life of photo flo

[monochromeFan]

What is the general thought on when one should get rid of the current batch of mixed working stock photo flo?

[Ian David]

Such a tiny amount required at very high dilution - I just mix fresh whenever I need it to avoid any issues

[Tin Can]

I never need it

I use high grade hot and cold water filters

[jnantz]

I’ve never made a diluted photo flo always seemed like a waste of effort and risky (some people who are much smarter than me say it grows mold after a while)… A few drops of stock solution in a tank or tray of film is all that’s needed ... my little amber bottle purchased in the 70s ran out about a year or 2 ago, I replaced it with photoflo 2000 ( not sure what the difference is besides being 4x the volume and in a clear plastic container ) .. will probably last beyond 2100.... the stuff in undiluted stock concentration doesnt' seem to go bad.

[Michael R]

I never need it

I use high grade hot and cold water filters

?

High quality water is not a substitute for a wetting agent.

[monochromeFan]

the batch i have was made to a recipe on photrio. 200 ml 91% rubbing alcohol, 1 ml photo flo stock solution, distilled water to 1 liter.

I honestly think i have been using it since august of 2022... on sunday I developed a roll of film and used it, and it was failing to do anything so i dipped my thermometer into the stock photo flo and stirred it into my working solution, instantly slightly bubbly on top like when i originally made it. Still havent used it this week. no time to.

[Tin Can]

?

High quality water is not a substitute for a wetting agent.

BS No Soap

[paulbarden]

What is the general thought on when one should get rid of the current batch of mixed working stock photo flo?

It is meant to be used once and discarded. You can save it and reuse it if you are developing multiple rolls of film in the same session/same day, but don't bother saving it for reuse beyond the day you mixed it. I mean, it's so inexpensive - a small bottle will last for years.

[Jim Jones]

The photographer who doesn't use something like Photo Flo probably makes up for that by using more Spotone. Photo Flo is much less trouble, especially when used in distilled water.

[jnantz]

the batch i have was made to a recipe on photrio. 200 ml 91% rubbing alcohol, 1 ml photo flo stock solution, distilled water to 1 liter.

I honestly think i have been using it since august of 2022... on sunday I developed a roll of film and used it, and it was failing to do anything so i dipped my thermometer into the stock photo flo and stirred it into my working solution, instantly slightly bubbly on top like when i originally made it. Still havent used it this week. no time to.

Most likely it’s better to use the real deal instead of home brew stuff over on paux30 read what photo engineer says about the subject he was a Kodak engineer…

[paulbarden]

It is meant to be used once and discarded. You can save it and reuse it if you are developing multiple rolls of film in the same session/same day, but don't bother saving it for reuse beyond the day you mixed it. I mean, it's so inexpensive - a small bottle will last for years.

Also, I wouldn't give a lot of credence to these experimental "recipes" you find on the web. There is no compelling reason to add alcohol to Photo Flo if you're using it correctly.

[Michael R]

BS No Soap

Ok but what I mean is that the wetting agent isn’t just for water quality. It’s for preventing water from beading up because that can result in what Kodak termed “differential drying” of the emulsion, which can potentially lead to permanent defects under the right circumstances. The surfactant breaks the surface tension of the water so it slides off instead of forming droplets.

[nolindan]

I find isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol) helps with sheeting the water off the film.

I make up a stock solution of 13ml PhotoFlo 600 (40ml of PhotoFlo 200) in 1 liter of isopropanol. This gets diluted down 1:7 with distilled water - the ratio was chosen as it is an easy 1 oz of stock per reel, assuming SS tanks.

Talk about a century's worth - I have a gallon of PhotoFlo 600 I got at a clearance sale - enough for 600 gallons of working solution or 9,600 rolls of film. I'd have to shoot 2 rolls of film a week for the next hundred years.

[Drew Wiley]

Why would something as basic as wetting agent have changed its formula? You only need a few drops of it each session. I took me almost 20 years to use a single bottle of Photofo. The Ilford equivalent I'm currently using should last me another decade or more. It doesn't go bad. But don't pre-dilute and re-use it. Water mold will grow in there.

[djdister]

I've been using the same small bottle of Photo-Flo for over 10 years, 1-2 drops at a time...

[monochromeFan]

Why would something as basic as wetting agent have changed its formula? You only need a few drops of it each session. I took me almost 20 years to use a single bottle of Photofo. The Ilford equivalent I'm currently using should last me another decade or more. It doesn't go bad. But don't pre-dilute and re-use it. Water mold will grow in there.

Thats the reason the photrio recipe used the 200ml of 91% alcohol... NOTHING grows in it. And even after all this time, anytime i open the lid the whole bathroom stinks like cheap vodka.

Im also kind of happy and scared at my progress.

[Tin Can]

The photographer who doesn't use something like Photo Flo probably makes up for that by using more Spotone. Photo Flo is much less trouble, especially when used in distilled water.


I never Spot wet prints

I hate DIGI repair

My studio my rules

I embrace my reality

[Doremus Scudder]

What is the general thought on when one should get rid of the current batch of mixed working stock photo flo?

Use it one session. Diluted Photo Flo (and most other wetting agents) grow bacterial slime after a day or so. It's cheap, use it fresh.

Doremus

[Mark Sampson]

When I ran the roll film sink line in a custom lab, long ago, the established practice was to change the 1-gallon Photo-Flo tank weekly. And "purge" the stainless reels in 100F water to remove any P-F residue, which interferes with the developing process. I was well-trained there, and continued those practices when I worked in another lab, and again at EK.
45 years later, I've been using the same tiny bottle of P-F's Edwal equivalent for a decade. Two drops of concentrate per film run lasts a while. When it's gone I have a 4 oz. bottle of Photo-Flo 200 that will last the rest of my life.
Yes, bacteria will grow in Photo-Flo over time.
No, it's not worth saving for re-use. It's literally pennies per liter.

[Drew Wiley]

Not technically bacteria; water mold (Saprolegnia). Just as obnoxious, requiring you to filter the solution.

[LabRat]

I had tested different dilutions of PF many years ago for making fresh smaller amounts when needed... I was finding even a very small excess of PF 200 solution easily led to scum artifacts on film as well as bubbling, and too little didn't sheet/wet evenly so did tests...

Long process short, I arrived at a convenient dilution of the 200 stock by first getting a glass dripper bottle from the drugstore, then diluting the stock 1 part stock to 2 parts distilled water in the dropper bottle... For working solution, add 1 drop from dropper bottle into 1 liter of distilled water for film final dip for 30 seconds (don't leave in too long as the wetting solution starts to soaking into film and can dry blotchy)... And for prints, 1 drop per 2 liters with 30 second dip...

PF tends to leave a haze on clear film areas if too strong/long, and a haze can be seen on low key prints, but I also photo sponge roll films and prints slowly... Sheet films tend to dry evenly, but sometimes a drop starts to dry with a drying mark or a bottom edge, but a quick blot to the drop before dry does the trick in this hard water area...

Steve K

[Edward Pierce]

I mix Photo-Flo in distilled water and keep it in a glass bottle and use it multiple times. Before using I hold the bottle up to a light and swish it around. If it’s completely clear it’s ok to use again. Eventually, stringy gunk appears and it’s time to mix a new batch. And...I use half the recommended dilution.

[Drew Wiley]

It takes so darn little of it to get the job done that is see no need to pre-mix anything. A drop of two of Photoflo or equivalent per liter or half liter of distilled wter. All it really needs to do is break the surface tension of the water droplets. Water mold develops quickly in Spring or Fall weather, even in distilled water exposed to the air; there's nor reason to tempt that.