Hypo Clear Question

 

Last night's post on chemical mixes for next week, got this response from a friend.

Got this question from a Facebook friend, thought I would share it.

CC

I've been wanting to experiment with hypo clear, how long have you been doing your rinses for? (You can make a hypo clear test using a little bit of silver nitrate and glacial acetic acid, I don't have the recipe handy but should be able to find the Kodak one online)

GY

My goal in the project AMBROTOS KANATA, an Ambrotype series on Canada. Is to be able to complete 35x35 inch plates (also 20x24, 8x10) from start to finish in the field. I will be traveling for up to 4 months at a time, long distances. It is important to be able to complete the plate in the field, safely and efficiently. To that end, I have a 14x7 foot darkroom trailer and recently purchased a large, quick set up tent, to use for washing, drying and varnishing Ambrotypes. The idea is to wash the plates in the field using large trays and agitation pumps. I will need to change out the water in the trays several times. I was told that hypo clear is safe for ambrotypes. By using hypo clear, I can cut down on the wash time and the amount of water I will need to haul all-round the country. I am using a 32% mix of Sodium Thiosulfate (Hypo) as my fixer, so a hypo clear bath seems the smart way to go. I do a fix till the white clears and then a bit extra, a 1-part hypo clear to 4 parts water (hypo bath) tray for maybe 10-15 minutes with limited agitation and then a wash in multiple water baths for about 2 hours. I have 4 of these (see photo) pumps that I use for agitation, they really circulate the water, jet like. 2 for the trailer and 2 for the tent, plus multiple sources of battery power, assisted by solar. Hope that helps Chad. Will check for the test you mention. 

One of my 4 agitation pumps.