Dektol mixed last week is cloudy. What's wrong? How to fix??

[Peter Collins]

A cloudy, somewhat flakey/stringy 'stuff' has settled to the bottom of the 1-gallon jug of Dektol that I mixed last week.

1. What did I do wrong?
2. Can I fix it?

Thanks!

[bob carnie]

Just stir and use or strain, unless you used a fix or stop bucket to mix the dev in. If so dump.

[Vaughn]

You can re-heat to get the rest to dissolve.

The problem was incomplete mixing -- not enough stirring before the temperature dropped. The undissolved chemicals acted as 'seed crystals' and you had crystals forming in the developer. So -- better stirring and/or start with a higher temperature of water to counter it dropping too low in temp before one is done mixing it.

[smithdoor]

This did happen to me back 60's Now I mic the water to above 105 F. I mix the day be for I need the Dektol or it will work real fast.

Dave

You can re-heat to get the rest to dissolve.

The problem was incomplete mixing -- not enough stirring before the temperature dropped. The undissolved chemicals acted as 'seed crystals' and you had crystals forming in the developer. So -- better stirring and/or start with a higher temperature of water to counter it dropping too low in temp before one is done mixing it.

[Nathan Potter]

Yes, I agree with Vaughn. You have mastered the art of crystal growth in solution. I use a Thermolyne stirrer/hotplate to re-dissolve such crystallites at an elevated temperature, with stirring. The stirring aids in the dissolution rate by pulling the higher concentration of material from the vicinity of the suspended crystals.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Jim C.]

Doesn't crystal growth in a liquid require a certain concentration of the chemical ?

[Peter Collins]

Folks--
Jim C is on the mark. The material was not crystal-like. It appeared as a stringy floc from 1/16 inch to 3/8 inch length. I put the Dektol through a coffee filter and moved on. Thanks for the feedback!

[Nathan Potter]

So sounds like some kind of contamination like lint or equivalent. Perhaps from the mixing equipment or some extraneous source. I believe as Jim says for practical purposes there is always a minimum concentration of solute required for growth but other factors change the rate of growth, such as temperature, concentration for sure, and agitation. Even the presence of foreign particles can cause nucleation of the solute followed by actual crystal growth.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

[Vaughn]

Peter, if you let it go longer, I think that stringy floc would have grown even longer...to several inches.

Having mixed Dektol, both by hand and by magnetic stirrer for the past 36 years in a university darkroom, I tend to start with water at 115 to 120F, which then cools quickly down to 100F in the SS container I have used. Liquid will be slight discolored, but should be clear when done mixing. Any sign of cloudiness can result in crystal (or floc or what ever it might be) growth if it sits for any length of time.

Kodak's dry chemicals have changed a little over the past few years.