is it safe to cool up your developer in the fridge?

[Lucian010]

hi guys am googling this question but to no avail, so i implore your expert advise.

is it safe to put my diluted developer in the fridge (with food stuff) to cool it up for processing film?

thanks in advance!

 

[FrankS]

Sure, just label it clearly. You can warm up chemicals in the microwave too.

Be extra cautious if you have children. If they are old enough to take things out of the fridge by themselves, they should be old enough to have the developer explained.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Sure. Not for long, though, or it may crystallize out. Don't let it get much below about 60F, 15C.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Lucian010]

thanks frankS, Roger... now i have a peace of mind... i only leave it there to cool for 2hours at the longest, but yesterday i left it there and just remembered that i have it in the fridge more than overnight... so it worried me! really appreciate your response! 😉

 

[Rogier]

I keep a jug of distilled water in the storage and one in the fridge.
If the stored water is to warm I mix it with some cold water from the fridge 🙂

 

[filmfan]

I once put a bottle of fixer in the fridge, using a tonic bottle to store it. Despite warning my girlfriend, she still poured me a vodka&tonic using the fixer. I took a big sip.

The takeaway here would be this-- don't rely on spoken warnings. LABEL it clearly.

 

[dogbunny]

I do it almost every time I develop. I put the chemicals in the fridge for about 10 minutes, that gets everything down near 20C. Labeling is important for the reasons stated above, also if you are putting open containers in you need to be careful. Developer dripping onto your leftover meatloaf might not be advisable. I just clear out the bottom shelf in the door and put it all there.

It works out fine, especially if you are working with limited space.

db

 

[Bob Michaels]

I find it quite simple to compute the necessary temperature of the dilution water so that the final mix ends up at the desired temp. Then I just use ice cubes to cool down the dilution water.

If I want to have a final mix at 20C and the developer is 22C (room temp) for 1:1 final mix, I just cool down the water to 18C using ice cubes. Mix 22C developer and 18C water 1:1 and the result will always be 20C.

Actually 99% of the time I use HC-110 at a 1:64 dilution. I just throw some ice cubes in there and stir with the thermometer in the container. When it hits 20C, I just scoop out the remainder of the ice cubes and develop.

 

[Roger Hicks]

thanks frankS, Roger... now i have a peace of mind... i only leave it there to cool for 2hours at the longest, but yesterday i left it there and just remembered that i have it in the fridge more than overnight... so it worried me! really appreciate your response! 😉

You're welcome. If it hasn't crystallized, you're almost certainly OK: only 'almost' because I don't know enough to say 'for sure'. I cannot however think of any problems. If it has crystallized, getting it to redissolve can be... interesting, and it's probably not worth bothering.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Bill Clark]

I do.

Still alive!

I do have a porch that works quite well much of the year.

 

[shadowfox]

Never done it, not planning to.

A tiny refrigerator that plugs into the electricity outlet is inexpensive, and practically maintenance free.