Response to Temperature of stop-bath, fix and wash

I live on the Texas gulf coast, and the temperature of the water from the tap varies greatly. I use distilled water for the developer and the final rinse (with Edwal LFN). For stop, fix, and the first stages of washing, I put tap water in the plastic jugs that the distilled water came in, and keep it in a room that has moderate temperature. The difference between solution temperatures is minimized this way. For rinsing, I use a modified form of Ilford's recommended procedure, which does not use a lot of water. I modify it by using a quick rinse after the fix, then hypo eliminator, then more changes of water and more time than they recommend. I do adjust the temperature of the developer to 68 or 75 F. ,and almost always manage to keep it to within one degree F. by using a simple water bath (cool water with a couple of ice cubes in a tray; the developing tank spends more or less of the time in the tray depending on the cool water temp). I spin the reels 2 at a time in a lettuce spinner "centrifuge" and hang the film up to dry in a damp shower stall. Very low-tech, but it all seems to produce clean consistent negatives. If for some reason the stored water is too hot, I do cool it down before I start.

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