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Response to Preventing Developer Oxidation

from Michael Riccomini (mriccomini@bak.rr.com)
Alec, it would help to know a little about how your nitrogen system is set up. For example, if it is one of those small aluminum cylinders used for wine preservation, you should be fine. If it is a large commercial pressure cylinder, you will need a pressure-reducing regulator mounted on the tank. A delivery pressure of about 5 to 10 psi is sufficient.

Assuming you are set up, connect a small diameter flexible hose (~1/4 in. latex or clear vinyl) to the nitrogen supply and place the other end into the bottle of developer approximately 1 to 2 in. above the surface of the liquid. Start a gentle flow into the bottle. If the flow splashes the liquid surface at all then the flow rate is too high. Approximately 5 seconds of purging should be enough to displace 99+% of the oxygen. Stop the flow, remove the hose and cap the bottle. Since the density of nitrogen is approximately the same as air, you will not have to worry about the nitrogen dissipating out of the bottle before you cap it.

(posted 8581 days ago)

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