Temperature and developer

rvilela · May 13, 2012

Well the point is, lets assume the developer temperature is lower than it was required.

How to proceed to increase the value intended? Wich the best and correct way to give some heat to the developer?

Any help is welcome.

Thanks in advance for the replies.

Derrel · May 13, 2012

Water in a container around the developing tank is the standard way to add heat to developer. Stainless steel tanks transfer heat, or cold, fairly quickly. Not sure exactly on the amount of increased time for colder-than-specified developer: I would GUESS that for each 1 degree cooler (Farenheit), maybe add 7 to 10 percent more time, as a rough guideline.

rvilela · May 13, 2012

Why do I not remember that? So simple way...

Thank You so much.

Regards.

ann · May 13, 2012

Go to Ilford's website, they have (or at least they did have) a chart that will show you the changes .

Also, don't get below 5 minutes of development times as the results usual result in uneven development. There are a few developers on the market that have 3 minutes, but they are also a two stage development, which is much different.

rvilela · May 13, 2012

Thak You ann.

I bought the Ilford FP4 PLUS 125, and depending of the developers the minimum time at 20'C/68F' is arond the 6 minutes, so below of that time completely out of question.

I'll check the Ilford site to check and maybe print if it's allowed the chart You've point to me.

Regards.

ann · May 13, 2012

You should be able to print out the chart, I have one at the lab at school on the wall. ALtho, I really encourage my students to use 68 degrees. Our biggest issue is hot weather and we use cold water to bring down the water temp.

rvilela · May 13, 2012

ann said:
You should be able to print out the chart, I have one at the lab at school on the wall. ALtho, I really encourage my students to use 68 degrees. Our biggest issue is hot weather and we use cold water to bring down the water temp.

My problem in my town is, hot very hot in the summer and at winter to much cold and humidity. So I'll have to adapt to both situations.

I have checked the Ilford's site and I found the correct developer to the roll I've bought, here it is: http://ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/201142795941192.pdf

Josh66 · May 13, 2012

I only have maybe two months out of the year when my developer is close enough to 20° to go without a hot/cold water bath...

I just fill the sink up with ice water or hot water, then drink a couple beers while I watch the thermometer.

rvilela · May 13, 2012

O|||||||O said:
I only have maybe two months out of the year when my developer is close enough to 20° to go without a hot/cold water bath...

I just fill the sink up with ice water or hot water, then drink a couple beers while I watch the thermometer.

Tha best part of the process, drink a couple a beers until the developer has the correct temperature. :lol:

Josh66 · May 13, 2012

That part is the most fun, anyway. LOL

Sometimes I use water from the fridge and just wait for it to warm up a little. It just depends on how far off from room temperature my developer is. If it's only off a little bit, an ice bath is faster than waiting for refrigerated water to warm up.

ann · May 14, 2012

just mix the cold water from the fridge with the warmer water, we do it all the time at school, with no waiting around. takes about 30 secs to mix

Josh66 · May 14, 2012

ann said:
just mix the cold water from the fridge with the warmer water, we do it all the time at school, with no waiting around. takes about 30 secs to mix

That's exactly what I used to do, until I started having problems with my tap water.

Now I use either distilled water in a jug (at room temperature) or filtered water from the fridge.

maris · May 15, 2012

Don't be afraid to use temperatures well above 20 Celcius if you gain an advantage.

About 10 minutes ago I finished a darkroom session of 38 sheets of Fomapan400 in the 4x5 format. To speed things up Xtol developer was heated to 35 Celcius (95 Farenheit) to give a time of 3minutes 25 seconds per negative. I used a small developing tray floating in a bigger tray of hot water. All the negatives are fine. If I had stuck to 20 Celcius my developing time would have been 10 minutes 20 seconds and I would not have finished the job until tomorrow. And I would have been bored out of my skull. Standing in the dark for two days rocking a tray is not a creative moment in photography.

Modern black and white films can take developer temperatures up to 100 Farenheit (sometimes beyond) without harm BUT:
Agitation must be smooth, quick, and continuous to avoid uneven development because of the short times.
Temperatures and times have to be accurate because the margin of error gets small.
All processing solutions should have similar temperatures to avoid thermal shock to the film and the possibility of reticulation.
Film emulsion softens so the only things allowed to touch it are liquids and air; no fingers, no squeegees, no chamois.

rvilela · May 23, 2012

maris said:
Don't be afraid to use temperatures well above 20 Celcius if you gain an advantage.

About 10 minutes ago I finished a darkroom session of 38 sheets of Fomapan400 in the 4x5 format. To speed things up Xtol developer was heated to 35 Celcius (95 Farenheit) to give a time of 3minutes 25 seconds per negative. I used a small developing tray floating in a bigger tray of hot water. All the negatives are fine. If I had stuck to 20 Celcius my developing time would have been 10 minutes 20 seconds and I would not have finished the job until tomorrow. And I would have been bored out of my skull. Standing in the dark for two days rocking a tray is not a creative moment in photography.

Modern black and white films can take developer temperatures up to 100 Farenheit (sometimes beyond) without harm BUT:
Agitation must be smooth, quick, and continuous to avoid uneven development because of the short times.
Temperatures and times have to be accurate because the margin of error gets small.
All processing solutions should have similar temperatures to avoid thermal shock to the film and the possibility of reticulation.
Film emulsion softens so the only things allowed to touch it are liquids and air; no fingers, no squeegees, no chamois.

This is a really good and huge tip. Thanks a lot for your time and sorry to reply so late.