Chemical storage solution: Tetra Pak cartons?

I recycle used 4 Liter wine containers that that come with the bladder inside a box, stands like a book and there is a spigot that you pull out to access what ever chemicals that are stored. The advantage is that the bladder collapses on itself, thus keeping the air out and a longer shelf life. These are available in Québec. I don't know about the US and the rest of Canada

bkarasek said:

I recycle used 4 Liter wine containers that that come with the bladder inside a box, stands like a book and there is a spigot that you pull out to access what ever chemicals that are stored. The advantage is that the bladder collapses on itself, thus keeping the air out and a longer shelf life. These are available in Québec. I don't know about the US and the rest of Canada

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I hear about people using these a lot, but how do you fill them? The ones I've seen only have the tap on the bottom. Do you somehow fill using that?

FujiLove said:

I hear about people using these a lot, but how do you fill them? The ones I've seen only have the tap on the bottom. Do you somehow fill using that?

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Yes, at least that's how I do it. Fill through the spigot/tap with the help of a funnel. I use wine bags for a couple of years now to store my Xtol stock solution and find that it works very well. However, I do not have any experience storing RA4 chemicals in this type of container. Also, there seem to be different materials used for these wine bladders (at least I have two of them that look completely different).

Gerald C Koch said:

SPI 1 PET bottles are almost as good glass ones in protecting developers from oxidation. Of the commonly used plastics for bottles SPI 3 PVC (polyvinylchloride) would be a second choice. Avoid SPI numbers 2, 4, and 5. The gotcha in all this is that what is good for developers is poor for fixers and vice versa. Composites SPI 7 may or may not be good. The SPI numbers are in the little recycle triangle on each bottle or container.

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I'm going to have a look for some PET bottles. For the RA4 developer, I would be best finding PET1 or PET2 bottles. And I assume 2, 4 or 5 for the BLIX?

A number of photo chemical manufacturers use Tetra-Paks for sale to the home user. I am surprised at how slow this idea was to catch-on. Some of us have been using wine-bladders in wine boxes for the same reason.

In a wine-bladder the tap is simply levered out using a thin blade and levering slowly all the way round, fresh chemical poured in and the bladder compressed until the liquid reaches the neck then the tap is replaced. Air cannot get in and the pack can be squeezed so all except a few ccs get used.

I think it beats using inert gas each time or squeezing a bottle made of PET. The chemical is literally "on-tap" and can be dispensed in very small quantities if needs be

A great idea

pentaxuser