Dektol Issue

[Kevin Crisp]

For years I've seen many threads on water issues and I never had any. Then I moved. My last issue was D76 that developed shiny flakes, which I can filter out and it otherwise works OK. Now I have a Dektol problem.

I mixed up a gallon of stock with hot water. It sat in tightly sealed bottles for a month and yesterday I diluted 2 quarts of it 1:2 for printing 16x20 prints on MG IV paper. First time I've used that paper. As the day wore on, the tray accumulated more and more and more precipitate. It looks like dark orange flakes. It didn't look unlike what I'd expect if I'd wire brushed an old barbecue grill over the tray. I didn't see any in the working solution when I started, so I think it is being generated by developing the paper in the working solution of dektol.

Again, the prints were fine. Whatever bits of this stuck to the print rinsed off (but did not dissolve) in the stop and fix when agitated.

What is this? Thanks.

[Ulophot]

Is it possible that you have been using your developer containers for many years? A deposit can build up on the walls of, for example, dark plastic jugs and eventually start releasing itself, or start being released. I have had this occur recently. The deposit seems most prone to release with hot water and shaking. I tried tray cleaner and citric acid (alternately), but the water was far and away the most effective. However, it seems that the deposit is ready to keep coming, and I may start a new container instead for fighting with this one.

[Jim Noel]

Sounds like it is time to consider a Reverse Osmosis system. I have had one in the kitchen for 25+ years. One of the best investments I ever made for photography.

[Doremus Scudder]

Check your Dektol stock and see if there is anything floating around in it first. If so, the problem could be crud in the bottle (as Philip mentions) or it could be impurities in the Dektol itself. There have been issues with this latter lately. People have reported that their Dektol mixes brown and with particulates in it. Kodak Alaris says that the impurities are harmless and that the problem is being remedied.

Another source of crud is your developer tray. How encrusted is yours?

Dark orange flakes don't seem like a hard-water problem unless you have water with a lot of dissolved minerals in it. It could, however, be rust from degraded plumbing if you're not filtering your mixing water. Check that too.

I'll put my money on impurities in the original mix...

Doremus

[LabRat]

All the replies above are good advice, but I'm still scratching my head as to why this keeps happening to you and others... I mix most all of my chem from scratch and some of the chems are 70 yrs old, but sometimes mix packaged chems for big projects... I sometimes see some oxidation but without stuff falling out of solution... But I do remember funky looking chems mixed from fresh packaged dry chems even before the 90's when I switched to roll-your-own chems...

I had heard the difference between dry dev formulas was the addition of a sequestration agent such as EDTA which allowed all the ingredents to be mixed at once into solution, but would notice a trace of discoloration and maybe some particles left over after mixing... If using dry packaged chems now, I add a pinch of sodium sulfite to scavenge excess oxygen out of water before mixing, and use a magnetic mixer dissolving the SS first well, then slowly adding the dry chems while allowing for a through mix... Devs come out with a slight tint I don't see using home brew, but better than if I just mixed them in a Kool-Aid pitcher with just a swizzle stick...

So the other factor might be mixing, so get a little sodium sulfite (you can borrow a pinch from Kodak HCA), and consider getting a magnetic mixer (note to not allow mixing bar to rotate in middle of vessel but near the sides to reduce vortex that sucks air into solution, but less so near the sides) and problems might go away (with a good mix)...

Steve K

[Kevin Crisp]

Mixed up a second batch, a couple years newer than the one that gave me problems. It looks perfectly fine with my new water.

[Rod Klukas]

One more info offer. I use distilled water for my chemistry. That way I am always consistent, no mater where I am in the world if I can get distilled water and get temperature correct, I can duplicate my processing. Even if i move and the city water changes distilled water does not. Many of my students use my method and report the same results whether at a workshop or when they have had to relocate. You should use it for your developer and fixer at least, and perhaps wash aid as well. I do use it for my presoak, as the ph change from the tap water may actually vary your development time and action.

Hope this is useful.
Rod