Looking for brown bottles

Steve Mack · Aug 18, 2009

I'm looking for sources for brown glass jugs that would be suitable for use as developer and fixer storage in my darkroom. Beer bottles are not really acceptable, and I remember seeing brown gallon jugs somewhere, sometime in my past. But I can't seem to find any for sale. Can anyone help, point out a source, etc.?

I would prefer glass to brown plastic.

Thanks to all who reply.

With best regards,

Stephen S. Mack

DeBone 75 · Aug 18, 2009

Antique Stores usally have some also some "junk" stores

jovo · Aug 18, 2009

I've gotten some good dark glass bottles that held spring water. The water's good, and then the bottle is too.

steven_e007 · Aug 18, 2009

Don't know if this works in the US - but in the UK just pop into any pharmacist (drug store) and they'll sell you empty bottles up to 500ml for a few pence. Bigger bottles, 1 litre and 2 litre, occassionally bigger, are used for 'Calpol' - a syrup with paracetamol in it used for kids. You have to ask them to save you the empties. They sell gallons of this stuff a week, so it doesn't take long...

HTH

VaryaV · Aug 18, 2009

This is where I get most of my amber bottles and jugs:

http://www.alkemlab.com

I do have another company I've bought from too but forgot to bookmark it.

ann · Aug 18, 2009

google Boston Rounds, and you should come up with several places that sell that sort of thing. I just can't remember the name of the online store i bought a case from a year or so ago , or i would pass along the link

eworkman · Aug 18, 2009

Up to 32 oz
http://www.pelletlab.com/lab_supplies_pipettes.htm
Also a lot of other stuff, including owl pellets, cool

Dan Williams · Aug 18, 2009

I have used Specialty Bottle several times and never had a problem.

Dan

keithwms · Aug 18, 2009

At my university (and really any university or college with any bio/physics/chem/engineering departments) we routinely discard big brown bottles, typically 1 or 5 or 10L. They are most typically used for high vapor-pressure solvents such as acetone, isopropanol, methanol and other alcohols, so they are very easily cleaned. Smaller bottles of nastier organic substances should be avoided, but the alcohol bottles are ideal.... and usually free to a good home. Typically, if I walk down the halls by the labs I can pick up a dozen of them at a time. I take a cautious whiff to be sure nothing was mixed in (don't ever trust labels!) and take what I like. Why not recycle?!

P.S. C'ville isn't that far from Dillwyn...

BetterSense · Aug 18, 2009

Why no beer bottles?

I get 500mL and 1L amber beer bottles at a local homebrewing store for $2 each. They have nice, reclosable wire tops that are impossible to lose and can be operated with one hand. If you don't have a homebrowing store, any decent pub should carry some kind of beer in the "good" bottles, which is probably pretty expensive for beer but hey, good bottles.

Nicholas Lindan · Aug 18, 2009

Nalgene labware bottles work as well as glass for storing photographic chemicals. A whole lot better if you happen to drop the bottle.

There is no reason to use brown glass if you store the chemicals in the darkroom or in a closed cupboard or box - it being dark in there just about all of the time. A cheap alternative, though not pretty, is to wrap the bottle in black plastic from a garbage bag.

JMcLaug351 · Aug 18, 2009

Brown bottles

Steve Mack said:
I'm looking for sources for brown glass jugs that would be suitable for use as developer and fixer storage in my darkroom. Beer bottles are not really acceptable, and I remember seeing brown gallon jugs somewhere, sometime in my past. But I can't seem to find any for sale. Can anyone help, point out a source, etc.?

I would prefer glass to brown plastic.

Thanks to all who reply.

With best regards,

Stephen S. Mack

I got mine here. freundcontainer.com Lots of choices and sizes.
JOHN

outwest · Aug 18, 2009

The best and safest ones are the plastic coated Boston rounds. Shop around and you will find some inexpensive ones in various sizes and with a choice of lid material.

c.w. · Aug 18, 2009

I use old Mississippi Mud jugs.

jgjbowen · Aug 18, 2009

keithwms said:
At my university (and really any university or college with any bio/physics/chem/engineering departments) we routinely discard big brown bottles, typically 1 or 5 or 10L. They are most typically used for high vapor-pressure solvents such as acetone, isopropanol, methanol and other alcohols, so they are very easily cleaned. Smaller bottles of nastier organic substances should be avoided, but the alcohol bottles are ideal.... and usually free to a good home. Typically, if I walk down the halls by the labs I can pick up a dozen of them at a time. I take a cautious whiff to be sure nothing was mixed in (don't ever trust labels!) and take what I like. Why not recycle?!

P.S. C'ville isn't that far from Dillwyn...

Keith,

next time I'm in Charlottesville I'll give you a heads-up and collect a few of these discards....

Hope all is well,
John

fotch · Aug 18, 2009

Steve Mack said:
I'm looking for sources for brown glass jugs that would be suitable for use as developer and fixer storage in my darkroom. Beer bottles are not really acceptable, and I remember seeing brown gallon jugs somewhere, sometime in my past. But I can't seem to find any for sale. Can anyone help, point out a source, etc.?

I would prefer glass to brown plastic.

Thanks to all who reply.

With best regards,

Stephen S. Mack

Stephen, I am curious, are you going to us Nitrogen gas or marbles or? for the developer (to purge the air)?

lns · Aug 18, 2009

APUG sponsors Photographers' Formulary and Bostick & Sullivan have amber glass bottles. B&H carries them too.

-Laura

JCT · Aug 18, 2009

I've ordered Boston Rounds from Specialty Bottle (be sure to get the polyseal caps), very reasonable and quick shipping.

I have also ordered amber wine bottles so I can use a VacuSeal with them:
Dead Link Removed .

Both highly recommended.

JT

Jeff Searust · Aug 18, 2009

Most cities have a chemical supply company that carries things like that--- yes homebrewing stores are a good option also-- My regular place http://www.capitolscientific.com/ seriously changed after 9-11, and no longer has a "store" but I can still amble up to the dock at the place and buy quarts of acids and reagents without any real issue. -- I have had to sign a few extra documents for some of the really fun stuff, but I can still buy it.

George Collier · Aug 19, 2009

Yes, why not beer bottles, as BetterSense suggests? I like the idea of smaller size. I use a set of old Pinch scotch (I've moved up to single malt since then) bottles for print developer because I like the shape and permanent plastic top, but the idea of the permanent clip stopper sounds good.

tbm · Aug 19, 2009

I ordered multiple sizes of amber bottles with screw-on plastic tops from Photographer's Forumulary a long time ago and they are superb!

Photo Engineer · Aug 19, 2009

May I suggest that you use clear glass bottles or clear thick plastic? If kept in a dark or dim space that is cool, this is as good as brown glass or plastic bottles.

PE

Bruce Watson · Aug 19, 2009

Steve Mack said:
I'm looking for sources for brown glass jugs that would be suitable for use as developer and fixer storage in my darkroom. Beer bottles are not really acceptable, and I remember seeing brown gallon jugs somewhere, sometime in my past. But I can't seem to find any for sale. Can anyone help, point out a source, etc.?

What you need is a bottle designed to keep oxygen out. At least one industry has centuries of experience with this -- the wine industry.

What I use is old wine bottles -- just about any restaurant comes up with a bunch of empties every night. I find the 1.5 liter size especially useful, but I really like the new 1.0 liter size. Keeps the math simple.

With the wine bottles I use the Vacu Vin system to seal the bottle and pull a vacuum over the chems. Storing the chems in a thick glass bottle under vacuum is hard to beat.

Recommended shelf life of XTOL stock is supposedly six months. I easily get 12 months from XTOL stock stored using the above system. Just sayin'.

As for fixer. Unless you are using the hardener for some reason, I suggest making up fixer as you need it from concentrate instead of making and storing a stock solution. Fixer stock dies a horrible death of crystalization and it makes it nearly impossible to get the containers clean afterwords. Making working solution from concentrate just requires a small graduate. Again, just sayin'.

eclarke · Aug 19, 2009

Steve Mack said:
I'm looking for sources for brown glass jugs that would be suitable for use as developer and fixer storage in my darkroom. Beer bottles are not really acceptable, and I remember seeing brown gallon jugs somewhere, sometime in my past. But I can't seem to find any for sale. Can anyone help, point out a source, etc.?

I would prefer glass to brown plastic.

Thanks to all who reply.

With best regards,

Stephen S. Mack

I bought 1 gal. brown glass jugs with excellent screw tops from Freund Container...Evan Clarke

doomtroll · Aug 19, 2009

http://www.digitaltruth.com/store/cart/Bottles-Storage-p-1-c-36.html

I get mine here

Looking for brown bottles

Steve Mack

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