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Photo Forum / Film Photography / Darkroom / December 2005

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Storing Rodinal

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Bogdan Karasek - 30 Nov 2005 19:45 GMT
Hello,

This morning I found a store that still has ten bottles of Rodinal.  I
want to buy them but I'd like to know how long an unopened bottle of
Rodinal will keep and what is the best temperature for storage, room
temp, fridge...?

Regards,
Bogdan
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Andrew Price - 30 Nov 2005 20:35 GMT
>This morning I found a store that still has ten bottles of Rodinal.  I
>want to buy them but I'd like to know how long an unopened bottle of
>Rodinal will keep and what is the best temperature for storage, room
>temp, fridge...?

Room temperature is fine.  It'll keep for years.
Lawrence Akutagawa - 30 Nov 2005 20:56 GMT
> Hello,
>
> This morning I found a store that still has ten bottles of Rodinal.  I
> want to buy them but I'd like to know how long an unopened bottle of
> Rodinal will keep and what is the best temperature for storage, room temp,
> fridge...?

There is an anecdotal story about a partially filled bottle of Rodinal found
in the ruins of a German city in the aftermath of WWII.  The developer was
tested and found to be perfectly good after those many years of exposure to
the elements.

If the plastic containers now used give you pause, store them in an airtight
container - decanting into the proverbial brown glass bottles can work, as
can placing the developer as is in those airtight used ammunition metal
boxes.

As with all chemicals, I imagine that a cool, temperate, dark storage area
would work best.  A fridge is not needed - perhaps a wine storage area or
even a dark closet with little temperature fluctuations, under some
insulation (sleeping bags, old blankets, etc.).
Nicholas O. Lindan - 30 Nov 2005 21:13 GMT
> This morning I found a store that still has ten bottles of Rodinal.  I
> want to buy them but I'd like to know how long an unopened bottle of
> Rodinal will keep and what is the best temperature for storage, room
> temp, fridge...?

A general rule of thumb is that chemical reactions double
in speed every 10 C.

By this criteria if you chill the Rodinal by 20 C/36 F it
should last 4 times as long.  Rodinal is known to be still
good after 20 years storage at room temperature -> it should
last 80 years in the 'fridge.  [-> being the Murphean symbol
for "very unlikely"].

OTOH, some of the ingredients may crystallize out when it is
chilled.  OYAH, if this happens it may be that a little bit of
warming is all that's needed to restore it.

Take a small vial of the stuff, chill it and see what happens.

Signature

Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer:  Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.
To reply, remove spaces: n o lindan at ix  . netcom . com
Fstop timer -  http://www.nolindan.com/da/fstop/index.htm

theyankeesnapper@aol.com - 01 Dec 2005 12:36 GMT
add marbles to the bottle as you use the developer, keeping the bottle
full for a much longer and eventually transfering the remaining
developer to a smaller bottle.

Bob McCarthy
Tom Gardner - 02 Dec 2005 04:14 GMT
> add marbles to the bottle as you use the developer, keeping the bottle
> full for a much longer and eventually transfering the remaining
> developer to a smaller bottle.
>
> Bob McCarthy

What a GREAT idea, how come I didn't think of that?
Lawrence Akutagawa - 02 Dec 2005 06:33 GMT
>> add marbles to the bottle as you use the developer, keeping the bottle
>> full for a much longer and eventually transfering the remaining
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>>
> What a GREAT idea, how come I didn't think of that?

Another approach is when opening a new bottle of the developer, to decant
all of it into a suitable number of one ounce or so size air tight bottles.
Fill those bottles so they have  little/no air space in each before screwing
down the cap tightly.  Wipe off any drippings before placing the cap on so
that you don't run into difficulty opening the bottle later.
Andrew Price - 03 Dec 2005 23:58 GMT
>>> add marbles to the bottle as you use the developer, keeping the bottle
>>> full for a much longer and eventually transfering the remaining
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>Another approach is when opening a new bottle of the developer, to decant
>all of it into a suitable number of one ounce or so size air tight bottles.

Ahem... are you all trying to confuse the OP?  The generic stuff about
marbles and decanting is all very well and good for a developer like
XTOL or even D76, but totally unnecessary for Rodinal.  It keeps for
years after opening in the original bottle.
theyankeesnapper@aol.com - 04 Dec 2005 23:30 GMT
Rodinal has developed a rep of lasting for years in it's original
bottle. Years ago the bottles were made of glass and now for the past
several years they have been made of plastic. With the demise of Agfa I
would think that it would be prudent to take any precautions one would
consider necessary to insure the developer's longevity. FWIW, I would,
I have opted for glass bottles.

Regards.

Bob McCarthy
theyankeesnapper
Ken Hart - 02 Dec 2005 06:45 GMT
>> add marbles to the bottle as you use the developer, keeping the bottle
>> full for a much longer and eventually transfering the remaining
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>>
> What a GREAT idea, how come I didn't think of that?
Many of the chemicals in my darkroom are in large (5, 15, and 25 gallon)
tanks, So I use the opposite of the "sinking marbles" trick: if I don't have
a floating lid for the particular tank, I put a bunch of ping pong (table
tennis) balls in the tanks. According to the companied that sell ping pong
balls for this purpose (in bulk, in various colors), this provides 85%
coverage of the chemical.

Signature

Ken Hart
kwhart@aec.nu

 
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