How Long Does TF-4 Last Unopened

[Monday317]

I have a bottle maybe five years old I found on a back shelf. Any clue?

Thanks!

 

[Don_ih]

I'm pretty sure it shouldn't get cold. I think it sulfurs out. Otherwise, it should be fine.

 

[DREW WILEY]

The only problem when it has been laying around that long is that all the sludge which settles at the bottom gets harder to mix. Put a long wooden dowel in there, or something like that, and try to scrape the stuff off the bottom to start mixing it. To ovoid some of the liquid from spilling, decanter some of it off first, and set that aside until you've successfully stirred the balance, then pour it back in and rock the entire jug up and down when re-capped.

 

[Monday317]

Thank you folks!

My basement is heated, not ever getting lower than say, 55°F, so I didn’t think that would be a problem. Without opening the bottle, from your information, I’ll try putting the stuff into a 90°F or thereabouts water bath for a bit, then try gently rolling and inverting the container to see how things work. Got some vintage. 510-Pyro & Morris Fine Grain in filled glass bottles as well. Going to try all this on some Fomapan to see if it’s still Ok.

I have new TF-5 and FA-1027 on the way, in any event: back to film! Reverting to a Mamiya Press for those beautiful 6 x 9 negs they produce, selling my Sigma Quattro DP 2 and RB67 outfits. (Both minty if anyone is interested…). Can’t wait!!

 

[craigclu]

I've had reasons to run old TF-4 on a large amount of non-critical films. I'm not certain of the age but I would guess 5 years or more. It seems to be working as new. I decant to a 1 liter bottle at 1:3 and use from that bottle. The original gallon gets a good stirring before decanting and when at 1:3, the decanted bottle appears quite clear.