Topic: Stopping your developer failing with butane!!

[Nigel]

I've not seen this before. Has anyone tried it?
https://youtu.be/rTvf-dQohFo?si=fxekzh-uWaCyrsLb

[Kai-san]

I've read about this on other forums, but I've never tried it. It probably works, but I'm not so sure I want to use a gas that is extremely flammable and dangerous to inhale.

[Phil Snaps]

Yes it works. There are specific photographic products, like Tetenal's Protectan. But it is very hard to find these days and is expensive.

A cheaper alternative is simply compressed air, as long as you make sure it is inert gaz and not tetrafluoropropene. This one: https://www.t-nb.com/en/product-catalog/home/cleaning/aerosols/dust-suppressant-aerosol-butane-400ml contains butane, propane, and isobutane, just like Protectan, and costs way less.

An even cheaper alternative is simply using PET bottles from sparkly drinks and squeeze them so they are filled to the brim when you close the cap. I was able to keep a Tetenal C-41 kit for 9+ months. A guy on Reddit used test strips and found he could keep his Fuji Hunt chemicals that way for over a year without noticeable deviations.

[Bryan]

You can buy bottles of argon gas meant for preserving wine, it does the same thing.  Plus, it won't catch fire, it's inert.  Argon is heavier than air so it will settle over the developer displacing the oxygen.  They also have Nitrogen for wine preservation but it's much lighter and won't settle over the liquid as well as argon. 

[Francois]

I've been using cheap canned air and glass bottles with a silicon stopper. I've had a bottle of diluted PQ Universal for over a year and it's still yellow.

[irv_b]

Yes it works. There are specific photographic products, like Tetenal's Protectan. But it is very hard to find these days and is expensive

This is what I use and yes it is a bit costly but you literally do a 2 sec squirt and that is enough, so the can last quite long. I think I have had the can for about 4-5 years now.

[Nigel]

Yes it works. There are specific photographic products, like Tetenal's Protectan. But it is very hard to find these days and is expensive

This is what I use and yes it is a bit costly but you literally do a 2 sec squirt and that is enough, so the can last quite long. I think I have had the can for about 4-5 years now.

Sold! I'm going to get some.

[Francois]

Sold! I'm going to get some.

And if you store in glass bottles, it's even better as oxygen can't seep through the walls.
The bottles I use came from Ikea and have a flip-lid like spruce beer bottles and a silicone seal.
I just made some big paper labels that I stuck to the sides with packing tape.

[Pete_R]

I decant my dev into 100ml brown glass bottles, filling them to the brim so no air is in the bottle. Seems to keep forever that way. And a 100ml bottle gets used quickly enough not to worry about it once I start using it.

[Nigel]

I decant my dev into 100ml brown glass bottles, filling them to the brim so no air is in the bottle. Seems to keep forever that way. And a 100ml bottle gets used quickly enough not to worry about it once I start using it.

What developer are you using Peter?

[Pete_R]

What developer are you using Peter?

Ilfosol 3

[Nigel]

What developer are you using Peter?

Ilfosol 3

The cost of Tri-x has forced me to look at different films, with that comes the choice of developer. I’ve realised I’m very unadventurous when it comes to developers in particular. I have to have been using HC-110 for about 20 years!

I tried Fomapan 400 with it but it’s just a little too grainy for my taste.

[Francois]

I tried Fomapan 400 with it but it’s just a little too grainy for my taste.

What I find with Fomapan 400 is that it doesn't work at full speed with HC-110 (dil.B).
When I use this mix, I rate the Foma at EI 250.

But when I use Rodinal with it, I rate it at full speed without any problem.

[Kai-san]

I don't know if you're looking for a film with finer grain than Tri-X, but I suppose the film with finest grain in ISO 400 would be the T-Max. When I compare Tri-X processed in Rodinal and Fomapan 400 processed in Adox XT-3 I would say that Fomapan has finer grain, at least more even. Here is a shot with Fomapan 400 in Adox XT-3 and a detail screenshot from Lightroom at 1:1.

[Nigel]

I don't know if you're looking for a film with finer grain than Tri-X, but I suppose the film with finest grain in ISO 400 would be the T-Max. When I compare Tri-X processed in Rodinal and Fomapan 400 processed in Adox XT-3 I would say that Fomapan has finer grain, at least more even. Here is a shot with Fomapan 400 in Adox XT-3 and a detail screenshot from Lightroom at 1:1.

Hi Kai

Thanks for posting those. I understand XT-3 is effectively XTOL and I have to admit they look great.

My original reason for looking at alternative films was simply the price of Tri-X. I can't justify spending £130 plus on a brick of 10 rolls. Having spent some time looking at other films, I realised that I've been stuck in a rut shooting with one film and one developer (HC-110) for so long.

Changing developer is in some ways more difficult. I don't shoot a lot and if I start working on a project where I'm shooting digital it can be a few weeks between rolls – although I am trying to keep shooting film. HC-110 lasting forever works really well for me. I've just ordered a few rolls of HP5, so I'll see what that looks like.

[Kai-san]

Adox XT-3 is an improved version of XTOL, and unlike XTOL you can buy it in 1 litre packs. The last batch of XTOL I mixed lasted only 2 weeks before it was useless, and I had to throw out 4.5 litres of the stuff. XT-3 is said to last at least 6 months after mixing, but I usually go through a 5 litre pack in three to four months. And if you decide on HC-110, Adox sells the original mixture made by the factory in the US that used to make it for Kodak in the old days. I hear that HC-110 users are unhappy with the new version from Kodak.

[Nigel]

Adox XT-3 is an improved version of XTOL, and unlike XTOL you can buy it in 1 litre packs. The last batch of XTOL I mixed lasted only 2 weeks before it was useless, and I had to throw out 4.5 litres of the stuff. XT-3 is said to last at least 6 months after mixing, but I usually go through a 5 litre pack in three to four months. And if you decide on HC-110, Adox sells the original mixture made by the factory in the US that used to make it for Kodak in the old days. I hear that HC-110 users are unhappy with the new version from Kodak.

That's very cool. I might try the XT-3, that might work well with the Fomapan 400 I have.

[Francois]

I've been a fan of Rodinal for a few years just because of it's durability on the shelf.
One day I might also try some sort of Pyro based developer...

[irv_b]

Adox XT-3 is an improved version of XTOL, and unlike XTOL you can buy it in 1 litre packs. The last batch of XTOL I mixed lasted only 2 weeks before it was useless, and I had to throw out 4.5 litres of the stuff. XT-3 is said to last at least 6 months after mixing, but I usually go through a 5 litre pack in three to four months. And if you decide on HC-110, Adox sells the original mixture made by the factory in the US that used to make it for Kodak in the old days. I hear that HC-110 users are unhappy with the new version from Kodak.

It's a real struggle to get HC110 anywhere in the UK for this last year at least.
I have gone to 510 Pyro and back to ID11

[Francois]

It's a real struggle to get HC110 anywhere in the UK for this last year at least.

Have you thought of looking at Ilfotec HC?
I have a feeling it might be very close to HC-110. They both come as a concentrate. They both have a long shelf life. They both have processing dilutions that can be varied. They both rely heavily on Hydroquinone as a developing agent. They both use the HC letters in the name...