chemical storage solution?

[sdavies1]

Im looking for a cheap way to store my film developing chemcals. I am also on a very tight budget so an effective way that is free would be absolutely fantastic.
Thanks -scott 😕

 

[kaiyen]

In...bottles...?

You can use empty soda bottles if you want. Just keep them out of the sunlight. Pharmacies supposedly also will give away their empty amber glass bottles but everyone I ask says they aren't allowed to do so.

allan

 

[sdavies1]

i just wasnt sure if it was bad to store them in a clear jug or not.

 

[kaiyen]

if you expose them to too much light they can oxidize a bit faster. Even an opaque white bottle is a bit better than a clear one. But just stick the clear bottles under the sink or something and you should be fine. Amber glass bottles are the best, and they aren't as expensive as you might think, actually.

allan

 

[mwooten]

I recycle quart size milk bottles, and store them in a bathroom closet.

 

[venchka]

Airtight is another requirement.

 

[Bryan Lee]

This thread has been done a few times but here goes.



Plastic sucks, glass is always better.

Clear bottles (whiskey or whatever) are fine, paint them black on the outside.

Use good old fashioned corks, avoid metal screw tops.

Get a few bags of marbles to place inside the glass bottles to raise the level of the fluids closer to the top, Oxygen kills chemistry.

Use good water to mix up your chemistry, get a couple five gallon glass jugs and fill them leaving the top off for a few days before you mix up your chemistry. It will let anything thats not water evaporate or settle to the bottem. If you dont see any film or anything on the top of the water gently pour and use the top three qaurters of the water not disturbing and sediment. An alternative is to just buy distilled water to use for chemistry.

Spray paint a white line over the black painted bottle and write dates and mixes with a permenant marker, masking tape is ok but is not the best.

Never reuse a dedicated bottle for another chemistry.

Tempeture changes of hot to cold and back can kill chemistry, temperature stability during storage is the answer.

 

[stevierose]

I use these for developers which are impervious to chemicals and oxygen and allow you to squeeze all the air out. They are not free, but appear to be infinitely reusable. My stock Xtol is going on 2 years old without failure using these. The key is to keep the chemicals in the dark and squeeze all the air out of the bottle either by squeezing the bottle (like these) or adding glass marbles as you use up the chemicals. For fixer I use empty one gallon milk containers.

https://www.stoplossbags.com/

 

[presspass]

One liter brow glass bottles with screw on tops work best, but you have to buy them. If you know, or if you do, drink beer, look for some Grolsh (sp?). It comes in dark green bottles with a clamp-on lid that has a rubber gasket. Just don't leave the ones with beer in them next to the ones with D-76 or fixer; confusion at the wrong moment could cause problems. Otherwise, the above advice is good, especially about dedicating each bottle to a specific chemical - developer, fixer, etc. - and get some clear glass marbles to take up air space if you don't use your developer quickly. Try to avoid any kind of plastic - it's permeable to air and will cause problems.

 

[Beemermark]

Wine bottles with either corks or screw on caps.

 

[fiddle]

the glass beer bottles with the hinged rubber cap. Here in the US there is Grolsh. You can buy the bottles empty, but they are free if you drink beer... 🙂

 

[IIIg]

One liter brow glass bottles with screw on tops work best, but you have to buy them. If you know, or if you do, drink beer, look for some Grolsh (sp?). It comes in dark green bottles with a clamp-on lid that has a rubber gasket. Just don't leave the ones with beer in them next to the ones with D-76 or fixer; confusion at the wrong moment could cause problems. Otherwise, the above advice is good, especially about dedicating each bottle to a specific chemical - developer, fixer, etc. - and get some clear glass marbles to take up air space if you don't use your developer quickly. Try to avoid any kind of plastic - it's permeable to air and will cause problems.

Brewpubs often sell beer in "growlers" - one quart dark glass, heavy walled bottles with screw lids. Replace the metal top with a plastic one from a bleach bottle; they are the same thread.

Some vinegars come in one gallon glass bottles, usually clear.

 

[retinax]

Soda bottles for me. They are gas proof enough, after all the fizz stays in the soda a long time, and can be squeezed to get air out, no messing with lots of marbles necessary. Keep them in a cabinet or darkroom and there's no need for dark bottles either.

 

[randy stewart]

chemical storage

chemical storage

Scott,

Some of these posts are the height of "penny wise, pound foolish".

First note that except for developer, B&W photo process chems are not terribly critical for oxygen free storage. Stop bath - not applicable. Fixer - simple plastic bottle (capped) storage in recycled container will do. The problem of recycled bottles is getting them clean - very hard to do for dairy and household cleaners.

Developer: First, use single use developers (film), only storing the stock solution used to mix what goes in the tank. If you can afford D-76 or Xtol, you can afford some amber glass bottles. Screw the plastic bottles - they leak oxygen. Forget the marbles. Depending on how fast you are going to run though a load of stock solution, buy enough small capped bottles to break it up into single use volumes. Ex., D-76, used 1:1 in a tank requiring 390 - 500ml of working developer. Get 250ml bottles. If you mix a bit more than you need, so what? The stored stock solution is going to last forever (more of less). If you store stock in one large bottle, you have to deal with air volumes in the bottle as you draw down the stock to use. (Google "glass bottle outlet".

While you do not sound like your situation, if you use a gallon of stock developer a month, use any large bottle you like, as you are going to consume the whole thing before it has a chance to spoil.

 

[zuiko85]

The dollar store store sells Hydrogen Peroxide in quart size brown plastic bottles. Dump the H2O2, rinse well with tap water, and there you go, developer, stop and fixer bottles for $1 each.

Of course, personally I develop film in HC-110 at dilution H as a one shot so don’t store film developer, only paper developer.