HC-110 and Rodinal storage

[Thanasis]

I have two new bottles of Rodinal and HC-110 which I have not opened yet.
I don't really want to decant the developer into an assortment of extra bottles if i can help it. I like to suck out how much i need with a graduated syringe, mix up my dilution, use it and then chuck it out. That way I can minimise the amount of glassware i need to store.

I was wondering if these developers will deteriorate (and how rapidly or slowly) due to exposure to air if I keep them in their original bottles. From what I have read, it seems that they are both long life devs. but should i be minimising the amount of air that the developers are exposed to (by dropping marbles into the concentrate bottles in order to displace the air in the bottles) as i use it?

Thanks and regards,
Thanasis.

 

[p3200TMZ]

The shelf life of Rodinal is still unknown as I made a recent post about finding a 6 or 7 year-old opened bottle of Rodinal in my basement. It seems that Rodinal will last almost forever, (there was a url link here which no longer exists).

As for HC-110, have no idea, but my bottle is on the shelf half-full. But then a bottle only lasts me about 3 months or so.

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

I don't decant into smaller bottles.. I do use both one-shot.
I've a bottle of hc-110, about two years old and half full. Full of air. It is still just as active as the day I bought it (as far as I can tell, it's the same).
Rodinal is the same. I've some brown sludge from 5 years ago that behaves the same.

I gave up on marbles.. I never noticed a difference, it got messy.. the bottles get heavy..
I think syringes are the best thing ever for rodinal and pmk-pyro or similar developers.
HC-110 is so thick, you will have a tough time drawing it with anything.. You might even get tired of sticking the syringe without needle or tip directly into the bottle (HC-110 gets everywhere and is sticky).. I use a length of aquarium tubing. Maybe 3-4 inches. This pulls up fine but I'm never sure how much I'm actually drawing as the tubing contains a noticeable quantity of hc-110.

I don't worry about the air with these two.

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

I decant Paterson FX-39 into smaller bottles, as it has a reputation for having a short life. As others have mentioned, Rodinal will last for years, even in bottles which have been opened.

 

[Thanasis]

Thanks for the info. I'll leave the marbles out of the Rodinal and HC-110. It seems that Rodinal in particular it will last for ages.

regards,
Thanasis.

 

[jim appleyard]

Don't bother to decant. These two devs will last for years and years in the opened bottles they came in.

 

[ricksplace]

Both have very long lives. Rodinal seems to never go bad. HC110 hasn't for me either, even after two years in the original bottle with air space. Pick up a kid's medicine syringe from the pharmacy for a few bucks. It has a larger opening to suck up the HC110 goo, and is marked in ml.

 

[Shmoo]

Both have very long lives. Rodinal seems to never go bad. HC110 hasn't for me either, even after two years in the original bottle with air space. Pick up a kid's medicine syringe from the pharmacy for a few bucks. It has a larger opening to suck up the HC110 goo, and is marked in ml.

Some pharmacies will give you the kid's medicine dosage syringe free...just ask.

 

[John Bragg]

I always squeeze the Rodinal bottle before capping to keep out excess air but it seems there is no need. My current bottle is 11 years old and going strong. Worry not about its longevity.