Developer (d-76) in airplane

R

rog

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Hi there,

I have been browsing the forum for a few days now and i couldnot find so i will post the question.

Does anybody have any experience in taking a D-76 (powder) and fixer (liquid) into an airplane? (in suitcase and not in handlugage)

Hope to hear something.

r
 
haha - was picturing you mixing and developing in the little bathroom, anxious to get started on your trip photos even before reaching home!

Powders are usually ok versus liquids for checked luggage with less of a chance of spilling. Is there a fixer alternative in powder form you could bring along?

btw - never traveled with these chemicals myself.
 
In the past, it was no problem - if you weren't travelling out of a major drug exporting country (where they tended to open every sealed bag). But I have not tried in the last decade, after they started to set up explosives detectors - some chemicals used as/in developers are explosives and have been used as such (e.g. picric acid), and many are strong reducers which could be part of a composite explosive.
 
powdered fixer

powdered fixer

uhm, i wouldnot know, i have never seen fixer in powder-form, does it exist, that you know of?
 
I took D76 developer powder in the Kodak factory sealed packet in my main luggage several different times back in the 1980s on transcontinental flights.
Only once was one packet ever pierced open to check its contents by customs.
It might be a different story in today's paranoid world though.
 
It might cause a problem as things are different these days. I used to travel all over the place on planes w/ a carry on bag that had dozens of oil paint tubes (lead covering on the tubes), brushes, several collapsed metal easels, and a gallon of paint thinner! Only once did I have a problem when all of a sudden flashes went off, suits showed up out of nowhere, and I was "asked" to open the case. They seemed disappointed that what had freaked them out were easels, not gun barrels. They never even said a word about the paint thinner.
 
I took developer in check-in luggage in both directions on flights from Heathrow to Delhi last year with no problems at all, liquid and powder. After having a bottle of fix break open and ruin backpack and contents a few years ago I just buy that at the destination now instead.
 
Kodak still makes Fixer in powder form...I have several packets...they come in Quart and Gallon sizes...I would rather travel with a powder over liquid...
Most suppliers ship potentially dangerous items Ground only...
 
Have a look at the orange danger symbols, if one says "corrosive" (as in the case of Rodinal), it is forbidden to carry in an airplane because if the package starts leaking, the content could corrode the metals. This is what the staff of German LH told my when I asked about bringing one bottle of Rodinal with me to Frankfurt Airport.
 
I have travelled with Rodinal from the UK once. And I'm pretty sure I had Ilford Rapid Fixer with me too, although I might be wrong. You will have to pack safely of course so that it doesn't ruin your stuff if leaked. I wouldn't think there should be a problem. Powder is always better to travel with. Why not ask an airline?
 
Kodak fixer (not Kodafix or Kodak Rapid Fixer) is a powder. It is also not a rapid fixer (it is hypo, more or less).

I would just bring that if I needed to bring chemicals. Sealed, yellow pouch, just like D-76. Many liquids can be (legally) packed, but I have had so many liquids of varying sorts leak in my luggage that I try to limit what I pack. As was noted: anything hazardous (explosive / flammable / corrosive / etc) cannot go via air without special handling, and certainly not commercial passenger service.
 
rog said:
uhm, i wouldnot know, i have never seen fixer in powder-form, does it exist, that you know of?
Click to expand...

Yes, I know of an alkaline fixer that comes as a powder. The package is diluted to produce 1 liter of stock solution, which in turn is diluted as 1 part of stock plus four parts of water (distilled water isn't required). Working solution fixer is to be used as one-shot application.

This fixer works well both with normal and pyro (tanning & staining) developers - so it is a fairly universal solution.

PS: The link leads to a supplier in the UK. I am not affiliated with them, but I have used the product, and I am a satisfied customer.
 
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