Concerned about how old your Rodinal is?

[x-ray]

I see a lot of questions on the forums as to whether a partially used bottle of Rodinal that's been sitting around for a few years is still good. I've always stated from personal experience that I've never had a bottle go bad even one that's 10 or more years old. For those that have reservations, check this out.

https://petapixel.com/2018/01/02/guy-got-100-year-old-bottle-film-developer-tried/

The author of the article came into a partially used bottle of Rodinal that turned out to be 100 years old. Curiosity got the best of him so he ran a test roll and found it was still good. Now you can put your mind at ease when you revisit that 10 year old bottle of Rodinal.

 

[valdas]

Surely not 100years old, but still very old... The bottle says Deutsche Demokratische Republik which was not created until 1949...


P.S. oh, I see there is a comment about DDR at th bottom of the article...

 

[ChrisPlatt]

What about the clones?

What about the clones?

I'm curious to know the keeping properties of the various Rodinal clones available.
If they use the original formula as claimed shouldn't they last as long as the AGFA original?
However in another forum an R09 user reports his properly-stored bottle was ineffective after just 18 months! 😱

Chris

 

[x-ray]

I'm curious to know the keeping properties of the various Rodinal clones available.
If they use the original formula as claimed shouldn't they last as long as the AGFA original?
However in another forum an R09 user reports his properly-stored bottle was ineffective after just 18 months! 😱

Chris

I'm not putting anyone down but I read so many comments that I'm skeptical of and you never know the level of expertise of that individual and whether they knew what they were doing in the first place. Ive read the formulas for most of the Rodinal variations since the 1st version and they're all closely related. I have no reason to believe R09 is any different than earlier versions as to keeping properties.

It's always a good policy if in doubt to do a clip test.

 

[sreed2006]

I had 2 year old R09 go bad, just last month. The bottle had sediment rocks in the bottom that rattled when I shook the bottle. The bottle was about 1/4 full. I followed the exact same development procedure that had worked with the developer before, and the negatives came out about 2 stops underdeveloped. I tossed the rest of the bottle.

 

[x-ray]

I had 2 year old R09 go bad, just last month. The bottle had sediment rocks in the bottom that rattled when I shook the bottle. The bottle was about 1/4 full. I followed the exact same development procedure that had worked with the developer before, and the negatives came out about 2 stops underdeveloped. I tossed the rest of the bottle.

That sediment is actually a part of Rodinal and shouldn't be filtered. It's something I've seen since I started using it 50 years ago and has never been an issue. There's a den quite a bit written on it.

 

[x-ray]

Here's a link to the Rodinal formulas.

https://www.digitaltruth.com/articles/historic-rodinal.php

It's my understanding there are two R09 variations but the difference is negligible with one being the original formula. At one point ratios of some components changed to bring the standard dilution from 1:49 down to 1:50. Essentially though they're all basically the same.

 

[x-ray]

I looked over the various formulas. At one point there was a change from sodium hydroxide to lithium hydroxide. The only reason I could think of to do this is the Lithium hydroxide would be more active than sodium hydroxide. Possibly it was cheaper at the time but would essentially do the same thing. They're both strong alkaline agents which raise the ph of the solution.

Also sodium Sulfite was used. This often is used as a silver silver to reduce grain and help retard oxidation.

Potassium carbonate was added at one point and may have been to accelerate development and partially buffer the ph. Potassium metabisulfate also appeared for a while. This is purely to buffer the alkali in the solution.

Citric acid also came and went. I'm not sure why this was added. Possibly it was part of the buffer or as an anti oxidant.

Really though the changes have been more in an attempt to buffer the solution than changes in the active components.

 

[Steve M.]

My R09 also went off within a few months too, so I doubt it's the old formula exactly. That particular formulation does not like air or light for sure.

 

[Daryl J.]

Drop clear glass marbles into the container to minimize air/oxygen exposure. It's possible that the oxygen is reverting 4-Aminophenol back to what is essentially Tylenol.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I have a 1L bottle of Rodinal, unopened. It was bought for $2 at a Goodwill then lived for almost a year in the trunk of my car. Through the hot and the cold. I'm not sure what to do with it now.

Phil Forrest

 

[charjohncarter]

Surely not 100years old, but still very old... The bottle says Deutsche Demokratische Republik which was not created until 1949...


P.S. oh, I see there is a comment about DDR at th bottom of the article...

Maybe, but I remember a report of a Rodinal bottle being found in the 60s in a bombed building in Germany and it was still good. I keep my Rodinal at indoor temperatures (in the California Democratic Republic) without A/C at times close to 85 degrees F. It is 12 years old and I use it very rarely, I developed a roll 4 weeks ago and the negatives were perfect without adding time.


This is the dust magnet expired Kodak Technical Pan in Rodinal:

Technical Pan Rodinal by John Carter, on Flickr

 

[x-ray]

I have a bottle I've used about half of and it's been open I know for 4 year and maybe 5 that's still good. I did several runs of Pan F in it this past summer. I've been given partial bottles that were many years old that were still good. They were the old amber glass with the rubber stopper that you used a hypodermic syringe and needle to extract the liquid.

If you're concerned about oxidation there's a product you can buy called Bloxygen. Bloxygen is pure Argon gas which is completely inert. When you use your Rodinal just put the aerosol can nozzle up to the mouth of the Rodinal bottle and release some of the Argon for about four seconds and then cap the Rodinal. It drives out the oxygen and prevents oxidation. It works with open wine and oil based paint and varnish also. I use it with wine if I only want a glass.

 

[sepiareverb]

A glass bottle and Bloxygen will extend the life of every developer. I’ve stored partial bottles of DD-X, Sprint Quicksilver, Microphen, Perceptol, Studionol and yes, R09 without any noticeable change in activity. If DD-X or Microphen can last years stored this way then RO9 will last forever plus.

 

[telenous]

Now is the right time to start a rumour about the mythical properties of 100 year half-empty bottles of Rodinal. No one should accept using anything less.

.

 

[p.giannakis]

My R09 was opened in 2009 when I bought it and I used it a couple of weeks ago. It is fine. Here is a picture.

 

[L. M. Tu]

Somewhat off topic, but I have two bottles of Rodinal bought in 2000 that have never been opened and have been stored on a shelf in the basement. One day I'm going to have the time to do a test strip.

 

[x-ray]

My R09 was opened in 2009 when I bought it and I used it a couple of weeks ago. It is fine. Here is a picture.

None of the Rodinal formulas that I've seen have deviated from the original formula enough to be concerned about longevity of the concentrate. I seriously doubt R09 is any different.

I'd like to know more about the circumstances where it's claimed the developer went bad. What was used to measure the concentrate? Was it mixed and let sit for a period of time before use? We're these folks using extreme dilutions like for stand development or we're they using standard dilutions like 1:25 or 1:50? What film? Was there enough Rodinal for the film area being processed. Due to the concentration of Rodinal it's quite easy to make errors.

 

[p.giannakis]

None of the Rodinal formulas that I've seen have deviated from the original formula enough to be concerned about longevity of the concentrate. I seriously doubt R09 is any different.

I'd like to know more about the circumstances where it's claimed the developer went bad. What was used to measure the concentrate? Was it mixed and let sit for a period of time before use? We're these folks using extreme dilutions like for stand development or we're they using standard dilutions like 1:25 or 1:50? What film? Was there enough Rodinal for the film area being processed. Due to the concentration of Rodinal it's quite easy to make errors.

If you're asking me, my dilution was 1:50 (6ml in 300ml tank), 12.30 mins on 18 degrees for T-MAX 400 film. My R09 is so oxidised that is very dark brown and there are flakes of developer floating but small enough to be sucked into a syringe (still goes inside the tank).
Stand and semi-stand development was always problematic for me so I avoid using them.

 

[Daryl J.]

6 ml in a 300ml tank: Do you mix the Rodinal and distilled water together first in a graduated cylinder and let them sit for a bit to thoroughly mix?