Is it hot in here? Or is it just me? (or my thermometer)

[Ron McElroy]

Printing is a pain as some papers will start pealing their emulsion at higher than 75 F in the wash.

Good point Michael. I generally do not print beyond proofs once the water gets hot.

[Bill_1856]

There's nothing wrong with developing at 75 degrees.

[jvo]

From tampa-st. pete area - with no intervention my darkroom temp/chemicals vary between 70 and 75 deg. it may vary a bit in the depth of winter or summer. may be less than optimal but i usually adjust my time depending on temp to process film. i use distilled water for developer which is stored with the other chems - so all the same temp.

to wash prints or film the temp is usually in the ~70 deg. range - using only the cold water.

when i lived in NY my basement darkroom was always 68 deg., year round! water temp colder!

[jim10219]

In the summer time in Oklahoma City, I usually develop my negatives in a small tray of D76 sitting in a larger tray of ice water. I throw the ice, tap water, and developer all in their respective trays when I first step into the dark room, and then set everything up while that stabilizes. With the 75° tap water, it usually takes 6 ice cubes to bring it down to 70°, which is where I like to develop D76. I'll usually add one ice cube every 10 minutes, or in between each run. In the winter, I've had to fill that tray up with hot water from the tap to get the water up towards something more manageable.

I've definitely noticed the water temperature changes with the seasons. Also, the ambient room temperature changes, despite the thermostat set to the same temp year round. My darkroom makes contact with the outside walls and the cabinets are mounted on those walls as well, so you can't ever expect the temperatures to be consistent. But water changes temperature rather slowly, so it's not hard to maintain a steady temperature using water as a buffer once you've stabilized everything and got a system down. Just make sure not to fill too much water in your outer tray, or your inner tray will float around on you.

[Larry the Sailor]

I'll use a tempering bath with ice in the summer and hot water in the winter to get my chemistry temps to where I want it. If my water temps are too high for printing I'll either try to get it done early in the morning when it is at it's coolest and adjust with tempering baths as needed or just wait.