How many years can I keep exposed film before processing?

[Rayt]

Yes I have HC110 and Rodinal but don’t want to limit myself to those and also it’s the fixer that stinks up the place.

 

[robertofollia]

Well, to be honest I'll explain my particular case. 2 rolls of APX100 120 format (Leverkusen) shot in 1996. Forgot about them. Stored loose inside a wooden cupboard in Barcelona (wet and warm climate).
Found them in the summer of 1991. Developed then. Guess what? Images came totally fresh, despite very very slight bleeding from backing paper.
In a recent conversation with on of the organizers of the 9,5mm (pathe baby) film festival in Spain, the organizer told me some tests he performed with his own Fuji Velvia stock. Had 20 yr old stocks in the freezer. Shot a couple of rolls One was developed and the other one re-froze it and waited 5 more years to develop. Came perfectly.
To sump up. The fridge and low temps slow down the degradation. But freezing stops time. E-6 colour film is much more sensible. So with B/W negative you won't have any problem.
Tomorrow I'm sending for developing a 6 month old batch of films. All kept in fridge after exposing. IF the turnaround is greater than 6 months-1 year after exposing I choose to freeze.
Best regards

Oops! Typo!. Found the film in 2021, not 1991 and developed it in 2022, so that makes a whopping 26 years waiting to be developed, stored in bad conditions and not "processing promtly" as manufacturers said.
Another lost and found were 2 rolls of orwo 8mm reversal film B/W, stored in the leather camera case pocket since 1995 until 2021. These came quite faint, but visible.

 

[titrisol]

How many years can I store b/w film before processing? I am shooting film again but intermittently and need to process in large batches to avoid keeping opened chemicals. I keep exposed 120 and 135 rolls in baggies in the fridge.

Developer: you can mix 1L and break it into small cough syrup bottles (it will last 1y+)
Fixer: use 1shot (e.g. Ilfrod 1+9)

 

[Freakscene]

Yes I have HC110 and Rodinal but don’t want to limit myself to those and also it’s the fixer that stinks up the place.

You can buy odourless fixer: Ultrafine Odorless Fixer - 1gal, to make 5-10 gals - UltraFine B & W Photo Chemicals Liquid and Liquid Concentrates which is buffered to limit production of hydrogen sulfide and other smelly gaseous products.

If you plan to leave your film for a while, HC-110 or an equivalent is definitely the way to go, in terms of developers.

 

[p.giannakis]

I have plenty of rolls of films that I put in one camera, take few pics, unload it, put it in another camera, take some pics etc..

Some years ago (about 2013) I did some test shots with a Minolta 8000i I bought second hand and removed it and finished the roll a year ago when I rediscovered it. The pictures I took in 2013 seem underexposed/(or) underdeveloped. The ones I took a year ago look better. In both cases I consider them to be workable negatives. At some point I might scan some examples to show.

 

[pixie79]

Use it within date. Store in fridge. I develop usually within hours! I need to see my exposures! Out from fixer, soonest! Then wash...