"Hard Water"+ Developing QC

[mike goldberg]

In my tests with HC-110 diluted at 1:50, I found that 17 minutes was an appropriate time at 20-22c with Tmax 400. In other Troubleshooting Threads herein, I learned of my insufficient agitation from comments.

Yet I wonder... I know some guys develop HP5+ at 1:100 dilution for 18 minutes, continuous agitation for one minute and then 10 seconds of agitation per every 2 or 3 minutes. I recognize that I was pretty far off with my 2 inversions of the tank per minute 😱 In the old days, it was D-76 1:1 with Tri-X, and that was it. So, how far off was I?

In Jerusalem, we have hard water. With a triple filter under the sink, there's still scale in the kettle in a few days. The pipes in this 30+ year old building are horribly rusty on the inside. After 2 weeks, the Brita filter [which keeps the kettle clean]... stinks! I change it every 3 weeks.

So, let's hear it on water...

Water, water everywhere, and all the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.
~ Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner

 

[Keith]

In my tests with HC-110 diluted at 1:50, I found that 17 minutes was an appropriate time at 20-22c with Tmax 400. In other Troubleshooting Threads herein, I learned of my insufficient agitation from comments.

Yet I wonder... I know some guys develop HP5+ at 1:100 dilution for 18 minutes, continuous agitation for one minute and then 10 seconds of agitation per every 2 or 3 minutes. I recognize that I was pretty far off with my 2 inversions of the tank per minute 😱 In the old days, it was D-76 1:1 with Tri-X, and that was it. So, how far off was I?

In Jerusalem, we have hard water. With a triple filter under the sink, there's still scale in the kettle in a few days. The pipes in this 30+ year old building are horribly rusty on the inside. After 2 weeks, the Brita filter [which keeps the kettle clean]... stinks! I change it every 3 weeks.

So, let's hear it on water...

Water, water everywhere, and all the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.
~ Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner

'nor any drop to drink' please ... S.T. Coleridge just turned in his grave! 😛

I thought I had water problems ... sounds like yours are a whole new ball game. Mine was only full of vegetation and was coming out of the tap the colour of coffee ... it's now the colour of tea. 🙂 The more water I use and the more it rains having cleaned the tank the better it seems to get and my final rinse is always filtered water anyway. I have taken lately to using a chamois on the washed negatives which some people dissagree with I know but it works for me. Even with an additive in the final wash I was getting drying spots.

A ph reading may be in order! 🙂

 

[mike goldberg]

Keith, I'm delighted that you remembered Coleridge more precisely than I did 🙄 "Rhyme" was a favorite of mine in high school.

As for now, neg are in the wash and they look good.
More later, Mike

 

[Keith]

Keith, I'm delighted that you remembered Coleridge more precisely than I did 🙄 "Rhyme" was a favorite of mine in high school.

As for now, neg are in the wash and they look good.
More later, Mike

'The Raven' ... now there's a poem! If Edgar Allan Poe had been a photographer and Ansel Adams had been a poet ... the world would be a different place! 😛

 

[pvdhaar]

Where I live, the water from the tap is very soft (between 5.8 and 6.5 dH). But even so, we get scales in the water boiler. So that still means we have to use demineralised water for things like steam-irons, car batteries and the like. You could have a look at how demineralised water could solve any problems with the photo chemicals. To the very least, it's easily available in supermarkets, and a heck of a lot cheaper than Perrier!

 

[mike goldberg]

Hi...
I must be doing something right, because yesterday's HP5+ test shoot is the best looking of all week. Water for a brief pre-soak, developer, stop water and fixer are, ALL Brita filtered water. The Brita is carefully watched for odor and changing ahead of schedule.

The water filter people say that one needs reverse osmosis to filter scale, called "avnit" in Hebrew. The root word is "evehn," or stone. So the filter under the sink, a 3-filter combo, must do something... even if it's not so great on scale. I watched when the technician changed it a few months ago, and the used up filters [after 1 year] look pretty awful. Reverse osmosis is NOT recommended; it also filters out beneficial elements in the water.

As for distilled water; it is available here, and it's not so cheap. Yes, it might be worth a try.

 

[Trius]

Mike: I'm glad the HP5 turned out well. In another thread around here I was criticized for having said that water can make a difference; thanks for defending my honour! 😀

If distilled water is too expensive, then it might make things difficult for you to get consistent results ... at the very least you will need to carefully monitor the condition of your filters, as you are doing.

I am fortunate enough to live in an area of higher humidity, so I run a dehumidifier (even in winter when I need it) to produce what is essentially distilled water, all for the cost of the electricity.