Is this use of Photoflow problematic?

[bobwysiwyg]

Why folk try and save a nth of a penny on wetting agent is beyond me - kevs

Actually, it never was because I was cheap, I mean frugal, more like lazy. Take out the Photoflo, the eye dropper, etc. each time. But, I will go back to that based on the risk of a biological catastrophe.

[Nige]

when I open a bottle of wetting agent (Ilford stuff I think) I poke a hole in the sealed cover (after you remove the cap) and turn it into a drop dispenser. No mucking around with eye droppers or the like.

[Gerald C Koch]

I went down to my local pharmacy and bought a bottle with an eyedropper cap that fit the Photo-Flo botttle exactly.

[MattKing]

Someone here on APUG posted a wonderful suggestion, and I've followed it ever since.

I mix up an intermediate "stock" solution using 70% Isopropyl alcohol. I keep that in a 250ml bottle. I then dilute that stock solution 1 part stock to 20 parts water just before use. I mix it up in a 1 litre container and manually add the film to that container after taking the film off of the reel.

I only reuse the working solution during a single day or, in extraordinary circumstances, overnight.

[markbarendt]

when I open a bottle of wetting agent (Ilford stuff I think) I poke a hole in the sealed cover (after you remove the cap) and turn it into a drop dispenser. No mucking around with eye droppers or the like.

Thats a great idea.

[Rafal Lukawiecki]

when I open a bottle of wetting agent (Ilford stuff I think) I poke a hole in the sealed cover (after you remove the cap) and turn it into a drop dispenser. No mucking around with eye droppers or the like.

Nige, what a simple, and an elegant idea. I just hope the seal never bursts when the bottle is upside-down. Now, I wonder if I have been using too much Ilfotol, as I've been following the instructions on the bottle. It usually works out as millilitres and not drops for me.

[StoneNYC]

I use a drop or two in a lasagna dish for 4X5 negs on a one time only basis. I wouldn't use it in a plastic tank or stainless reels or anywhere developers or fixing baths are used, I don't think a container will ever be clean enough after Photoflow.

In another thread on Photoflows' use, Photo Engineer said if you use enough to cause a foam, you're using too much.

Wait, it doesn't clean off of a tank? When I do my wash I just leave it in the Paterson tank and run it under the sink for 10 minutes, then at the end I drop a drop or two if wetting agent right into the Paterson tank and swish it around a bit before hanging it...

So, am I risking ruining my next batch of film? I've never seen any issues before...

i use it once, then toss it.
it only requires like a drop or 2 / tank
a bottle last me about 25 years ..
and i have feeling the last bottle i bought
" photo flo 20,000" or something like that
will outlast me. i am thinking of putting a
request in my will to be buried with it, a twinkie and a bottle of yahoo ..

They don't make twinkies anymore... Better stock up from eBay


~Stone

The Noteworthy Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Wait, it doesn't clean off of a tank? When I do my wash I just leave it in the Paterson tank and run it under the sink for 10 minutes, then at the end I drop a drop or two if wetting agent right into the Paterson tank and swish it around a bit before hanging it...

So, am I risking ruining my next batch of film? I've never seen any issues before...

The tensides that make up the wetting agent are extremely difficult to wash away from the tank and spools after they have been exposed to it. Almost impossible.
But whether it will ruin your next batch or not is hard to say. Only you can tell. But you do run the risk of having a lot of bubbles develop when you agitate the tank, which have the potential to stick to the film surface, especially where the film touches the reels. Sometimes you see pictures with strange looking bubbles along the edge of the prints, usually 120 film (because its rebate is really narrow), due to these bubbles.

[StoneNYC]

The tensides that make up the wetting agent are extremely difficult to wash away from the tank and spools after they have been exposed to it. Almost impossible.
But whether it will ruin your next batch or not is hard to say. Only you can tell. But you do run the risk of having a lot of bubbles develop when you agitate the tank, which have the potential to stick to the film surface, especially where the film touches the reels. Sometimes you see pictures with strange looking bubbles along the edge of the prints, usually 120 film (because its rebate is really narrow), due to these bubbles.

Good to know, I won't buy new reels/tank but I'll stop doing it that way and find a safer setup.


~Stone

The Noteworthy Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Good to know, I won't buy new reels/tank but I'll stop doing it that way and find a safer setup.


~Stone

Have you had problems? If not, then perhaps it's all right to continue. Lots of people do what you do.

My method is to use the wetting agent outside the tank, and I take the film off the reels before it gets treated with the wetting agent.

- Thomas