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Ethan
13-Jul-2020, 12:00
Hey guys,

I just mixed my wet plate chemicals today, and I'm somewhat impatient to go try and take some photos.

I was given a silver tank by a fellow wet plate photographer, which was about half full with the silver bath. I started the process of replenishing it by filtering out all the gunk, and then when I added more distilled water so there would be enough volume, It turned a cloudy green color. I've read that this is normal, and is a result of forcing the iodides and bromides out of the solution. What I'm not clear on is whether I can use it in this state (after adding more silver of course). Bostick & Sullivan's instructions don't mention anything about having to let it clear, but one website I found said he lets it clear before adding more silver. Is that something I have to do?

Thanks,
Ethan

Two23
13-Jul-2020, 12:29
Your water wasn't pure would be my guess. Filter it again.


Kent in SD

Ethan
13-Jul-2020, 12:32
I've filtered the bath several times since adding the water, but the color remains.

The distilled water I used was just from walmart, is it better to get it from a scientific supply store or something?

paulbarden
13-Jul-2020, 14:01
Hey guys,

I just mixed my wet plate chemicals today, and I'm somewhat impatient to go try and take some photos.

I was given a silver tank by a fellow wet plate photographer, which was about half full with the silver bath. I started the process of replenishing it by filtering out all the gunk, and then when I added more distilled water so there would be enough volume, It turned a cloudy green color. I've read that this is normal, and is a result of forcing the iodides and bromides out of the solution. What I'm not clear on is whether I can use it in this state (after adding more silver of course). Bostick & Sullivan's instructions don't mention anything about having to let it clear, but one website I found said he lets it clear before adding more silver. Is that something I have to do?

Thanks,
Ethan

Ethan,
When you added more AgNO3, did you measure the specific gravity of the bath to get it adjusted to the correct SG? Do you have a hydrometer to make these measurements? Did you measure the SG of the bath you were given before doing anything to it? I'd be cautious in using someone else's used silver bath without knowing how well used it was, how it had been maintained, and what its condition was before you started adding water/silver to it.

Ethan
13-Jul-2020, 14:01
could it have been caused by not having enough silver in the mixture? I filtered it several times, but that only reduced the cloudiness. As soon as I added more silver nitrate it cleared up completely.

paulbarden
13-Jul-2020, 14:03
I've filtered the bath several times since adding the water, but the color remains.

The distilled water I used was just from walmart, is it better to get it from a scientific supply store or something?

Can we see a photo of it in its current condition, please?
There's probably nothing wrong with the distilled water you bought, as long as its actually distilled, and not just "demineralized" water. Read the label carefully. Does it say anything about "steam distilled"?

Ethan
13-Jul-2020, 14:04
Ethan,
When you added more AgNO3, did you measure the specific gravity of the bath to get it adjusted to the correct SG? Do you have a hydrometer to make these measurements? Did you measure the SG of the bath you were given before doing anything to it? I'd be cautious in using someone else's used silver bath without knowing how well used it was, how it had been maintained, and what its condition was before you started adding water/silver to it.

It was at 1.03 (if I was reading the scale correctly) By the time I got the specific gravity to 1.074, which is what the friend who gave me the tank said to use, the cloudiness had completely disappeared, without any more filtering.

paulbarden
13-Jul-2020, 14:04
could it have been caused by not having enough silver in the mixture? I filtered it several times, but that only reduced the cloudiness. As soon as I added more silver nitrate it cleared up completely.

Yes, the cloudiness is almost certainly the result of too little AgNO3 in the bath to reach equilibrium.

Ethan
13-Jul-2020, 14:06
said vapor distilled. In its current condition it's completely clear, so I put it back in the tank. I tried filtering it many times to clear, and got it to just a yellowish tinge of cloudiness, and then I added more silver nitrate to get the specific gravity correct. as soon as I did that, it cleared up completely.

paulbarden
13-Jul-2020, 14:07
It was at 1.03 (if I was reading the scale correctly) By the time I got the specific gravity to 1.074, which is what the friend who gave me the tank said to use, the cloudiness had completely disappeared, without any more filtering.

OK, that's great! I'm glad you are using the right tools to make correct adjustments. Well done.
You don't need to filter anymore. If the bath reads 1.074, then you are good to start making plates. That is, as long as the bath you were given had already been used: a virgin silver bath should be "excited" by the addition of iodides/bromides before it will make good plates.

Do you have a book to refer to? The B&S kit instructions are not sufficient for anything more than getting you started.


said vapor distilled. In its current condition it's completely clear, so I put it back in the tank. I tried filtering it many times to clear, and got it to just a yellowish tinge of cloudiness, and then I added more silver nitrate to get the specific gravity correct. as soon as I did that, it cleared up completely.

Excellent. Just be sure to avoid buying water that is labeled "De-mineralized", which isn't what you want.

Ethan
13-Jul-2020, 14:09
OK, that's great! I'm glad you are using the right tools to make correct adjustments. Well done.
You don't need to filter anymore. If the bath reads 1.074, then you are good to start making plates. That is, as long as the bath you were given had already been used: a virgin silver bath should be "excited" by the addition of iodides/bromides before it will make good plates.

Do you have a book to refer to? The B&S kit instructions are not sufficient for anything more than getting you started.

I haven't gotten any books on the subject, but my friend who does wet plate gave me a photocopy of her "cookbook" she has compiled all the information she uses into. Are there any books you would recommend?

Two23
13-Jul-2020, 14:31
I use Walmart distilled water all the time. It works.


Kent in SD

Mark Sawyer
13-Jul-2020, 19:50
What are you filtering it through? (Many people user cotton balls, which can have contaminants of their own.)

Two23
13-Jul-2020, 20:50
I haven't gotten any books on the subject, but my friend who does wet plate gave me a photocopy of her "cookbook" she has compiled all the information she uses into. Are there any books you would recommend?



There are several books out there: Jacob Quinn, Mark Osterman, and John Coffer all have one. I have the Coffer "Doer's guide." Book and DVDs. It's quite good.

https://www.johncoffer.com/

Kent in SD

Ari
13-Jul-2020, 21:10
I've only read Quinn Jacobson's "Chemical Pictures", which has a chapter devoted to the silver bath and how to maintain it.

paulbarden
14-Jul-2020, 09:37
I've only read Quinn Jacobson's "Chemical Pictures", which has a chapter devoted to the silver bath and how to maintain it.

And Quinn's 2019 edition of 'Chemical Pictures' covers the subject most thoroughly. John Coffer's book - though extremely valuable in many respects - doesn't cover the topic as thoroughly. In fact, Coffer's information on silver bath maintenance is one paragraph and a few tips here and there. 'Chemical Pictures' (get the NEW edition, not the older ones) is much more thorough on this and other subjects.

goamules
14-Jul-2020, 17:42
When you add distilled water to a silver bath, it will often cloud up. Reverse osmosis is not the type of distilled you want, you want distillation type. I mentioned that a few weeks ago about "have you noticed when you add distilled your bath clouds up...?" If you haven't....you will. Keep sunning and filtering, it will be fine by the next day.

Two23
14-Jul-2020, 21:21
When you add distilled water to a silver bath, it will often cloud up. Reverse osmosis is not the type of distilled you want, you want distillation type. I mentioned that a few weeks ago about "have you noticed when you add distilled your bath clouds up...?" If you haven't....you will. Keep sunning and filtering, it will be fine by the next day.


Garrett--

When I've mixed up additional silver bath I've done it in a 1000ml beaker, adding the silver crystals to the Walmart distilled water. The water stays clear while I stir it up, and when I've filtered it a couple of weeks later the filter looks clean. Isn't the fact the water doesn't immediately turn blue (as it does in tap water) mean the water is pure enough?


Kent in SD

ghostcount
15-Jul-2020, 09:54
.. Isn't the fact the water doesn't immediately turn blue (as it does in tap water) mean the water is pure enough?



I hope you meant "cloudy" because "blue" means something else in the process, occasionally smelling like almonds to some genetically disposed practitioners. ;)

goamules
16-Jul-2020, 16:40
If the silver bath stays clear, and plates seem good, the distilled is good enough.