Liquidol only lasted 4 days in sealed bottle. Any ideas?

[rpavich]

i discovered Liquidol about 3 weeks ago and mixed up a batch. I was jazzed to see that it lasted about two weeks until it wouldnt get deep blacks anymore. I mixed up a second batch on 12/14 and was using it tonight 12/18 when it went bad again in only 4 days.

Ive seen folks here that got a LOT longer out of it than that. I only printed about 6 8x10, and about a dozen 4x6 before it died. That seems really short.

Any tips to get more life out of it?

 

[Sirius Glass]

My experience is that when I open a very old bottle of paper developer for the first time, it works but dies a short time later.

 

[rpavich]

My experience is that when I open a very old bottle of paper developer for the first time, it works but dies a short time later.

But i just bought this.

Edited to say: do you mean that i got one thats been on the shelf a long time?

 

[MattKing]

Why don't you start a conversation with Photo Engineer? He is, after all, one of the designers of Liquidol.

 

[Photo Engineer]

I cannot tell you anything about its mix date. I suggest that you contact the Formulary first. It should last a long time.

 

[rpavich]

I cannot tell you anything about its mix date. I suggest that you contact the Formulary first. It should last a long time.

I will.
I thought that there might be something obvious that i was doing wrong so i thought id ask.

 

[Leigh B]

We've seen reports that impurities and contamination in the water can degrade chemicals.

I would suggest mixing a batch using distilled water and compare your results.

- Leigh

 

[Photo Engineer]

In making the concentrate, the Formulary uses distilled water and photograde chemicals. Unless there is a bad batch it should keep. If there is a bad batch, then they must know asap.

PE

 

[rpavich]

In making the concentrate, the Formulary uses distilled water and photograde chemicals. Unless there is a bad batch it should keep. If there is a bad batch, then they must know asap.

PE

I contacted them about it but in the mean time, I mixed up another batch using some distilled water. Ive been using filtered water but that might not be sufficient.
I also gave the bottle a shot of that Tentenal Protectant spray before capping off.

 

[LAG]

Any tips to get more life out of it?

Do the maths with your pocket!

 

[rpavich]

Do the maths with your pocket!

I'm sorry, I don't know what that means.

 

[Lachlan Young]

I contacted them about it but in the mean time, I mixed up another batch using some distilled water. Ive been using filtered water but that might not be sufficient.
I also gave the bottle a shot of that Tentenal Protectant spray before capping off.

What material is your storage bottle made of? Some plastics can be quite poor for keeping chemistry in - accordion bottles especially.

 

[rpavich]

What material is your storage bottle made of? Some plastics can be quite poor for keeping chemistry in - accordion bottles especially.

1L Jobo bottle.
I've stored all my chems in these (or the datatainer bottles)

 

[Lachlan Young]

1L Jobo bottle.
I've stored all my chems in these (or the datatainer bottles)

That should eliminate the bottle as a potential source of issues.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Of the thousands of bottles sold, this is the first report of this type. It should keep well.

PE

 

[rpavich]

Of the thousands of bottles sold, this is the first report of this type. It should keep well.

PE

I'm sure it's something simple like the distilled water thing. As I said, I just wanted to make sure I didn't overlook something obvious so I asked.

I'll come back and report the progress of the latest batch in this thread.

 

[Photo Engineer]

I made my first batches with both distilled and tap water and then diluted them in a 4x experiment to test stability. No problems here.

PE

 

[rpavich]

I made my first batches with both distilled and tap water and then diluted them in a 4x experiment to test stability. No problems here.

PE

Hmm...you mean that you even had nice longevity using tap water?

How long should I expect?

Is two weeks in a sealed bottle (working solution) about right or are we talking longer?

 

[rpavich]

I just got off of the phone with Photographer's Formulary and they were gracious about the whole thing. They are making a new batch and will send me out a replacement bottle in a few days.

Very good service!

I'll keep everyone updated for future reference.

 

[Prof_Pixel]

. I only printed about 6 8x10, and about a dozen 4x6 before it died. That seems really short.

How long did the working strength developer sit in the tray while you were using it (before you poured it into a bottle)?

 

[rpavich]

How long did the working strength developer sit in the tray while you were using it (before you poured it into a bottle)?

I'd say about 1 to 2 hours.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Appended it a 72 hour open tray (8x10) with 1L of Liquidol. Each 24 hours I ran a set of prints through it. The left set is Liquidol and the right set is Dektol. In this set, the developer concentrate was made with tap water and diluted with tap water. The test went to 120 hours, and by then the Dektol was dead, but the Liquidol still made acceptable prints. These were all at the same process times and temps.

If I increased the development time in Dektol, it did not help, but with Liquidol it brought the picture pretty much up to the original.

PE

 

[rpavich]

Appended it a 72 hour open tray (8x10) with 1L of Liquidol. Each 24 hours I ran a set of prints through it. The left set is Liquidol and the right set is Dektol. In this set, the developer concentrate was made with tap water and diluted with tap water. The test went to 120 hours, and by then the Dektol was dead, but the Liquidol still made acceptable prints. These were all at the same process times and temps.

If I increased the development time in Dektol, it did not help, but with Liquidol it brought the picture pretty much up to the original.

PE

Wow!
Thats impressive. Something certainly is wrong with mine.

Thanks for the baseline.

 

[Prof_Pixel]

Wow!
Thats impressive. Something certainly is wrong with mine.

Thanks for the baseline.

Any chance you could have gotten a little stop bath or fixer in your developer tray?

 

[rpavich]

Any chance you could have gotten a little stop bath or fixer in your developer tray?

I guess anything's possible but I don't think so. Just in case, I washed my trays out well.