Rodinal shell life

[Marsopa]

Hi:

Yesterday I talk with a shop owner and he told me about a Rodinal clone that he has in the shop, he could sell them for 1€ (ca. 0.76$) each bottle (125ml). I don't know how old the bottles could be... Has Rodinal a lon shell life (undiluted & unopened)?

 

[Honus]

Rumor has it that a bottle of Rodinal was found in the tomb of King Tutankhamen and, amazingly enough, the same bottle was used to process the photographs taken of the Boy King's cache.

I don't know about your friend's clone, but Rodinal has a well-documented long shelf life.

 

[Trius]

Tutankhamen? Ha!!! You call that old???? My bottle is signed "Adam & Eve". And that's the naked truth.

 

[Chuck Albertson]

Rodinal has a long life---I'm currently working my way through a 500 ml bottle I opened 3 years ago. It tends to get darker after it's opened, but the developments times remain the same.

 

[oscroft]

Tutankhamen? Ha!!! You call that old???? My bottle is signed "Adam & Eve". And that's the naked truth

I've just checked the instructions on the label on my bottle, and it says...

"In the beginning was the undeveloped film, and it was without shape or form.
And on the first day Agfa did create Rodinal. And they split it asunder, one part in fifty. And they saw that it was good."

 

[eric]

Rodinol shelf life is...umm...forever.

 

[Dean C Williams]

It will still be good long after the shelf falls off the wall.

 

[EmilGil]

I read somewhere about a test done with a 70y.o. bottle. They had to cut down on development time as it was actually more active than a fresh bottle...

 

[RayPA]

I've heard whispered tales in the back rooms of internet forums, fantastic tales of the discovery of an ancient soup contained in small amber bottle that was found amongst relics. This primordial liquid of unsurpassed stamina and strength when mixed in the smallest of dilutions renders tone and grain in such a fashion that it surpasses the panty-waist developers of today. I have found such a relic, and upon discovery, I wiped away the dust from the bottle and saw it was called Rodinal.

I've got a 1/3 full bottle that has to be at least 20 yrs old. The only reason I haven't tossed it is because I really want to see if it's still good. A good rainy day project!

.

 

[venchka]

Why not just buy the real Rodinal? Clones have a habit of not being exactly the same as the original. On the other hand, ask the owner to pop open a bottle and test it. If it's good, buy the clone.

 

[BigSteveG]

My photo instructor told me it loses actuance after being opened. I had about an 1/8 of a bottle whick looked very dark so I let it go and opened up a new bottle.

 

[ath]

The Agfa Rodinal has a legendary shelf life; but this is not always true for the clones.
See this and this thread.

 

[Tom A]

The original Rodinal did have anamazing life span. I have used 10-15 year old Rodinal that was opened and half full (the cap was on it for the time frame we are talking about). There was about a single grade loss of contrast with same times. The old style Rodinal came with a rubber stopper and once you had convinced the vetrinarian that you were not going to inject yourself with strange drugs (Ok, lie through your teeth) you could use one of the REALLY large syringes they use on cows and horses. You stuck it through the rubber stopper and "sucked" up what you needed.
The reworked Rodinal from the mid nineties is not as age tolerant. One of the preservatives in the 1891 formula was obviously not that good for you and was replaced. These days I expect 1-2 years from an opened bottle. Sealed bottles seems to have almost unlimited life.
PS. It was Adam who used Rodinal. Once Eve got involved, she turned the darkroom into a fig leaf laundry room!

 

[plummerl]

Rodinol shelf life is...umm...forever.

It better last forever,😀 I have six 500ml unopened bottles, plus I'm working on another one now. When I heard that it had (supposedly) end-of-lifed, I scarfed it up for $7.95 a bottle (500ml) at my local UW bookstore.😎