Capacity of PC-TEA

[jrileystewart]

Recently started using Gainer's PC-TEA to develop FP4+ and TMY. My question is, "how many 35mm/36 rolls should I expect to get out of a liter of this soup diluted to 1:75? If you have data on other formats, that's helpful too as I can convert to 4x5 myself. Thanks in advance.

J. Riley Stewart
http://jrileystewart.com

[jrileystewart]

Recently started using Gainer's PC-TEA to develop FP4+ and TMY. My question is, "how many 35mm/36 rolls should I expect to get out of a liter of this soup diluted to 1:75? If you have data on other formats, that's helpful too as I can convert to 4x5 myself. Thanks in advance.

J. Riley Stewart
http://jrileystewart.com

Update for the record:

I began having stability problems with PC-TEA after my first batch of concentrate. The stuff just went 'bad' after a couple weeks. The first batch lasted a year in the same bottle. I tried remixing twice more; both batches failed.

Here's what I do now, which is super easy and reliable. I use Gainer's Original recipe that only contains sodium carbonate, ascorbic acid, and phenidone. I mix a single use batch and don't try to re-use it. Takes about 5 minutes to prepare a batch. Here's the link to the recipe: https://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/VitC/vitc.html

[koraks]

I've used that Gainer formula (the carbonate one) as well for a while. Until I found out that instant mytol gave me much improved performance.

[jrileystewart]

Can you give a reference for 'instant mytol'? Interested also how you define "better performance" Thx

[koraks]

https://www.photosensitive.ca/wp/easy-film-developers
The version I mix is basically the first Instant Mytol version on that page, but with the metaborate replaced by sodium carbonate & borax (which boils down to essentially the same in the proper ratio), with pH adjusted to 8.20 using 10% NaOH (it generally ends up around 8.10 when I mix it so needs a little adjustment.)

'Better' in this sense for me is significantly finer grain (particularly noticeable on higher speed films) and higher effective film speed. Particularly in small formats this is for me compelling; in large format it may be less relevant, especially the grain issue (and certainly with TMY2 which is already rather fine-grained).