Expired Rodinal

[jrose125]

I've been interested in getting my hands on Rodinal for awhile but don't really want to commit to a large bottle, so I found someone who has a 150 mL Bottle. The bottle is sealed and still in the box, but it's been expired for a little over 6 years.

I know nothing about Rodinal but I assume that it should be fine and still capable at this aged (still sealed). Any thoughts? Should I just spring for a new, not expired bottle?

 

[Timmyjoe]

New bottles from Freestyle are not expensive, although I've used Rodinal that is older than six years. I think either way you should be okay.

 

[Jake Mongey]

The rodinol ive used is from the 90s - the stuff barely seems to age so you should be good

 

[jrose125]

New bottles from Freestyle are not expensive, although I've used Rodinal that is older than six years. I think either way you should be okay.

Thanks for the help.

I'm a Canadian so I'll likely have to order some "Blazinal" from Photoservice in Montreal.

I do have a PO Box in the USA but I see that Freestyle won't ship Rodinal to PO Box's.

 

[jrose125]

The rodinol ive used is from the 90s - the stuff barely seems to age so you should be good

Awesome, good to know. Thanks dude!

 

[yoyo22]

Old Rodinal might form some crystals, so you might want run it through a coffee filter.

 

[xayraa33]

I have used Rodinal that was in its small original glass bottle that was first opened sometime in the 1980s and it worked perfectly fine.

 

[jrose125]

Old Rodinal might form some crystals, so you might want run it through a coffee filter.

Good to know. Does the filtering go pretty smooth? Seems to be like running something syrupy like Rodinal through a coffee filter would be a pain.

 

[jrose125]

I have used Rodinal that was in its small original glass bottle that was first opened sometime in the 1980s and it worked perfectly fine.

That is good to know for sure. It turns out that buddy also has a 500 mL Bottle still sealed and in box. Both bottles are plastic and were bought sometime in the early 2000's.

 

[newsgrunt]

Six years ? that's nothing 😉 I've lost track how old mine are lol run one roll as a test but it should be fine. What colour is it ? Shld be very light coloured, almost like a pale rosé.

 

[xayraa33]

That is good to know for sure. It turns out that buddy also has a 500 mL Bottle still sealed and in box. Both bottles are plastic and were bought sometime in the early 2000's.

yeah, I was not so sure at first because the Rodinal had become a dark syrupy brown. but I mixed it to my usual 1:50 dilution and it work perfectly fine with HP5+ with no modification of time or temperature than the norm.

 

[Ronald M]

It is good for ten years, 1998 to 2008 to be exact. I did test strips yearly and printed them. Same studio set up with grey scale other telling objects. Same studio flashes.

Remove from bottle with eye dropper or transfer pipette so you do not get debris from the bottom.

Rerun your tests if you buy new bottle. Best for fine or medium grain. Figure 1/3 stop slower than box.

 

[jrose125]

Six years ? that's nothing 😉 I've lost track how old mine are lol run one roll as a test but it should be fine. What colour is it ? Shld be very light coloured, almost like a pale rosé.

Thanks for the advice 🙂

Both bottles are sealed in their respective boxes, so I'm not sure of the colour!

 

[jrose125]

It is good for ten years, 1998 to 2008 to be exact. I did test strips yearly and printed them. Same studio set up with grey scale other telling objects. Same studio flashes.

Remove from bottle with eye dropper or transfer pipette so you do not get debris from the bottom.

Rerun your tests if you buy new bottle. Best for fine or medium grain. Figure 1/3 stop slower than box.

Thanks for the advice! I've got one of those "Children's Medicine Syringe" lying around unused so I figured that would do the job.

 

[John Bragg]

Rodinal should work fine even when it is dark like cola. It is also easy to pour and measure with a small graduated cylinder. No special care needed but run a test roll to be sure. I have used it as old as 15 years with no ill effects.

 

[znapper]

Finished a 10 year old bottle a couple of weeks ago, dark cola color, lots of crystals (which I filtered through a coffee-filter), did a test-strip and it seemed fine, photos were ok too.

When in doubt, do a test-strip.

 

[Moto-Uno]

^Concerning the crystals and filtering them , I simply put the bottle in some quite hot water and agitated it somewhat after a while had passed and the crystals were gone, and it worked fine on the next roll I developed . Rereading this you know there's no science involved in what I did , but the stuff really can stand the test of time . Peter

 

[Hari]

Hi!
I like to roll my own and mixed a quart of Rodinal
some years back, like for 6 to 8. Stored in
2 pint glass containers, I've just cracked the
second bottle.
Rich

 

[Steve M.]

If it's really Rodinal, I don't think it ever expires from what I have read. The newer versions may be less stable. Again, this is only from what I have read. I did have a bottle of the R09 go bad on me in just 6 months because the crappy plastic bottle they put it in had developed a small split on the seam and the air got to it.

 

[jrose125]

Rodinal should work fine even when it is dark like cola. It is also easy to pour and measure with a small graduated cylinder. No special care needed but run a test roll to be sure. I have used it as old as 15 years with no ill effects.

Awesome! Good to know.