Fixer with good storage properties

[froyd]

Looking for a fixer with good storage properties for occasional use.

Likely application would be processing 2 rolls in one month, followed by 2 months of no use (storage in compressible dark bottles, if needed), and then a couple of more rolls again. No prints.

Any recommendations?

The developer for this casual developing regimen is HC110. I need its fixin' counterpart!

 

[Highway 61]

Keep your working solution in an inactinic glass bottle (one liter of working solution, minimal air in the bottle on top the liquid, good screw-on lid with a rubber gasket) and store it in a dark, cool place with no temperature variations.

Fixer will get dead once exhausted (too many fixed films and too many silver particles in it), but it may also get dead before this "natural death" if oxydized already as the stock solution (bottle of stock solution open for too long and showing white crystals when you dilute it) or if it gets too much contaminated with the developer.

Buy your new stock fixer in small 250 cc bottles. You can get some Tetenal Superfix Plus in such small bottles. The best fixer out there.

Using stop bath will make your fixer last longer.

Compressible plastic dark bottles are a joke, don't use that stuff. You need to see how what's inside the bottle looks (silver particles stuck all over the inside of the bottle, making the glass opaque : dead fixer, even if it doesn't smell like some rotten eggs).

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Film fixer is easy. Because you will see then it doesn't works anymore.
I do Kodak fixer in powder for one gallon. It lasts one year with monthly use.

 

[Beemermark]

I mostly use the Kodak fixer but have also used the Freestyle brand. Lasts forever. No special storage instructions, just a brown plastic 1 gallon jug that I've used for decades. After about 5 minutes you can examine the film in subdued light to see if it's fixed. When the times become too long (for me around 7~8 minutes) I dump it. More a case of me being too impatient to wait longer than 8 minutes.

 

[froyd]

Compressible plastic dark bottles are a joke, don't use that stuff. You need to see how what's inside the bottle looks (silver particles stuck all over the inside of the bottle, making the glass opaque : dead fixer, even if it doesn't smell like some rotten eggs).

I'm actually quite fond of the little buggers and never had a problem in literally decades. However, I do clean them regularly with overnight baths and never pour straight from bottle to dev tank (I go to clear pouring jar in temp-controlled tub and if "floaties" are present I strain them).

 

[froyd]

I mostly use the Kodak fixer but have also used the Freestyle brand. Lasts forever. No special storage instructions, just a brown plastic 1 gallon jug that I've used for decades. After about 5 minutes you can examine the film in subdued light to see if it's fixed. When the times become too long (for me around 7~8 minutes) I dump it. More a case of me being too impatient to wait longer than 8 minutes.

I assume you mean Kodafix?

I was looking into that, according to this data sheet the storage life is "indefinite"

Ilford seems to have a much shorter useful life:
Full, unopened bottles of ILFORD RAPID FIXER
concentrate stored in cool conditions, 5–20ºC
(41–68ºF), will keep for two years. Once opened
use completely within six months and keep all
bottles tightly sealed until used.


I never noticed because I used to go through fixer pretty quickly and could always hypo check, if I lost count of rolls. Now that I will have a much smaller volume of processing, I don't want to throw away unused stock solution after 6 months!

 

[p.giannakis]

I use Rapid Fixer. I make 1 shot solutions and discard them after use. The stock solution bottle is around two years old. No difference in performance noticed.

 

[froyd]

Film fixer is easy. Because you will see then it doesn't works anymore.
I do Kodak fixer in powder for one gallon. It lasts one year with monthly use.

Kodak claims 2 months lifespan for the diluted working solution. Are you saying the powder last you a year or that the working solution can last that long?

Certainly powder has a loooong shelf life.

 

[ihorzu]

my Kodak 1 gallon fixer diluted working solution works for me 4 or 5 years without any issue. But I scan and don't store film. I keep it in the dark cool room.

 

[froyd]

my Kodak 1 gallon fixer diluted working solution works for me 4 or 5 years without any issue. But I scan and don't store film. I keep it in the dark cool room.

Looks like maybe manufacturers are overly cautious with their expiration dates to be on the safe side.

 

[Beemermark]

Kodak claims 2 months lifespan for the diluted working solution. Are you saying the powder last you a year or that the working solution can last that long?

Certainly powder has a loooong shelf life.

I talking about the 1 gallon made from the powder Kodak fixer. I never pay too much attention to expiration dates on developer, fixer or other chemicals. If the fixer removes all the silver life is good.

 

[esearing]

Buy Ilford Rapid fix in 500ml size and mix 1:9, can be stored for 1-3 months. Test the fixer with the leader cut off from your roll. If it clears the film in 30-60 seconds the diluted fixer is good. Stock solution should keep for 1-2 years. TF5 lasts a long time too and is preferred for Pyrocat and stain developed films.