Ilfotec HC shelf life?

[dande]

Anyone know the shelf life of Ilfotec HC concentrate. I have a chance to purchase a litre for $10 from a photography store that has closed down. The number on the bottle is 2011. Is this the expirery date? What could be the results from using an outdated chemical. Would this be a good buy? The going price in Canada is around $50.00 +. Thanks for your help.

 

[Ian Grant]

It's Ilford's equivalent of HC110 it's not a water based developer as a concentrate so has a very long shelf life as it can't absorb oxygen and oxidise.

Ian

 

[hpulley]

The fact sheet says,

Full, unopened bottles of ILFOTEC HC concentrates stored in cool conditions, 5–20ºC (41–68ºF), will keep indefinitely.

Like Kodak HC-110, Ilford recommends that you make and work from a stock solution instead of working from the syrup. The stock solution is 1+3 so you'll need 4L worth of containers and a bucket of 4L to mix it up. Some people use it from syrup but you need to use a baby medicine syringe to measure it well.

That said, Kodak HC-110 is much cheaper so if you aren't sure, you can get a 16 oz bottle of HC-110 for $16 and you can be sure how old it is. The 16oz bottle is turned into stock solution of 1+3 which is 1.9L or 64oz. You have about 6 months to use up the stock solutions and I think it is easier to use up 1.9L (~30 rolls at 1+15, 60 at 1+31) than 4L (>60 at 1+15, >120 at 1+31). I don't know why 1L of Ilfotec HC is retail $52, that seems pretty expensive compared to the Kodak price which would be $32 or so for the same amount of concentrate though honestly the chemicals seem to be the cheapest part of black and white, it is the film and paper that is expensive when you think about it.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

The fact sheet says,


Like Kodak HC-110, Ilford recommends that you make and work from a stock solution instead of working from the syrup. The stock solution is 1+3 so you'll need 4L worth of containers and a bucket of 4L to mix it up. Some people use it from syrup but you need to use a baby medicine syringe to measure it well.

I always dilute HC-110 directly from the concentrate. Get a 10 ml polypropylene graduate from a scientific supply company. The syrup does not adhere to this plastic as it would with a glass graduate. As soon as you add water to HC-110 to make the stock solution it becomes prone to oxidation. The concentrate will keep for years without any problems.

 

[JeroenRo]

Thats usefull information! Still got some Ilfotec HC on the shelve gonna try if it still works.

 

[mikebarger]

It will work.