Butane air replacement

[E Thomson]

This product is specifically recommended for photo chemicals.

http://www.bloxygen.com/

[kev curry]

Tell it like it is Steve

[Don Hutton]

I use one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Hummingbird-Ul.../dp/B000O3GA5C Works really well and is designed for dispensing into bottles...

Beware that some wine saving devices do not use pure argon - some use a mixture which contains CO2 which you do not want because CO2 will typically dissolve and decrease the PH of the solution - which in the case of developers is almost always a bad idea.

The Ultra Wine Saver pumps out pure Argon at a flow rate of 1.4 inches per second. It's a simple matter to calculate the surface area of the chemistry you're looking to protect and then to work out how many seconds of the UWS are required to dispense a 2 inch blanket of argon onto it. I've been using it for about 2 years. It's a bargain for any darkroom. I don't bother with general B&W chemistry, but for color developers and exotic B&W chemistry, it works a treat.

[Alan Davenport]

Well this has been interesting to say the least. <SNIP>
I'm not surprised at the replies of experts that have never tried the method and immediately adopt the nanny state PC attitude that everything is bad and going to kill you. <SNIP> I often wonder how some of you guys get out of bed some days to face the big bad world.

Since the important thing is keep oxygen from getting to the developer, your technique is certainly going to be effective. I'm sure you'll never have a problem, unless you perchance dump the pooled butane out of the developer bottle when there's an ignition source nearby. Probably never happen.

I think what the other posters were trying to say, is that your method may carry some risk, and that there are other ways to accomplish the goal that carry virtually no risk. Certainly you are free to choose.

I am adamantly against the nanny state, as you call it. I prefer to let the tree of life naturally do its own pruning.

There is no "big bad world." The world simply does not care.

[nolindan]

butane lighter gas from the small refill canisters to replace air in developer bottles?

I have used the gas in 'Dust-Off' which I believe to be Butane. It didn't seem to appreciably lengthen developer life.

[resummerfield]

I use Nitrogen now, but before that I used a simple propane torch and gas cylinder. It was very simple to use, very low expense, and it worked!

[Vlad Soare]

This may be a silly question, but how do you know how much gas to use? Given that it's invisible, how can you make sure that you've used enough to cover the surface of the developer?
If I understand correctly, butane is heavier than air and will settle at the surface of the liquid, forming a barrier between the liquid and the air above. So I could theoretically store any quantity, however small, of developer in a (glass) bottle, as long as I put in enough butane to cover its surface. Is this correct? But how can I tell if I've used enough (I mean, other than waiting for a few months to see if the developer goes bad )? Is there any trick?
Thanks.

[Sevo]

If I understand correctly, butane is heavier than air and will settle at the surface of the liquid, forming a barrier between the liquid and the air above. So I could theoretically store any quantity, however small, of developer in a (glass) bottle, as long as I put in enough butane to cover its surface. Is this correct?

No. Gases of different molecular weight only keep separate for a brief period and will inevitably mix over the course of time. You have to put in enough gas to replace almost all air. The thin, low volume nozzle will allow pouring in gas so that it does not immediately mix with air but replaces it bottom up, and you can estimate the amount needed either by time and the l/min volume stated on the bottle or visually, as the refraction of butane differs visibly from air, so that you can see the excess gas spilling out of the bottle.

[Vlad Soare]

I see. Thanks.

[Toyon]

Pretty churlish Steve.

Well this has been interesting to say the least. For a start the application of the gas is approximately 1/10 of a second in a downward action inside the opening of the bottle and capped immediately.

I'm not surprised at the replies of experts that have never tried the method and immediately adopt the nanny state PC attitude that everything is bad and going to kill you.

No I don't smoke and never have. As for flammable, yes -- very -- however if you have ever lit a gas stove in your kitchen and the gas hasn't immedieatley lit you face a similar danger with the addition of a lit match.

I often wonder how some of you guys get out of bed some days to face the big bad world.