Re: [Leica] XTOL Again (slightly off-topic) long

[Mark Rabiner <mrabiner@concentric.net>]

Nathan Wajsman wrote:
> 
> Greg,
> 
> You have it exactly right. If you are using 100ml of pure XTOL per film, you
> need to adjust the time as described. I fell into this trap when I first started
> using XTOL, thinking that the table applied to reuse of developer only.
> 
> Nathan
> 
> Greg Achenbach wrote:
> 
> > Hello Luggers.
> > I've struggled with the amount of XTOL needed per roll of 135-36 film for
> > some time, and I have been given a variety of opinions despite the fact that
> > we all read the same directions. In the Kodak technical sheet J-107 which
> > deals with XTOL for use in small tanks and trays there is a time
> > compensation table which indicates that no time compensation is needed for 1
> > to 5 rolls per liter of full strength developer. I read that as meaning that
> > up to an amount of 200 ml/roll no time increase is needed. For 6 to 10
> > rolls/liter, the development time should be increased by  15%. As 10
> > rolls/liter is 100 ml /roll, wouldn't that indicate a 15% increase in
> > development time for the often quoted amount of 100 ml/roll?
><snip>
Here's how I do this:
It's a little confusing at first. A normal metal tank with metal reels
uses 250 of liquid per 35mm reel. 
That leaves you only with 50 mls of water per reel which isn't even
close to a 1:1 dilution which is 125 each Xtol and water of course.
You'd need 75 mls more pure developer in that ratio to not need extra
time from the getgo.

So unless you're sloshing your few reels around at the bottom of tall
filled to the brim tank you are going to be needing more time than what
they are showing you on the Kodak charts. 
My reels are going to go to the top of my tank and so is my developer
like they have done for 34 years. So I'm willing to throw on as much
"extra" time as nessessary. I just don't think of this time as "extra." 
I'm just keeping careful records of the time a normal 4 rolls-per-liter
tank gets verses when I have fewer rolls in that tank and when I have
more (don't ask).
 
Using A database design program FileMaker I've designed a database years
back to keep track of all my film developing data.
Another use for these typing machines with the TV screen.
I've just had to add a few newer fields to each record to get my
database to deal with rolls-per-liter tanks on top of dilution. 
I could and will add calculation fields that would extrapolate different
rolls-per-liter from different dilutions at least as a starting point
for me to go from once I've established a rolls-per-liter time from a
certain dilution. 
I'm pretty much sticking with 1:3 but with Delta 3200 looking like it
wants more than 20 minutes I'm going to have that one at least be 1:2 as
there are limits to my attention span.

Each time I run a tank of anything I record how much time I ran it for
and then how much time it appears I should have run it for. That second
time of course would be the big influence on the time I use for the next
time I run that exact combination.
So Xtol adds a little curve ball at you that you can easily learn to
deal with as once you try it there is no turning back.
Mark Rabiner