Glass or Plastic?

jvoller · Jan 30, 2013

Just getting back into film developing after a hiatus and am re-equipping to some degree. Any thoughts on whether glass or plastic graduated cylinders, for chemical mixing, are preferable? I used to use plastic, and remember them getting brittle and "fogging" up a bit, but perhaps today's plastics are better?

bobwysiwyg · Jan 30, 2013

Plastic won't shatter if you drop it. Just keep them clean.

jk0592 · Jan 30, 2013

I try not to use glass in the darkroom, if you drop a glass container it will break and can easily cause injuries. Plastic or metal containers will not present such risks.

removed-user-1 · Jan 30, 2013

I've used exactly one glass container in the darkroom, it was an older jar of chemistry. Nothing bad happened, but it sure made me nervous when I had to pour from it. We have dozens of ancient plastic graduates in the college darkroom where I teach, that were in use when I was a student there twenty years ago (and were already old then). They still work fine.

EASmithV · Jan 30, 2013

Plastic.

fotch · Jan 30, 2013

I use both, never had a problem dropping and breaking glass, however, I have more plastic probably because easier to buy.. Glass is easier to clean but that does not matter if you rinse plastic immediately.

Jeff Kubach · Jan 31, 2013

I usually use plastic in case I drop them.

Jeff

mfohl · Jan 31, 2013

I use both. I used what was available at the time (100 years ago, I think), one glass one for developer, and two plastic ones for stop and fix. And I always use the same graduates for the same component: reduces the importance of cleaning

nicholai · Jan 31, 2013

If not being dropped, i believe glass will last way longer. You shouldn't be in a hurry when printing anyway.

cmacd123 · Jan 31, 2013

And I recently boght a set of Plastic Graduaded cilinders from an e-bay seller and ened up throwing them out as they did not seem to give anywhere close to the same volume as my Old Glass Cyclinder that I harvested out of the Garbage at my High School in the 1960's - it was thrown out as the base was broken, but has enough left of the base that it stands well, and the break has not propogated after all these years

The Glass ones I got at the same time as the plastic one did corespond in measure, so they were well worth the extra cost.

henry finley · Jan 31, 2013

Das macht nichts

Vaughn · Jan 31, 2013

cmacd123 said:
...The Glass ones I got at the same time as the plastic one did corespond in measure, so they were well worth the extra cost.

Don't know if this is the situation, but the plastic ones I get have both US and British ounces marked...you might have a mix-up of units!

I certainly like my glass graduates -- I use a lot of acetone and it eats the plastic graduates! I also have a couple Kodak glass beakers -- on the bottom they say "For Photographic Use Only Kodak" -- the words are cleverly arranged so that what one sees when quickly looking at it is "Only Use Kodak"!

TareqPhoto · Feb 1, 2013

Well, i don't know what to say!

I broke 2 glasses, one is that measuring cylinder but honestly i didn't break it myself, it was a home-maid who cleaned my bathroom so she wasn't so careful and she broke one of the 3, other one is a 5L beaker, i was mixing i think 1 Gallon of D-76, good i managed to pour about 1L or 2L on 1L bottles but then by accident i broke the beaker when i tried to place it on a hard ceramic of my bath and it shattered immediately maybe because of the remaining liquid pressure.

I bought a 5L beaker for mixing so i will never worry about it, and as much i am careful with my glass measuring graduated cylinders so i will be fine, i may buy some plastic just in case.

MartinP · Feb 1, 2013

I use plastic containers for measuring, mixing, storage, film development and for prints too. I have never dropped any of them (in more than thirty years, but I have now jinxed myself...) but bits and pieces of gear do get carted around when travelling and glass could be a problem in those circumstances.

Someone mentioned a five-litre beaker - I am probably horribly cheap, but for mixing large amounts of Bromophen and so on I just use a bucket (which doesn't get used for anything else) and then measure what goes in to it, instead of what is in it.

DREW WILEY · Feb 1, 2013

My favorite plastic is polymethylpentene, because stickier solutions like HC-110 syrup pour from it a little more easily than from glass or polyethylene or polypropylene or acrylic. It's also completely clear, but a little bit pricey compared to other options.

Vaughn · Feb 1, 2013

For on top of the magnetic stirrer I use a stainless steel one gallon 'beaker'. I have some SS quart beakers, but they are not easy to measure stuff with -- it is nice to be able to see thru one's graduate. But they last!

We have some SS trays that we have been using continously for 40+ years (8am to midnight everyday except summer/xmas holidays)...student-tough!

Vaughn

h.v. · Feb 1, 2013

I currently use glass cylinders. My question to those who use plastic cylinders - do the cylinders have trouble staying standing up when they're in a tub of water to keep the temperature (or do you not do that)?

bobwysiwyg · Feb 1, 2013

Not a problem as long as the bath liquid level is below the level of the chemicals. Even glass containers will become buoyant at some point depending on the displacement difference.

cmacd123 · Feb 1, 2013

Vaughn said:
Don't know if this is the situation, but the plastic ones I get have both US and British ounces marked...you might have a mix-up of units!!

I got caught on that ones YEARS ago, Now I ONLY use metric, even for the Kodak stuff with the weird 1 to 31 mixing ratio.

Glass or Plastic?

removed-user-1

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