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04/13/2010 01:22:39 PM · #26 |
| Argon has largely replaced nitrogen as a preservative for open wine bottles, since it is heavier. There are some very cool systems out there that let you pour without having to replace the gas, Preservino makes a nice one. They are not as cheap as a bag of marbles, but the basic problem of trying to keep a liquid from getting stale when exposed to the air, is the same for wine and photochemicals, and alot more thought has been put into keeping wine fresh, so why not use the systems developed for wine? |
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04/13/2010 01:26:26 PM · #27 |
Originally posted by bvy:
Originally posted by Spork99:
I used to fill my developer bottles with nitrogen to preserve it if I wasn't going to use it for a while since it's the reaction with the oxygen that makes it go bad. If it's film developer, you might consider a replenishment system. I used D76 and D76R replenisher and I could make a gallon of developer last for months (that's averaging 10 4x5 sheets/day). There's also a T-Max version, but I never used it. |
It's actually paper developer (Ilford PQ). I have some D76 here but haven't started developing film yet.
Originally posted by Spork99:
Unless you buy new marbles for each batch of developer, you run the risk of your marbles contaminating your developer as you use them. |
Why is that? Are marbles porous? I'm not doubting you, I'm just curious. I would have expected glass marbles could be cleaned thoroughly enough to not cross-contaminate.
Originally posted by Spork99:
Another solution that might work for you is collapsible bottles, I remember seeing some specifically for photo chemicals. As you use the developer, you simply collapse the bottle to minimize or eliminate airspace. |
I had read different things about the collapsible bottles -- that they weren't fully airtight and such. Maybe I'm being too fussy about this; marbles seemed like a quick and dirty answer.
Thanks for the tips. I might have to look into nitrogen. |
Marbles aren't porous, but their surfaces do contain imperfections (as you use them, they will certainly obtain more and larger ones) these will hold a certain amount of contaminants and other crud that gets into developer and fixer. Another concern in that the marbles themselves aren't pure silica glass the glass might contain metallic (i.e. reactive) materials used for decorative purposes that would react in a bad way with your developer/fixer and cause contamination. |
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04/13/2010 01:55:10 PM · #28 |
Originally posted by Spork99:
Marbles aren't porous, but their surfaces do contain imperfections (as you use them, they will certainly obtain more and larger ones) these will hold a certain amount of contaminants and other crud that gets into developer and fixer. Another concern in that the marbles themselves aren't pure silica glass the glass might contain metallic (i.e. reactive) materials used for decorative purposes that would react in a bad way with your developer/fixer and cause contamination. |
Correct about the surfaces -- whenever I was cleaning anything involved with photo chemicals, I always rinsed things three times more than usual. You should be able to get plain clear glass marbles from a floral supply -- those used in vases are more likely to be plain glass.
Another option would be to buy some plain window glass, a glass-cutter, and some emery cloth, and just cut up and sand the edges of some small pieces. These would also have the advantage of "stacking" flat in the bottom of the bottle, and filling the space more closely than spheres.
A glass/harware supply place might be able to give you some broken or scrap pieces cheap ...
Message edited by author 2010-04-13 13:56:34. |
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04/13/2010 07:41:57 PM · #29 |
you could look into a wine keeper. sort of a special cork that allows you to 'suck the air out' and replace with a non oxygen gas. or use to vaccuum seal the bottle ( ie: the bottle starts to collapse ). you might beable to use a two liter soda bottle as your vaccuum.
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