Chemicals Life Expectancy

[Maxapple88]

Hi,

Would b&w chemicals survive a full summer in a safe storage locker?
Also, how badly is it affected by surrounding temperature? If stored in a warm closet, will this ruin the chemicals? I still have a half-full bottle of Ilford rapid fixer and a full and still sealed one, unfortunately they are both from before the summer and have since been stored in this fairly warm closet (there is a radiator pipe inside it that heats it up a bit, so ever since i've started heating this could have been an issue).

I've developed two batches with this stuff so far and have been disappointed both times. Will I have to get a completely new set?

This is the kind of stuff i've been getting. I've been doing my own b&w processing for a few years now and I know what results to expect, I just have no experience with such "old" chemicals.

kind regards,
Max

 

[Al Kaplan]

It's the damned cigarette's fault! You shouldn't be storing chemicals AND smoking...LOL

Dry powder chemicals should be OK. Some liquid stock solutions like HC-110 and Rodinol should be fine. Don't store it diluted. Fixer usually gets milky looking when it "goes bad". Hypo Clearing Agent should last and last. Stock solutions of developers like D-76 and Dektol in full bottles should be OK.

Your example looks like a development screw-up, not fixer failure.

 

[Maxapple88]

Well, I've been developing Rodinal 1+50 for several months now and I've never had results like this. The film has been through airports although, once maybe twice...

I'm just a bit worried about the fixer. Are you sure a constant exposure to warmth won't ruin it over time?

 

[Trius]

Buy some new fixer and re-fix. See if that helps.

 

[eli griggs]

Move it away from any heat source and try using an old ice chest, permanently marked, "never to be used for food stuffs!", for storing chemicals in. If nothing else, it should make daily swings in temperatures less of an issue.