How many uses from chemicals? How to dispose of?

[mentalcrisis00]

This is a rookie question and I'm sure it was covered in my intro to photo class. However I've either forgotten or was never told clearly. How many developments will I get from D76, Stop bath, and fixer with normal negative development? Most people say once the chemistry turns an off color it's time to get rid of it but if I could get a ball park figure it'd be helpful.

In college we just dumped the D76 down the drain and put the stop and fixer back in the large tanks. I have no idea how many times it had been reused but my 35mm film always came out perfect.

Would I be safe with 2 uses and dump it or can I get more out of it? Anyone know where or how I can dispose of chemistry safely? I don't want to dump it down the drain, are there disposal sites that will take care of it for me? I live in Maine so if anyone from here knows a place that'd be great.

Thanks, I want to get onto developing 20 4x5 exposures this week. It'll be the first time I've done chemical processing in like 5 years. Also should I do a water wash in between each chemical or just Develope, Stop, Fix, Wash?

[CG]

There are no "one - size - fits - all" answers too your questions. Depends upon which type of chemical (developer, stop, fix, hypo clearing agent, toner, etc, at what dilution, how much film or paper has been run through it, is it replenished... Too many variables for simplistic answers. But, there are answers out there. The best really basic primer on the safe lifespans of darkroom chems (and much else) is to get a old copy of Kodak's "Black and White Darkroom Dataguide". Amazon has many used copies available as should other book sellers. It has a very darkroom friendly rugged binding and liquid resistant pages. It was very well constructed for day in day out used right in the darkroom. Much good data and often at a very reasonable used price. Great as the first starter volume for you. It is my basic in - the - darkroom reference for the types of questions you ask.

To answer the many other questions about darkroom conundrumsthat you definitely will have, I'd say your best second purchase is Anchell's "The Darkroom Cookbook". It has a very good balance of theoretic and practical info.

And for the third purchase -"The Film Developing Cookbook" by Steve Anchell and Bill Troop. More depth is in there for the subtleties of film development. I have learned a great deal from those two "cookbooks".

[mentalcrisis00]

Thanks for the suggested reads, I have Ansel's 3 part photo book series. I haven't got to The Negative yet, might be a good thing to read the 4x5 film section. I've done film development before but mostly 35mm. I did 4x5 developing for a year but I could never get consistent results, I went with hangar and tank method. The film density at the edges fell off quickly so almost all my negs had lightened edges. I'm not sure if that was from development or my film holders.

I've been looking into alternate methods, I was going to try tray development but it seems messy and I don't enjoy standing in the dark doing 4x5 for an hour or more. I've seen alot of people that swear by the old unicolor drum developer. I went and dug up the article on how to do it and it seems like a pretty nifty way of developing 4x5. I actually found one for sale on ebay for $65 would it be worth it for me to grab it and try the tank method?

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/unicolor/

[nolindan]

D-76 will do two rolls per 8 oz. Increase the developing time for the second roll by 20%.

The easiest answer is to use the D-76 diluted 1:1 with water and use it 1-shot, discarding it after one use.

A roll of film is defined as 80 sq. inches: one 35mm 36 exposure; one 120 roll; four 4x5 sheets; or one 8x10 sheet.

[jp]

I discard the developer (down the drain) after each use, mixed 1:1. I used to use d76, now it's mostly xtol; same story.

Indicator Stop bath is good till it loses it's yellow color, then it's down the drain; it's basically vinegar or juice ingredients.

Fixer, at least the kodak stuff, describes the capacity on the package. You reuse it till you get to that capacity, or for film when the fixing takes noticeably longer to clear. Check the archives on here regarding disposal opinions. IMHO as long as it's not being poured into a body of water, it's fine and the silver will combine with things in the earth to be stable and safe.

Regarding 4x5 developing, you may also want to consider the mod photographic reel for the paterson tanks (available on ebay), or the HP combiplan 1l tank. Both are quite capable of processing 6 sheets uniformly in daylight.

[Jerry Bodine]

Regarding disposal of chemicals, here is a pdf file from Kodak that you may find useful:

http://www.kodak.com/eknec/documents/05/0900688a800f8105/J300ENG.pdf

[jonathan_lipkin]

You can test your fixer using hypo check. Put a drop in your fixer - if the hypo check turns white, your fixer is exhausted.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/69800-Arista-Premium-Hypo-Check-.75-oz.

[mentalcrisis00]

Thanks for the great suggestions. I developed 14 4x5 B&W's today with tanks and hangars. The first 8 came out good but then 3 out of 6 in the second batch have a purple blob in the middle of the negative. What would cause this? Could the film have been fogged at some point? Or is this from the chemicals. I was renting a darkroom today so the chemistry I was using was premixed and sort of sketchy. I'm assuming it was the fixer that was the culprit.

The film I'm using is like 4 year old Tmax 400 so maybe it was just bad film. Figured I'd get rid of it while I become accustomed to 4x5 film again.

[Jack Dahlgren]

Thanks for the great suggestions. I developed 14 4x5 B&W's today with tanks and hangars. The first 8 came out good but then 3 out of 6 in the second batch have a purple blob in the middle of the negative. What would cause this? Could the film have been fogged at some point? Or is this from the chemicals. I was renting a darkroom today so the chemistry I was using was premixed and sort of sketchy. I'm assuming it was the fixer that was the culprit.

The film I'm using is like 4 year old Tmax 400 so maybe it was just bad film. Figured I'd get rid of it while I become accustomed to 4x5 film again.

Sheets may have been touching when in the fix. Did you agitate in the fix? You can put them back in the fix until it clears. That purple color usually means you should fix longer.

[CG]

Purple stains on TMax films indicate too little fixing and/or too little washing. Tmax films both require stronger fixers, and use up those fixers faster than old style film. I have had good results with ammonium based rapid fixers, a good rinse after , and then hypo clearing agent (HCA) or the equivalent followed by a generous wash. I lengthen the HCA times beyond those in the instructions somewhat. Way beyond, in the case of wash aid products from other manufacturers who often specify very quick dips in very dilute baths. After Kodak's indicated time and agitation, I give it an extra couple of minutes just sitting unagitated in Kodak's HCA and often find the HCA has taken up quite a purple stain, and that the film is largely cleared of the purple just in that last couple of minutes. Then I wash. I somewhat exceed Kodak's wash instruction times and rates of change of clear water. It all seems to work.