development time question

[Little Prince]

I'm going to try a roll of hp5+ in fx-39 today. I'm not sure about dev time. Massive dev chart says 9 min for 1+9 at 20C. Another link from the same page (to M. Scarpitti's recommendations) says 7 min for 1+14 at 20C. Now what am I supposed to do? (this is all 35mm format)

 

[Little Prince]

Uh, doubt hits me suddenly. Why does this bottle of fx-39 say 'dilution 1+9' on it? Does that mean it's already diluted? Can't be. I'm pretty sure it is a concentrate and I need to dilute it to whatever I need. Can someone confim this?

I already messed up a roll once before because a dev storage tank at the darkroom said '1+1 dilution' or something and I thought it was already 1+1. Ended up using a concentrated solution at 1:1 time.

 

[Fred]

Err sorry if this sounds stupid, it's the way I understand it. 😉

I believe that the 1+9 means that you have to dilute the stuff one part of concentrate per nine parts water (or ten percent of the total working solution). If it says 1+1 it means one part of solution per one part water, in effect half streangth.

I checked the Ilford data sheet on the HP5+ and found no reference to fx-39 for the time. 😕

Try http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html to see other types of film and dev. 😀

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

 

[Allen Gilman]

Ditto Fred. Rodinal is also a concentrate and so, for example, 1+49 would mean 1 part concentrate to 39 parts water.

The Massive Development Chart times work for me but I'd run a test roll to make sure - many variables involved.

 

[Fred]

Sorry Allen, do you mean 1 +49 means 1 part of concentrate per 49 parts of water. Maybe a typo but I got confused (easily done I'm afraid) 🙂

 

[Fred]

OK I'll clear this one up, I just looked at an old data shet from a bottle of Rodinal I recently finished.

The dilution is either 1 +25 or 1 +50. So it's either 1/26th of the total working solution or 1/51th of the total working solution.

Rodinal works fine with HP5+ but give 'classic' lumpy' grain but high sharpness.

 

[Little Prince]

Fred and Allen, your advice is well taken. Of course I know 1+9 means 1 part dev for 9 parts water. 🙂

I was wondering if the bottle of developer I bought is already diluted or is it a concentrate that needs to be diluted. I always thought it was the latter, but then I was surprised the bottle said '1+9 dilution'. Why would it say that? If, as I suspect, it needs dilution, then why write '1+9 dilution' (as though it were already in 1+9 dilution) and confuse people.

I hope I am making myself more clear now. 🙂

 

[Fred]

Anand,

I agree completely :angel: When you read it on the bottle you don't know if it means that the bottle contains that dilution or if it has to be diluted that much for a particular film. I guess it's a case of trying one of them and seeing if you were correct. Far from the ideal. 😕

Maybe there could be something along the lines of "the contents should be diluted to this factor....etc". That would be better 😎

I dunno, we live and learn I spose. And take photo's 😀

 

[RichardS]

You are making yourself clear and it means that it should be diluted, one part stock solution with nine parts water. I'm not certain why it is written the way it is. Did you check the entire label? I think it would say somewhere that it should be diluted.

Also doesn't it give the time and temperature for developing the film you have? The film should also give a time and temperature. The two may or may not agree.

Dick

 

[Allen Gilman]

Fred - sorry. I meant 1 part concentrate to 49 parts water. This is a little late but I hope you worked it out.

 

[titrisol]

Even though I have never used FX-39 myself, but looking in the paterson webiste:
- Bottle is concentrate/stock. Dilute 1+9 (30 ml of concentrate for 300ml of working solution) or 1+14
- To calculae times by oincreasing dikution:

As the development times of many traditional films are short compared to these emulsions, FX-39 can be diluted to 1+14 or even higher for convenience, accuracy and great economy without any loss of quality. Calculating the new time could not be easier - just multiply the 1+9 time by 1.5x.

- 7 minutes seems to be in the soft side to me. You'll have to give it a shot, either at 7, 9 or make an average of 8 😉

Good luck!

Fred and Allen, your advice is well taken. Of course I know 1+9 means 1 part dev for 9 parts water. 🙂

I was wondering if the bottle of developer I bought is already diluted or is it a concentrate that needs to be diluted. I always thought it was the latter, but then I was surprised the bottle said '1+9 dilution'. Why would it say that? If, as I suspect, it needs dilution, then why write '1+9 dilution' (as though it were already in 1+9 dilution) and confuse people.

I hope I am making myself more clear now. 🙂

 

[Little Prince]

Yeah, I decided to go with 9 min at 1+9. Everything turned out just beautiful. I developed a blank roll!!

I need to get organized. Anyway I've got 3 more rolls (120) lying around waiting to be developed. One each of TriX, Delta 100 and Neopan 400. Sometime later this week.

 

[titrisol]

Blank roll? didi you see the edge marking?

with 120 is easy,just make sure that when you put it in the spiral the side without masking tape comes first!

with 35, I break the leader off the used rolls.

 

[Little Prince]

By blank roll, I don't mean never been in the camera. I faintly remember there had been a roll sometime that I had loaded and maybe exposed a frame or so, and there was some problem with the loading and the film was slipping. So I think I rewound and removed the roll (with the leader going inside). I suppose I never made a note of this and mistook it for another roll I was intending to develop. This is what happens when you procrastinate and let rolls lie around forever.