old chemistry

[acp]

I've been acquiring old chemistry from various friends & colleagues and I'm not sure what I should be keeping and using and what I should be disposing of. All chemicals are at least 2-3years old, and haven't been used in that time, but have been stored in the dark. Some are unopened, some aren't.

Any suggestions welcome. Here's the list:

Rodinal (unopened)
Ilford Multigrade Paper Dev (unopened)
Tetenal Indicet Stop (unopened)
Tetenal Mirasol Wetting Agent (unopened)
Tetenal Superfix (unopened)
Ilford Ilfosol Film Dev (1/3 left)
Kodak Indicator Stop (3/4 left)
Ilford Wetting Agent (1/4 left)
Ilford Rapid Fix (prob unopened)
Kodak Photo-flo 200 (3/4 left)
Agfa Sistan Silver Stabliser (90% left)
Tetenal Photo Corrector (looks over 10yrs old, unused)
Kodak Polymax T Dev (3/4 left)
Agfa Neutol Dev (3/4 left)
Tetenal Gold Toner Virage (1/2 left)
Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner (1L ready to use - not concentrate)
Microphen Dev stock (made Dec 2005)
HC-110 Dev stock (made Aug 2003)
T-Max RS Dev stock (made Oct 2004)

That's the lot. Thanks.

 

[magic823]

Here some suggestions:

I've been acquiring old chemistry from various friends & colleagues and I'm not sure what I should be keeping and using and what I should be disposing of. All chemicals are at least 2-3years old, and haven't been used in that time, but have been stored in the dark. Some are unopened, some aren't.

Any suggestions welcome. Here's the list:

Rodinal (unopened) Fine
Ilford Multigrade Paper Dev (unopened) Maybe - if its turned brown its no good
Tetenal Indicet Stop (unopened) Fine
Tetenal Mirasol Wetting Agent (unopened) Fine
Tetenal Superfix (unopened) Fine
Ilford Ilfosol Film Dev (1/3 left) Throw it away
Kodak Indicator Stop (3/4 left) Fine
Ilford Wetting Agent (1/4 left) Fine
Ilford Rapid Fix (prob unopened) Fine
Kodak Photo-flo 200 (3/4 left) Fine
Agfa Sistan Silver Stabliser (90% left) Fine
Tetenal Photo Corrector (looks over 10yrs old, unused) No idea
Kodak Polymax T Dev (3/4 left) Throw it away
Agfa Neutol Dev (3/4 left) Throw it away
Tetenal Gold Toner Virage (1/2 left) Unknown
Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner (1L ready to use - not concentrate) Probably fine
Microphen Dev stock (made Dec 2005) Throw it away
HC-110 Dev stock (made Aug 2003) Stock - throw it away
T-Max RS Dev stock (made Oct 2004) Throw it away

That's the lot. Thanks.

 

[acp]

Thanks for your thoughts Magic.

Cheers, Andy

 

[fhovie]

Knowing which cheimical combinations will tear eachother up will be both useful in the craft and helpful to know which are good at this age. As "magic823" indicates - the solutions he said to toss are ones with developing agents that oxidize due to their formula or the presence of water. The ones he said to keep are the ones where the primary ingredients are simple and do not oxidize or are in a suspension that keeps them from air. Stop Fix and Toners generally don't go bad too fast if ever. Developers like Microphen start to decay the day you mix them and are pretty much history in 30 to 60 days. Rodinal is in a suspension and does not decay until mixed with water - then it has a very short life - like most staining and tanning developers. Metol and many other developing agents turn brown as they oxidize - another good indication.