Kodak Photo Flo life

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PetPhoto

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I read few years back that photo flo was prone to getting water mold and other nasties when stored. Sure the directions say to mix 1ml of photoflo into 1 liter of water.. but the life is short..

I read upon a photrio thread that one should make it with 200ml of 90-91% iso propyl alcohol and 1ml of photo flo, fill up to 1 liter with water.

I did that and i have had it last without water mold or other nasties for almost 3 years now in the bathroom. Sure I had to put an extra 1ml of photo flo in after about 18 months because it didnt have the same feel on the negatives, the alcohol smell is starting to fade by half id say.
 
What is the difference between Kodak Photo Flo and Fujifilm Driwel?
I’ve had two bottles of Driwel open for about a decade without signs of mould.
 
Nitroplait said:
What is the difference between Kodak Photo Flo and Fujifilm Driwel?
I’ve had two bottles of Driwel open for about a decade without signs of mould.
Click to expand...
My current bottle of Photo Flo concentrate is at least 10 years old and still mold free. I've never used the Fuji equivalent, but I suspect that they are similar in their chemical components.
 
If I mix it and use it right away I never have problems. However, if I mix up a batch of 'working' solution and let it sit for longer than about two weeks, I'll get a film or residue on the negs. Almost as if I mixed up a batch that was way too strong..

..Avery
 
I always added a few drops (non-specific "small amount") to a tankful of water, shook it a little bit and then dumped it. Never a problem.



......................
 
Nitroplait said:
What is the difference between Kodak Photo Flo and Fujifilm Driwel?
Click to expand...

Very little. They use slightly different glycols (a carrier) and phenoxyethanol derivatives (surfactants). The surfactant in Photo Flo is also used in vaccines and a lot of biomedical applications.

Nitroplait said:
I’ve had two bottles of Driwel open for about a decade without signs of mould.
Click to expand...

It is not the open concentrate that goes off, it is the working solution. I always found Photo-Flo worked best at half the recommended strength. I mixed it in distilled filtered water and use it for a day, then toss it.

Very few organisms will grow in 18% isopropanol. An alcohol can help aid rapid drying, but isn't necessary. It can also help stop things grow in your Photo Flo, but I wonder what has accumulated in it over 2 years?
 
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By the time i get to the photo flo, on the days i do use it.. everything has been rinsed out of the tanks and reels and films with alot of water.. so not much other then chemical. I did add more photoflo to it that time because it wasnt behaving on the film the way i was used to.

200ml iso really does seem to help. But man, it smells
 
In my community darkroom there is a fun anecdote, someone messaged saying that they could not find Photoflo. We have a neat eyedropper small bottle of it.
Welp, there is a gallon Photoflo 600 which is of industrial proportions. It was found and used again. Then there was a small 250ml or so bottle of Photoflo 200. The concentrates are who knows how old and keep well so far.

In actual working use, we just have a reused plastic food container. Couple of drops and fill with tap water. Then after washing, just see saw the film in that and hang to dry.
This working solution appears to work well for a couple weeks or so. Sometimes it generates gelatin like strands, in other instances I saw glitter like formations contained in it.

The actual routine should be aimed to be more precise, as 35mm does occasionally get drying marks.
 
photo flo isnt about rinsing chemicals out of the film. Its about MOISTURE control.

certain types of negatives, with lots of heavy dark sections on the ends of a strip of film in MY experience like to curl. The photo flo step prevents alot of the curling.
 
I use it one shot. When I run film I take the volume of water I need and add a few of drops of 200 photoflo to it and then discard after one use. This way I never worry about dirt or anything contaminating it.

I’ve found the dilution recommended to be way too strong. All you need is enough, a few drops in 16 ounces of water, to break surface tension. Too much will cause streaking and ruin your negs. I find it safer too to use a squeegee after using photoflo.
 
PetPhoto said:
Sure the directions say to mix 1ml of photoflo into 1 liter of water
Click to expand...
The recommended dilution is NOT 1:1000. It is 1:600 or 1:200, depending on the version of PhotoFlo. Read the instructions on the label. Engineers spent time to determine the optimum dilution. Too little and it does not act properly as a surfactant; too much and some "stuff" remains when the film dries.

What I did is calibrate an eyedropper: how many drops for 1cc? Now I know that with my "600" Photo-Flo I need 6 drops for a 35mm film and 10 for a 120 film. YMMV. Never let the drops fall on the spiral with film. Mix with water, then lower the spiral into the diluted and mixed photo-flo. My concentrate is 40yrs old and still OK.
 
BernardL said:
The recommended dilution is NOT 1:1000. It is 1:600 or 1:200, depending on the version of PhotoFlo. Read the instructions on the label. Engineers spent time to determine the optimum dilution. Too little and it does not act properly as a surfactant; too much and some "stuff" remains when the film dries.

What I did is calibrate an eyedropper: how many drops for 1cc? Now I know that with my "600" Photo-Flo I need 6 drops for a 35mm film and 10 for a 120 film. YMMV. Never let the drops fall on the spiral with film. Mix with water, then lower the spiral into the diluted and mixed photo-flo. My concentrate is 40yrs old and still OK.
Click to expand...
I myself have used the 200 ml of rubbing alcohol, 1 ml of photo flo and water to 1 liter. It actually works. I tried using the 1:200 myself first, and had lots and lots of slimy stuff on the film. changing the reciper helped tremendously.

And although the stuff is not the most hazordous... the fact it can be reused is quite nice.
 
PetPhoto said:
I read few years back that photo flo was prone to getting water mold and other nasties when stored. Sure the directions say to mix 1ml of photoflo into 1 liter of water.. but the life is short..

I read upon a photrio thread that one should make it with 200ml of 90-91% iso propyl alcohol and 1ml of photo flo, fill up to 1 liter with water.

I did that and i have had it last without water mold or other nasties for almost 3 years now in the bathroom. Sure I had to put an extra 1ml of photo flo in after about 18 months because it didnt have the same feel on the negatives, the alcohol smell is starting to fade by half id say.
Click to expand...
Don't mess with Photo-flo: it's cheap enough to last a very long time.
Don't trust what's on Photrio either.
Follow religiously Kodak instruction. Every wetting agent has a limited shelf life, infact they all have some kind of biocide in them.
if your bottle has something strange in it, toss it and buy a new bottle.
 
SilverInversion said:
Don't mess with Photo-flo: it's cheap enough to last a very long time.
Don't trust what's on Photrio either.
Follow religiously Kodak instruction. Every wetting agent has a limited shelf life, infact they all have some kind of biocide in them.
if your bottle has something strange in it, toss it and buy a new bottle.
Click to expand...

Photo Flo 200 made since the 1990s contains only Octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol as a detergent, and propylene glycol as an emulsifier. Nothing grows in it because of its very high osmotic pressure.

I found I got drying marks when I used it as recommended by Kodak. At half strength, 1:400 (the ‘200’ is the recommended ratio for use - there is also Photo Flo 600 and Photo Flo 2100) worked for me. I always used ultrapure water as my final rinse.

When it was available, I preferred Edwal LFN, but I can’t buy it here anymore.
 
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