Rodinal - a practical question

[Joao]

Hello
A practical question about the use of Rodinal – if this question was answered before, I was not able to find it. My apologies then…

Question : After a long time time on the shelf the bottles of Rodinal get a deposit of cristals on the bottom; the same happens, to a greater degree, with homemade paRodinal. What should I do ?

1. Ignore that deposit and use the developer as usual ?
2. Decant or filter the developer ?
3. Agitate vigorously or otherwise try to dissolve the crystals ?

Thank you for your input

Joao

 

[freeranger]

I have a partial bottle of crusty rodinal too - I've just used it as normal: no shaking; dissolving; decanting or filtering - everything has developed well. Just go ahead with option 1.

 

[Freakscene]

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1256895&postcount=22

Marty

 

[mfogiel]

I've had a couple of cases with old Rodinal lately ( with crystals) which led to ALMOST BLANK negatives after development, so if the stuff you have is valuable, first test the developer on something else. I'm not a chemist, but the logic tells me that heating up the crystallised Rodinal slightly to dissolve the crystals could help - just check that they have not re-formed after cooling.

 

[George Bonanno]

Again, option 1.

I have liters of Agfa Rodinal in 500 cm³ bottles that was shipped here by my girlfriend’s father from Canton, China. The stuff is from the 1970’s and works fine. Just gently siphon off from the top and have no worry. Keep in mind it’s Agfa brand. I use it diluted 1:25 and 1:31 with vigorous agitation, never 1:50 or as a stand process (an invitation to disaster).

 

[Timmyjoe]

Joao,

I've been doing option #1 for years. Nothing scientific, but it hasn't bit me in the backside yet, knock wood.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Joao]

Thank you for your reassuring answers.
I will keep using the Rodinal as usual, and discarding it when the level comes too close to the bottom deposit.
Best regards
Joao