How do I know my base chemicals are outdated??

Manuel Madeira · Sep 29, 2021

Hey guys its just a simple question. How do I know my base chemicals are outdated??

RalphLambrecht · Sep 29, 2021

Manuel Madeira said:
Hey guys its just a simple question. How do I know my base chemicals are outdated??

first mark them with your order or receiving date. time flies when you're having fun

tezzasmall · Sep 30, 2021

Manuel Madeira said:
Hey guys its just a simple question. How do I know my base chemicals are outdated??

I do as Ralph says, with all of my raw chemicals, but this only tells you when you bought it...

The only advice I can give you, based on my asking, is to try a small amount of the formula and see if it works...

Not much of an answer I know, but everyone seems to give different lengths of time when asked as to how long their own chemicals have lasted. Some say Metol is 'off' when it goes from white to brown, whilst others say that they've had theirs for decades and it's gone brown and it still works fine.

Best I can give you I'm afraid.

Terry S

grain elevator · Sep 30, 2021

Fixer: smells sulfur-y, something precipitates (although some have claimed to still use such fixer with no ill effects, I wouldn't risk it).
Developer: no longer develops (to normal contrast).
Stop, wetting agent, most toners: never go bad.

Nicholas Lindan · Sep 30, 2021

For sealed packaged powders if they are not discolored and still flow freely they are perfectly OK.

For sealed liquids they are probably OK if not discolored or haven't thrown a precipitate.

Some chemicals, notably Xtol stock, were prone to 'sudden death' syndrome. It was traced to iron in the water but I mix developer using steam distilled water and had it happen to me. For working strength film developer it can be a good idea to do a snip test first.

Nicholas Lindan · Sep 30, 2021

michael_r said:
The XTOL sudden death thing was not due to iron/Fenton oxidation (XTOL always contained an effective cheating agent for that). It was traced to a problem with the small (1l) packets.

I stand (er, sit) corrected. Explains the distilled water & sudden death. I just gave up on Xtol at that point.

mshchem · Sep 30, 2021

Manuel Madeira said:
Hey guys its just a simple question. How do I know my base chemicals are outdated??

Do you mean, base chemicals, i.e. individual ingredients to prepare a developer from scratch? I have old bottles of hydroquinone and metol that are 40 years old and still work. KBr doesn't go bad, full bottles of sodium sulfite are stable away from air. Sodium thiosulfate penta hydrate keeps well in a proper bottle.

removed account4 · Oct 1, 2021

glycin gets brownish instead of whitish grey,

Randy Stewart · Oct 20, 2021

mshchem said:
Do you mean, base chemicals, i.e. individual ingredients to prepare a developer from scratch? I have old bottles of hydroquinone and metol that are 40 years old and still work. KBr doesn't go bad, full bottles of sodium sulfite are stable away from air. Sodium thiosulfate penta hydrate keeps well in a proper bottle.

When I was 14 in 1960, my photo store sold sodium thiosulfate penta in supermarket brown paper bags, ten pounds for about $5. I stopped using the stuff before I used up that last bag, and still have a couple of pounds in that bag. Last time I checked, it was still good to go.Most "base chemicals" are stable and will last nearly for ever if kept in a dry, cool environment. Re metol, I have some really old stuff which is brownish but still works fine. Also have a newer container, still white. Similarly, CD-3 and CD-4 seem to never age out (thank goodness).

koraks · Oct 20, 2021

Manuel Madeira said:
just a simple question

Not that simple...in fact, impossible to answer due to the lack of specifics as to what chemicals we're talking about.

If you tell all of us what you've got, then we can tell you how long it'll likely last.

tballphoto · Nov 9, 2021

Well i have learned to look at the packaging they come in. Some companies are easier to trace by how packaging has changed.

Otherwise, if you end up with chemicals that come with a used enlarger,, it is not a generally good idea to use chemicals that have newspapers or advertising material that predate 2000

How do I know my base chemicals are outdated??

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