I have stored unused Kodak RA-4 and C-41 developers more than three years without degradation using the storage method I described earlier. Others on this site have posted similar experiences. Despite this, there continue to be those here who think color developers have short lives and in some cases deters them from doing color processing. I guess Kodak's literature is a big part of the problem. Perhaps there should be a sticky thread on this subject.
I have tried freezing color developers and it caused the ingredients to visibly separate. Then, upon thawing I had to shake it up to make it uniform, further oxidizing it. I don't recommend it. Mixed developers keep a long time if stored unfrozen in full, tightly sealed glass or high quality plastic bottles. That is the best way to store them.
Freezing causes ingredients to separate or crystallize and the shaking and mixing entrain oxygen and cause deterioration when you are trying to re-dissolve the chemistry.
In plastic bottles, the organics WILL exchange with food! Ever notice that "freezer" or "refrigerator" taste food sometimes takes on when strong food is stored in them? Consider that developer is a strong food with a high rate of exchange. DON'T freeze developer. Probably you should not freeze any of the solutions. Bleach, blix and fix will begin to give your food an ammonia odor and the final rinse is a bacteriostat which should not be ingested but which can also exchange in the freezer.
There are many air displacement methods and gases specially prepared for this. Even winos should know that CO2 is bad for wine. It adds extra acidity and can spoil wine as well as developer. Use a non-CO2 gas mix. Use glass with corks, use accordion bottles, use marbles. Or, use the developer to capacity in one session and toss it.
PE
My freezer is already full, unfortunately, and I have no space for another. Inert gas seems to be the most elegant solution, so I just need a specific product recommendation.
Eat some of your food? 2L is not a huge volume.
If perchance you have an old fashioned propane torch or a butane lighter refill, that should suffice, as best as I know. But no ""no oxygen" therapy can get around the fact that once a developer is used, it is on the road to perdition.
I'll make a techno-guess and say that whatever oxygenating took place with shaking, it was far less degradation than just plain old age, sitting around at room temperature. Or, possibly, just waiting a day w/o shaking and the components would redisolve. OTOH, there was that Shutterbug article I mentioned and he apparently froze and thawed as he needed. A YMMV moment?
If one doesn't want/can't do freezing, even refrigeration would give a big leg up on longevity.
As I indicated earlier the developer can last more than three years without degradation, and this is at room temperature. In fact it's color hardly changes. So one not even need consider freezing or refrigeration. And why take up space in your fridge or freezer?
"Food and organic chemicals do exchange volatiles. If you do not believe me, than go ahead. PE"
Come on. At zero degrees Fahrenheit? Through plastic or other barriers?
Maybe it does affect a persons ability to think or reason.
Paul;
We divided up a celery root (celeriac) to use some and freeze the rest. Our freezer is below zero. Within a few weeks, the entire freezer smelled of celery. The taste spread, and even today nearly 10 years later, there is still a hint of the odor. The celery odor compound is an organic chemical not that much different in molecular weight and vapor pressure than some of the volatiles in color developers.
Enjoy your food.
PE
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