Fixer Question

[El Vasquez]

Hi everyone!

I recently got a job as Lab Tech in a darkroom. Never thought I'd have that good ol fix smell on my hands again! Smells like home.

My question is how long is fix good for? I know it gets spent due to silver saturation, but does it also oxidize and become useless? We've been going through it like crazy, and I'm looking to cut down on the waste.

Thanks.

 

[ann]

sounds as if you will have more silver deposits than oxidation.

get some hypocheck and start checking the fixer every day.

when it becomes worn out and tired it will leave a milky color when a drop of hypocheck is place in the beaker.

you can also check the website of the manufactor and they should give you an idea of how many inches of paper or film can be used in a specific amount of fixer.

After a while you should be able to tell it is running out of steam just by the change in color. It starts to look a bit on the "yellow" side rather than clear.

 

[El Vasquez]

ok ,so i should just wait for silver exhaustion and not worry about oxidation? Some days these kids only do a few prints, but the fix is out for 8 hours. It is definitely not saturated. So bottling and using the next day is fine?

 

[Christie Photo]

Some days these kids only do a few prints, but the fix is out for 8 hours. It is definitely not saturated. So bottling and using the next day is fine?

I'm sure it will be fine.

What sort of volume are you talking about? A quart?

Kodak says their stuff is good for a week in a tray. That's without use. You'll have to calculate how many prints it will take to exhaust the solution.

-Pete

 

[ann]

cover the tray with a larger one while the fixer is just sitting around waiting for others to come back to use the lab.

you will have evaporation issue if you don't.

 

[El Vasquez]

Great. Thanks for the quick reply.

They've been going through a gallon or two a day, and i know it's mostly not saturated.Thanks again.

Enjoy!