How long does old developer chemicals last?

[Ccoppola82]

Recently my friend bought a house to flip that had a darkroom in it. He had me come by and go through the darkroom where I found probably 2lbs each of Metol, Hydroquinone, Potassium Bromide, sodium sulfite, and some Alum of some sort I think was used for hardening. I’m very familiar with using the chemicals themselves, but I am not sure if they are still good as they’ve been stored in jars for who knows how long. Any idea how long these chemicals last in powder form?

 

[randy stewart]

You can only tell in your case by trying them. However, my experience has been that stored at normal stable temperature, low humidity, and in the dark, the developing agents can last nearly forever. There should be no shelf life limit on the other items.

 

[presspass]

What's the storage condition? Have the containers been opened? If not, were they sealed with tape the way Photographer's Formulary does? I use metol and sodium sulfite and some of the metol has been in my darkroom for over a year. I used it two weeks ago to mix some new D-23 and the developer worked as it should. Metol does get a yellow tint as it ages, but I have not seen it work any differently than metol that was fresher. If you want to try some, sacrifice a roll of film and mix some D-23 - it just takes 7.5 g of metol, 100 g of s. sulfite, and enough distilled water to make a liter. I only use bromide occasionally in print developer and have not used hydroquinone or alum, so I cannot comment on either. Let us know how you make out and how you determined if the chemicals are either good or defective.

 

[Ccoppola82]

They are in old peanut butter jars from the 80s i would say?

 

[presspass]

Glass or plastic?

 

[Freakscene]

Give it a try. There are chemical assessments but they cost a lot more and take a lot more time than mixing a litre of developer and developing a roll of film in it.

Marty

 

[KenR]

Rather than wasting a roll of film, just try it on a film leader.

 

[Freakscene]

Rather than wasting a roll of film, just try it on a film leader.

You need exposures rather than maximum density. 50% oxidised hydroquinone or metol will develop a leader but you won’t see if the activity is diminished. You only need a few frames or: https://www.freestylephoto.biz/1672109-Ilford-FP4-Plus-125-ISO-35mm-x-100-ft.-Process-Control-Strips

Marty