C41 and E6 Storage Life

[Born2Late]

I hope not to stir up too much controversy with question, but here goes anyway.

It has been many since I have processed color film. It has been so long that all of the chemical that I used before came in yellow boxes. I recently construct a temperature controlled water bath in preparation for developing C41 and E6 films. I don't remember what kind of storage life that I got with them previously. I would like to get a feel for how long properly mixed and stored C41 and E6 will last before going south. Here are my assumptions: distilled water used for all, storage temperature between 60 and 70 degrees F, glass or darkroom specific storage bottles used with an inert cover gas after mixing and each use.

That's it. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Young He]

I have heard that frozen chemicals last a long time, but don't trust me on that. Chemicals last quite a long time. Depends if you want maximum quality or if you are ok with a bit of quality loss due to aged chemicals. The developer is really the only really sensitive chemical. Bleach and fix or blix last quite a while. I would say a few weeks, probably even more. I have been using the same c41 kit for several months now, but I cannot check quality. The pictures seem fine.

 

[WilmarcoImaging]

Kodak Flexicolor chemicals, properly mixed with distilled water, will last many months or longer, stored in PET bottles full to the brim and tightly capped.

Storage life of a chemicals in active use is hard to estimate, because of chemical carryover and residual loss, oxygenation during decanting and agitation, and exhaustion.

 

[Sirius Glass]

At Kodak I was told that color film can be refrigerated or frozen for at least ten years and black & white film longer with no ill effects.

 

[fdonadio]

darkroom specific storage bottles

I would change that to “PET bottles”. Darkroom-specific bottles, especially those “accordion” ones, are usually made of polyethylene or polypropylene, which are much more permeable to oxygen than PET.

 

[mnemosyne]

I would change that to “PET bottles”. Darkroom-specific bottles, especially those “accordion” ones, are usually made of polyethylene or polypropylene, which are much more permeable to oxygen than PET.

yep, or even better: bag in box winebags which use a laminate with EVOH ...

 

[fdonadio]

yep, or even better: bag in box winebags which use a laminate with EVOH ...

Are these boxes available commercially, I mean, empty? Or do I have to drink the wine before using them?

 

[Rolfe Tessem]

https://www.specialtybottle.com/glass-bottles/amber-boston-rounds/larger-sizes/32oz-bra32

These work great...

 

[WilmarcoImaging]

Are these boxes available commercially, I mean, empty? Or do I have to drink the wine before using them?

Here is one source for stand up pouches (no box needed), for information only. There are probably countless of suppliers for these.

https://astrapouch-na.com/product/astropaq-1-5l/

 

[mnemosyne]

Are these boxes available commercially, I mean, empty? Or do I have to drink the wine before using them?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EOQ35D4?tag=viglink22207-20
https://astrapouch-na.com/products/bag-in-box/

popular among people who brew their own beer/wine, or make their own juice