Last night I mixed up a new batch of E6 chemistry (Paterson photocolor kit).
In the 1st developer concentrate there were a few large crystals had formed
in the bottom (I'm talking big - 1/2" round there abouts). I tried shaking
the bottle but they wouldn't dissolve. I tried to crush them - only small
bits broke off, the rest wouldn't crush, and even the small bits wouldn't
dissolve. I tried heating the solution to about 50C but that still wouldn't
aid with dissolving them. I considered mixing all of what was left as
working solution, thinking the crystals would dissolve in the more diluted
solution, but in the end I just mixed up my normal working quantity as per
normal, the crystals stayed in the bottom of the bottle. I was concerned
that they might have been crystals of something important to the developing
process, so I snipped a little off a film leader, put it in the solution and
it turned black, so I knew there was some developing happening. I was still
hesitant, but processed as normal and the slides came out spot-on, so
whatever those crystals were, it doesn't seem to be anything important to
the process. Any clue as to what they would be? I opened the bottles nearly
4 months ago, last mixed working solution about 2 months ago, and there was
nothing in it then. My previous kit took over 6 months to use up, and I
didn't have any issues like this with it.