shelf life of E-6 chemicals

[kmallick]

I have googled all over and read all the posts and opinions but I could not find any definite answer. My hope in starting this thread is to help someone starting like myself in home E-6 developing.

As best as I know, in the US, there is currently a singe choice available for home E-6 developing - the Arista kit. Recently I tried out their quart size kit that makes ~1L each of the 3 separate chemicals - the 1st developer, the Color Developer and the Blix. My initial experience was very positive with my first few rolls processed within the first 2 days of mixing the chemicals.

I stored the working solution in the 1 liter dark brown bottles meant for chemical storage. I tried developing a second batch of rolls in the same working solution after 7 days and the results were not so good. The slides came out a little dark with some color shift. Lesson learnt! Next time I will try to shoot a few rolls of slide, save them up and I will develop them in a batch with a few days of mixing the chemicals. This is also mentioned by Arista in their datasheet; in essence be careful about using the working solution after a week or so.

My next thought was to buy Arista's 1 gallon (4 Liter) kit. I was planning on mixing 1 Liter of working solution at a time to develop a batch of Qty 7-8 of 35mm/120 rolls. If I could spread the 1 Gallon kit over 4 batches, I can pace myself with shooting slide films and it is definitely more economical per roll.

I called Arista to inquire about the shelf life of the stock solution. First they confirmed that working solution lasts 1 week at the best. You can use it beyond 1 week that but do it at your risk. They also strongly suggest mixing the entire 1 gallon kit at one time and using it up within a week. In other words spreading the gallon kit over smaller batches might not help as the shelf life starts ticking as soon as the bottles are opened!

I am wondering if any of you would suggest otherwise. Did you have any experience with the shelf life of the Arista E-6 stock chemicals after opening the bottles?

 

[bobby_novatron]

Wow -- thanks for the info on this! I have a Tetenal E-6 kit waiting in my storage room that I haven't opened yet. I'm waiting to save up enough rolls of slide film to make mixing the batch worthwhile.

From what you describe, these chemicals definitely don't last very long.

I wonder if using accordion-type bottles would help? Or maybe using some sort of inert gas to top up the space at the top of the storage bottles? There's that gas they sell at wine shops to help preserve an open bottle of wine. That would probably help prevent some oxidation of the E-6 chems.

I hope others can contribute some info on this as well.

 

[kmallick]

I'm waiting to save up enough rolls of slide film to make mixing the batch worthwhile.

I think thats the key to home E-6 developing.

I wonder if using accordion-type bottles would help? Or maybe using some sort of inert gas to top up the space at the top of the storage bottles? There's that gas they sell at wine shops to help preserve an open bottle of wine. That would probably help prevent some oxidation of the E-6 chems.

I am sure you will agree that we want to keep it fun and not turn it into a storage project. Unlike the B&W developer, there is no working solution that gets dumped out in E-6 developing - everything goes back into their respective bottles. Therefore, if we are storing 1L solution in 1L bottles, there is very little air to get oxidized. At least thats what I had thought. But the shelf life of working solution just isn't much beyond a week.

Storing the stock solutions in accordion bottles to increase shelf life will be a pain! Also keep in mind that there are several part A, part B and part C concoction chemicals to keep track of. :bang:

 

[tbeaman]

If you look on APUG, you can find several reports from people who have successfully frozen their working solutions. You mix up your entire batch at once and separate it out into smaller quantities of working solution for one-shot processing. Thaw and serve, so to speak.

Ever since reading that, I've been wanting to get a big freezer and order the real bulk Kodak chemistry.

 

[kmallick]

If you look on APUG, you can find several reports from people who have successfully frozen their working solutions. You mix up your entire batch at once and separate it out into smaller quantities of working solution for one-shot processing. Thaw and serve, so to speak.

Good idea. But I think my wifey will no go for that! 😱 The freezer in my garage is already half full of films stacked along with some frozen food. I think E-6 chemicals will be the last straw in the hat for her!

Ever since reading that, I've been wanting to get a big freezer and order the real bulk Kodak chemistry.

I have been thinking of a dedicated freezer as well. But I am not brave enough to deal with the bulk Kodak chemistry.

I did manage to get some good advice from Arista about spreading out the gallon kit over four quart (1L) mixes of working solution. I was told that the unmixed chemicals should last a long time if there is minimal contact with air. After mixing a batch of working solution, it would be best to squeeze the air out from the stock bottles until the chemicals hits almost the top part of the container and then seal it to prevent air from oxidizing the chemicals. The undiluted chemicals should last up to 6 months to a year if stored in a cool dry place.

Hope this helps other folks in the same boat as me.