Get and keep the right developing temperature

tho60

tho60

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Hello Buddies,

I have a very interesting problem. Nowadays the weather is very hot, in the room the temperature is about 28 C/82 F. How could I chill my developer solution to 20 C/68 F and keep this temperature? The coldest water I could get from the tap is 26 C/79 F. I tried to apply ice cubes but in vain- I hadnt'got enough cubes:bang:.

The more methods you recommend, the more I could find one which fits me.

Thank you.
 
Here in the tropics the tap water gets hot. I keep a jug of water in the fridge and also use ice cubes. I get 68 degrees and if the temperature is not exact I refer to the massive dev temperature chart. The temperature will not fluctuate for a 10 minute development time in an airconditioned room.
 
Air conditioning ir ice cubes.

BTW, I'm developing all my film at 24C/75F, you don't have to go down to 20C/68F.
 
Most film/developer combinations will work fine at up to 75deg F with the appropriate adjustment in the developing time. I would suggest that you consider trying to hold a somewhat higher temp than 68. The closer to room temp the easier it will be.

Back in the day when I did film processing, my method was to use a large tempered water bath. I used a tray large enough to hold my tank and all of the containers holding my premeasured developer, rinse, fix, and first wash load. I kept the water as deep as practical and kept a thermometer in the water bath.
 
I have the same problem here in Southern California and I've settled on cooling the water down with a few ice cubes and then also using this developing temperature conversion chart posted on freestyle which I've found to be quite accurate. If it's a really important roll I would maybe test first but after 4 different tests using that chart I've just been following it. I'll cool down to 75 or 72 F and go from there. Hope this helps.

/ / Brett
 
I used to develop Ektachrome E-4 by using a dish basin, putting all my bottles in that, filling with water, and maintaining the proper temp in the water bath by adding hot water. The same process would work for coldifying with icy water additions as needed. I was easily able to maintain temp on the nose for the whole 56 minutes or whatever it was. There should be room for your tank, too, keeping it the same temp as everything else. If it's all steel, put a piece of electrical tape around the lid joint to keep everything going tidy; with a plastic lid you don't need that.
 
I would try more diluted developer. Not just D-76, but 1:1, for example.
And shorter developing time. Not 12 minutes, for example, but start from nine.
Try it if not already.
 
I just use a bath into which I drop the developer bottle and make sure it gets to 20C. In the summer when my flat peaks at around 35C, I cool the solution to 18-19C with icewater bath and then start developing.

In the winter when the flat hovers at around 15C during the day, I use a warm water bath to heat the solution to about 21C and develop away.
Never a problem!

Ben

p.s. In the darkroom I use a heater tray to keep the developer at 20C in the winter since I need it for hours. In the summer I use the AC which sort of keeps everything cool.
 
As Ben suggests, the best method is to use a cold water bath. Fill a large tub with ice water and set the vessels with your chemistry into it. With a little tweaking (adding more ice or warm water) you can get the water in the tub and the chemistry to both stabilize right at 20C. Monitor your chemistry and you should be able to keep it there throughout your processing.

When I work at a film lab in NYC this was how we kept our processing temps consistent for small batches; it works, even when the cold tap water is 75F.
 
Why not move to Sweden? It's rarely so cold that you can't make a fire to melt some snow for developing :)
 
If I work with warmer water and shorter time, how about the grain and contrast? In some books I have read that the warmer developer, the coarser grain.
 
Here in Andalusia I use a combination of ice cubes, chilled water in the fridge, air conditioning and a water bath at 20C into which I place the dev tank.

Plastic tanks are better at keeping temp constant but I prefer the SS variety myself.
 
I use a large igloo cooler waterbath with ice cubes to bring the temp down. The cooler dose a pretty good job of keeping the temp stable. Just make sure you bring all your chemicals down to working temperature before you start , adding a bottle of warm liquid will throw off your bath temperature. Also be aware of reticulation if your wash water is significantly warmer than your process temperature.
 
There is no real reason to bother about cooling, unless you insist on using some particular developer and concentration. I used to develop all black and white at 38°C for years, so that I did not have to do temperature changes in my Jobo between colour and black and white - all it takes is a developer (dilution) that is slow enough that it still takes more than the recommended minimum three to four minutes of development even at high temperature. Xtol 1+3 (which takes tediously much time at room temperature) is particularly suitable for high temperature processing...
 
A lot of older type B&W emulsions you can not develop above 24C without special additives because the emulsion will come off the layer. Further most B&W developers are made for room temperature +/- 4C in compensation. Kodak is not recommending Xtol above 1+1 dilution at all. R09/Rodinal will generate above 22C already much more grain. Only a few Ultra Fine Grain developers are really suitble for 24C or more processing: CG-512/RLS, Microdol-X, Perceptol.

So this will work when using Tmax 100/400/Tri-X or Delta 3200/100/400/FP4+/HP5+/PanF+ only with a very limited amount of developers.
 
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