) or HC-110 and get compressed highlights!!! **whine** I want to use my lovely D-76 (or Microdol). Any other suggestions? I'm going to try the ziploc bag trick soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_goldfarb Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 PMK--mixes 1:2:100, so you can use it at any temperature you can get your water to, and with traditional films it can produce beautiful highlights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_hardin Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 I bought six little freezer blocks that are reusable, and I put them in a tub of water two at a time to cool it down. Then I put all my liquids in glass jars that I have labeled for this process�developer, stop, fix. I put the jars with the developer, stop bath, and the fix in the water bath, and pour up about a gallon of water at about the same temperature for the final rinse in a separate container. By the time I roll up my film, the liquids are at or below 68 degrees. If they go below 68, I just put them on the counter and watch the thermometer until it hits 68 (or whatever temp I'm looking for), and then go at it. Keep the contaminants like plastic bags out of your soup. Good luck... Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_l_bagtas Posted July 17, 2003 Share Posted July 17, 2003 There is an interesting thread about film processing in temperatures as high as 30C (I don't know the degrees F equivalent) in the following: http://www.offstone.com/photo/showthread.php?s=693146b36241b566ab3c8a90cc34a612&threadid=519&perpage=18&pagenumber=18 Lots of good information based on various contributors' real-world experience for films like HP5+, new/old Tri-X & developers like HC110 and Rodinal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellis_jordan Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 First question Evan. Do you have a thermometer and refrigerator? If so, you it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Have you checked the temperature of the water coming out of your faucet? It's probably a lot cooler than 85 degrees. One other trick we use here in sultry Florida is to mix the developer, let it sit until it's at room temperature, and then add tiny pieces of ice from the fridge to bring it down to working temperature. If the ice is cold enought, there won't be enough of it required to excessively dilute the developer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vijay_kumar3 Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 I just processed a roll using D-76 1:1. The water out of the faucet was 85 F. I added almost frozen water from a water bottle (which I froze the previous night)--got the mix temp to 75 deg, and was able to use it. I also rested the tank in a cold water tray, when I was not agitating.Worked fine for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Even with a/c we're lucky to keep the house at 80F during these summer days. Even in the middle of the night with the a/c going full blast the coolest it gets indoors is 74F. Lately I've been using a lot of Diafine since it's usable at temps from 70-85F without altering times. Works great with FP4+ too, if you're not into kinda grainy Tri-X. Otherwise I wait 'til the wee hours when the house is cooled down before using other developers. Last summer I did the ice and cool water trick to keep my chemistry around 70F. Too much hassle, results weren't any better than at room temperature of 74F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige_buddy Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 in summer I do the water in the fridge trick but I use it to make up some 20C water in a bucket which I then use to mix devloper and perform rinses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_jones5 Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 With ten answers already on the board I hesitate to jump in but since my method is a little different I thought I would try to give you my over the top approach. There are 2 issues for me: bringing my D76 1:1 to 68 for processing and just as important, maintaining that temp throughout the dev time. My goal is to maintain 68 +/- 1/2 degree throught the dev stage. Some will argue that is ridiculous and that temp swings of 1 or 2 degrees make no difference and I would have no strong argument except consistency is good. Four things help me with this consistency: a 32oz stainless steel dev tank, a plastic dish pan 11X13X6, a 1 gal pitcher and a thermometer that allows me to easily monitor the temp.Fill the pitcher with COLD water-fill the dishpan with 68 degree water(start with tap and use ice cubes to lower the temp or use fridge water to lower it)-fill the dev tank with the appropriate volume of D76 1:1. Submerge the tank about half way into the pitcher and stir with thermometer until temp reaches 68 (the colder the water the faster temp will reach 68). Place tank in dish pan and begin monitoring that water temp. Evan, I actually use a short presoak just to bring the reel and film close to 68. Lights off, drop film and reel(s) into tank, top on, lights on, agitate then tank back into dish pan. As the water bath temp rises I add cold water. Maybe this is overkill but I firmly believe if you fail to control your dev temp you will never truly produce consistent negatives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_svensson Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Sprint makes a liquid developer that, diluted 1:9, is supposedly the equivalent of D76 1:1. I plan to use it in my hot apartment by using tap water of the right temperature to dilute it right before use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conrad_hoffman Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 For times when the temperature is just a little high, I have an old aluminum pot. I fill it with cold water, ice if necessary, and set the bottles or beakers in that to adjust the temperature. For times when the temperature is way high, I use a big gray dish tub like you see in resturants. I fill that with water adjusted to about 68F and just do the whole process with the beakers and tank sitting in about 4" of water. The tub is large enough that the temperature remains within half a degree or so for long enough to develop and fix. For washing I have an old temp control valve, and it's rare that the cold water supply gets over 70F here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemastre Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Here's what's worked for me for the last 35 years. Keep a half gallon of water in the fridge, at about 50 degrees. When you prepare to develop flim, put your fix and fix-remover in the freezer compartment as you remove the 50-degree container from the fridge. Dilute some of your 50-degree water to give you a half gallon of 70-degree water. If you use D76 at 1:1, dilute the D76 stock with enough of your 50-degree water to bring the D76 to 70 degrees. Complete the dilution with the 70-degree water. Develop your film. Don't worry about the temperature during the minutes required for development. Now get your fix and etc. out of the freezer. They should be down to 70 degrees or within a couple degrees. Use them. Replenish your 50-degree water container. Wash your film by dropping it in a tank of 70-plus-degree water and slowly running in tap water. The film is not harmed by washing in 85-degree water if the temperature is brought up gradually. Do not squeegee the wet film, though, as the emulsion may be a bit soft from the warmish water. Just dip it in some very dilute detergent and hang it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m._huber Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Keep small water baloons in the freezer. Dip in solution until the right temperature. Better than ice cubes. Also good for cooling down newly mixed chemicals quickly. Return to freezer until needed again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank.schifano Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 Do you have access to a basement room? Something like a laundry room would likely be a quite a bit cooler than the rest of the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_curry Posted July 18, 2003 Share Posted July 18, 2003 I checked our tap water last week, it was 94 f in the afternoon. I have to keep a couple of 1/2 gallon milk jugs in the fridge for mixing (distilled and tap water). Simple to mix for whatever temperature you need. Washing afterward needs plenty for a good clean print or negative. tim, tucson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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