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How long does the developer work?


atlfoto

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Hi, I know that the same developer could be used more than once, you only have to increased the development time, but.... how much?

Is it any chart with "development time increase" vs "times used" for each developer?

Thanks in advance.

 

Depends on the developer, some such as Acutol are 'one shot' others such as Microphen are multiple use, read the descriptions and/or instructions!

 

Gerry

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No. I never re-use fixer, and seldom stop bath.

 

I find I can use a mixing of Fixer for about 10-15 films before the clearing time gets beyond the recommended time. I just check it periodically with a clip of spare film.

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I have standardised on Ilford Multigrade diluted at one to nine for some time now and I cover the trays at night and come back to it the following day. I safely get about 15 10 X 8 and a similar amount or more of 5 X 7. Ilfosol-3 Film developer there again one to nine. I use it once and pour it away. It works very well with Tri-X 400 asa and Pan-F Plus 50 asa

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As Gerry said depends on your developer. My main developer is Diafine and my current batch is 13 months old!

 

Yeah, I have heard those things about Diafine. I am using D-76 in 1+1, so it is not the cheapest thing in the world and that's the reason of my question. In the other hand, I reuse the stopper (Ilford) and the fixer (Tetenal) for approx. 15 films without problems.

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I use to reuse developer, but just could not keep track of how many rolls I had developed and the corresponding calculations to extend development time accordingly. Once the solution started to weaken I would invariably not process long enough and my negs would turn out under-developed.

 

Now, I keep it simple and use D-76 (undilluted) and dump the used developer out after each roll. Perfect development every time.

 

I don't re-use stop bath (still on the same bottle of concentrate I've been using for years, so why bother), but I do re-use fixer. I've always understood that you don't want much air inside the bottle or it will start to oxidize which is why you dump it back in and keep the bottle as full as possible. I don't develop enough to get to the point where I would need to recharge the fixer solution and I dump all my chemicals out after 3 months or so. Maybe not the cheapest solution, but it keeps the quality consistent.

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