Mixing Kodak Fixer from Powder | Developing Solutions
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2023
- Kdoak's powder fix is powerful stuff, but easy to mix. This video teaches the basic skill of how to mix Kodak's fixer into a gallon of working fixer. This requires a gallon of distilled water at room temperature. Here are some tips:
1- Use the gallon jug that your distilled water came in for your fix solution. These are easy to pour from and after the fix is dead and neutralized you can pitch the just and not be out anything. This also prevents you from accidentally mixing small amounts of old or incompatible chemistry with new by eliminating reusable jugs.
2- Do not neutralize, filter, and re-use old fixer liquid as your base for new fix. I tried this once and it was a serious problem. I have read online that people indicate that is safe to do. My experience with that was different.
3- Date the chemistry when you mix it. That way you know how old it's getting.
4- Put a hatch mark on the chemistry each time you use it. That way you know how weak it's getting.
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Good job reinforcing the cross-contamination risk. That's a big problem for beginners. (Of course, I was never young and broke, so it's never happened to me.)
Thank you! And, yeah, so I try to share lessons I've definitely never learned the hard way. :D
Thanks David! You make a great point that it's counterproductive to try to cheat chemistry. It's a false economy at best. By processing our own film at home, we're already saving a lot over the cost of lab processing. We're also gaining the personal satisfaction of taking control of our results. Why ruin all these benefits by doing things that the chemists who designed these chemicals said not to do?
Thank you, David, and good points. :D
MANY, MANY times, I hear people say, "Do not use a container/funnel that has been used for 'fixer', for 'developer' as well. I thoroughly understand the reasons why! That said, should a person throw out a Paterson tank each time they use it for a developing cycle? Both developer and fixer are used in the same tank. And, after the tank is washed out and dried (From 'fixer'), it is used again with 'developer'. I use the same funnel, mixing spoons, graduated cylinders, etc for BOTH 'fixer' and 'developer'. I made the decision to do so, because I am using the SAME container (My Paterson developing tanks.), for 'developing' and 'fixing'. I have never had a problem. Just wash everything, just like you would do with your developing tank, after each use.
Thank you for all of your videos, BTW!
Thank you and good question. On Patterson tanks, they area different type of plastic than are funnels and plastic beakers. Does that mean they don't absorb chemicals? No -- I don't know if the absorption rate is similar, greater, or lower. It seems a safe assumption it's lower, but I have no data to indicate either way. One item to note in that vein, I've never known a school lab to use plastic tanks -- only beakers with clear developer or fixer marking. I also don't know of any labs processing in great volume that also use plastic (though I 'm not an encyclopedia of lab practices for labs around the world, in fairness.) I suspect that for most home users, it's fine to use Patterson tanks and, likely, re-use plastic components between chemicals as long as the plastic component is washed and dried first. I have a 2,000 ml plastic beaker and, yes, I use it for both fix and developer (mostly fix, in fairness) but I don't use it for developer after I use it for fix when I develop many batches on the same night unless I wash it with soap and water first. I think that the greatest risk is, honestly, developing in batches and having a bit of fixer in the bottom of a beaker and then pouring developer into it and neutralizing the developer.
@@DavidHancock I think of it another way: If a surgeon operates on one person, then washes their arms and hands before operating on a second person, then that correlation is good enough for me. Cleanliness is key, but the constant banging-on-the-drum of, "You can't use the same container for developer and fixer.", is not. Common sense is.
(BTW, I develop 99% of my B&W film with Caffenol CH. I also do the same with Ilford XP2 Super 400 and get excellent results. There again, people will tell you that, "You can't/shouldn't do that." with XP2. It must be developed with C41 chemistry. Not true!). Keep up the wonderful work that you do!
Hello David, great video! if i dont want to mix the full bag, what should i divide the amounts for? Is dividing by any number valid?
Thank you and you have to mix the whole bag. The compound may not be dispersed evenly within out so if you only mix part you may well end up with a developer that does not work at all, at worst, or properly, at best. If you want to use only small amounts of fixer, check out the liquid concentrate options.
Hi, David
Mind if I ask a question about chemicals for c41?
I understand the developer has a limited number of uses and loses potency after each use, as well as a shelf life.
Does the same hold true for the "blix"? And is it the same number of uses or more (compared to the developer).
The reason I'm asking is I'm going to be mixing a C41 liquid quart kit (from CineStill) and my plan was to only mix half of the developer chemicals, (with the intent of keeping the other half of unmixed developer in reserve, since I don't develop a lot of film and the entire quart would likely expire before I get to use them).
Does the "blix" have a limited shelf life after mixing as well? And does it lose potency after each roll?
Thank you!!
Good questions. So I'm just getting into C-41 development and have used three different kits so far -- Rollei, CineStill, and Artista. I understand that the chemistry is good for 8 rolls, then can be stretched to 16 with extended development times. I suspect that it can go longer. My best guess on blix is that it's much more long-lasting than the developer (only because that's the case with black and white film, and quite frankly having the fix go dead before the developer would make customers very unhappy.)
My best advice for mixing chemicals is never mix part way because there's no guarantee that you'll have proper base chemical ratios. You could end up with completely ruined results (or it could be just fine.) So what I do is build up 16 rolls of C-41 and then develop it all at once. I don't store the stock solution and treat it like a one-shot. In terms of getting the best results and optimizing your film dollars, that's probably the best approach. Once mixed to stock, the C-41 chemicals have a short shelf life. They also, once the bottles are open, apparently oxidize and die somewhat faster than black and white chemistry, IIRC.
@@DavidHancock Great advice to keep in mind. Thank you!
I was interested in the mention of chlorine in the water that fix is made up with. I decided to check out whether my tap water had chlorine in it, Its very 'soft' water as there's no calcium carbonate in it.
Yeah, there's chlorine. However the 'Scottish Water' website stated if you are sensitive to chlorine, some people are apparently, just leave it in a jug for several hours in your fridge and the chlorine will dissipate. I'm presuming the chlorine simply holds back your fixer from working as effectively - I dropped chemistry as quickly as I possibly could at school because chemical equations were all gobbledygook to me; although I did 'A' Level Geology, if that helps 😁
That's a good point on the chlorine; it will off-gas given a bit of time (I have a couple of gallon jugs that I use to water the pepper and herbs plants on my balcony, for instance, and I let those sit 1-2 days before use to get the chlorine to fully off-gas.) Most filters like Brita and Pur remove heavy metals and chlorine, but not the minerals that make water 'hard.'