This product is specifically recommended for photo chemicals.
http://www.bloxygen.com/
This product is specifically recommended for photo chemicals.
http://www.bloxygen.com/
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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