My Diafine exploded!

[ntenny]

OK, maybe not *exploded* exactly. But while I was on vacation, the B solution apparently caused a little rupture of some sort in the plastic jug and leaked out all over the darkroom floor. By the time I got home and found it, the liquid had mostly dried up, leaving a sort of oily sheen on the tiles and a mass of loose yellowish crystals.

From looking at Diafine "work-alike" recipes, I gather that solution B is basically just sodium sulfite and sodium metaborate, so there's nothing in that mess that requires particularly careful handling, is there? I mean, I'm not going to *eat* the crystals or anything.

And what the heck happened? Is this a known risk of keeping Diafine in cheap plastic bottles?

-NT

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Is this a known risk of keeping Diafine in cheap plastic bottles?

At the risk of being tautological ... the answer is 'yes'.

I made the mistake of keeping Kodalith developer in old 1 gallon water jugs. Not a good idea if your darkroom has a hardwood floor and one of those jugs should spring a leak - mine does, the jug did and it wasn't.

I now use Nalgene jugs for everything and keep all liquids in storage tubs.

Nalgene bottles will last many, many years. You can find them surplus on ebay.

 

[Jersey Vic]

Same thing happened to me with a working solution of selenium toner. Water jugs don't cut it.

 

[Paul Verizzo]

OK, maybe not *exploded* exactly. But while I was on vacation, the B solution apparently caused a little rupture of some sort in the plastic jug and leaked out all over the darkroom floor. By the time I got home and found it, the liquid had mostly dried up, leaving a sort of oily sheen on the tiles and a mass of loose yellowish crystals.

From looking at Diafine "work-alike" recipes, I gather that solution B is basically just sodium sulfite and sodium metaborate, so there's nothing in that mess that requires particularly careful handling, is there? I mean, I'm not going to *eat* the crystals or anything.

And what the heck happened? Is this a known risk of keeping Diafine in cheap plastic bottles?

-NT

Ugly experience. Not that it matters in your cleanup, but B is sodium carbonate and sulfites.

Chlorox bottles are frequently available and very heavy duty.

 

[Bob F.]

Hmmmm: I have sepia toner and its bleach in the bottles my deionized water comes in... Think I'll go put them in the sink right now...

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Chlorox bottles are frequently available and very heavy duty.

I have had one leak. I think the problem exists with all the high-density plastics like HDPE and PET: if the bottle gets a dimpled dent at the bottom rim then a crack will form where there is a sharp corner in the dent. That said: plastic Vodka jugs make good containers: heavy plastic, nice top, removable 10ml/second flow regulator, non-slip grip, don't need cleaning before use.

Softer Nalgene LDPE bottles, while not as impervious as PET, won't hold a dent or sharp crease.

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

Good to know. I stick to glass bottles for all my solutions, unless they already come in a bottle. 40oz (1.18L) beer bottles are near free at the corner store, just the price of the deposit (20c).

 

[Akki14]

Odd. I've kept mine in 2litre soda bottles for the last 18 months without problem but then again they're kept in a fairly cool, fairly dark bathroom.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Odd. I've kept mine in 2litre soda bottles for the last 18 months without problem but then again they're kept in a fairly cool, fairly dark bathroom.

Probably last 18 years ... the problem is when the bottle is dropped, dinged, kicked etc, and gets a dent in it. If it is a hard plastic then the edge of the dent is a sharp edge and the concentration of mechanical stress at that point causes the plastic to split open over time.

 

[Jersey Vic]

....That said: plastic Vodka jugs make good containers: heavy plastic, nice top, removable 10ml/second flow regulator, non-slip grip, don't need cleaning before use....

I've been looking for a good reason to start drinking again & this clinches it!

 

[pnance]

I tried using PET bottles for sodium hydroxide concentrate storage. The bottom of the bottle cracked and there was a resulting leakage, about a liter. Another APUGer, Marc, commented that NaOH was used to dissolve PET in the recycling process!

If the solutions contained NaOH, that could have contributed to the problem.

 

[fotch]

I've been looking for a good reason to start drinking again & this clinches it!

 

[ben-s]

I tried using PET bottles for sodium hydroxide concentrate storage. The bottom of the bottle cracked and there was a resulting leakage, about a liter. Another APUGer, Marc, commented that NaOH was used to dissolve PET in the recycling process!

If the solutions contained NaOH, that could have contributed to the problem.

I made this mistake with PCB developer, which seems to be a strong NaOH solution.
By amazing coincidence, I'd stood the bottle in a tray when I finished using it, which surely saved the bathroom carpet (not to mention my neck...)
I'd gone out for an hour and came back to find the bottom of the bottle rotted into small shreds.

 

[Paul Verizzo]

I've been looking for a good reason to start drinking again & this clinches it!

Just don't get your bottles mixed up in the darkroom!