Once opened, PQ Universal spoils pretty quickly.. Any remedies?

Ivo Stunga · May 3, 2018

Ivo Stunga said:
here are my observations for developing film with PQ Universal (...) Have no experience on paper though.

In other words - yellowing is bad for film, but seems to be fine for paper : )

Pat Erson · May 3, 2018

Eukobrom has a looong shelf life once opened...

vdonovan · May 3, 2018

I buy PQ Universal 5 liters at a time. It takes me about 8 months to get through the 5 liter bottle. Whenever I pour from the big bottle, I top it up with Tetenal Protectan spray. I actually spritz a little of this into all my developer bottles after I use them. My solutions never turn brown.

RauschenOderKorn · May 3, 2018

I have tried with various Ilford paper developers, and once the colour has changed, it either requires a higher concentration or it will only achieve a reduced Dmax.

mooseontheloose · May 4, 2018

This is why I’ve had to give up on Ilford paper developers - they just oxidized so badly between sessions, no matter what I did,that it wasn’t worth the cost (which is triple the normal U.S. price here in Japan). I use a locally made developer instead and it seems to last a lot longer, no matter how long it is between sessions (many months apart oftentimes).

Ian Grant · May 4, 2018

I noticed that since Ilford's liquid PQ developers were subcontracted first to Champion and later Tetenal and others they don't keep as well, this co-coincided with their re-formulation to use Dimezone instead of Phenidone.

Contrary to many US publications etc Dimezone based developer don't seem to keep as well, these same books and some ex-Kodak people tell us Phenidone keeps poorly as a raw chemical, something that's very far from the truth, I still have Phenidone with a 1961 date stamp that's as good as fresh Phenidone.

I'd add that I mix my own developers from scratch and use ID-78 which is the basis of Ilford Warmtone developer, I mix to the commercial strength (of a liquid developer) rather than the published formula (which was sold as a powder developer) substituting Potassium Carbonate and some Hydroxide for the sodium Carbonate and use Phenidone, it has a shelf life of around 2 years once opened (i.e. partially full bottle).

Ian

ruilourosa · May 4, 2018

you´ll have to print faster...

protectan is good but propane butane for lighters is also good.

Jaume Tormo · Nov 5, 2023

Hello all,

My problem is with the thing they use to stop the air leak between the cap and the bottle. With time it breaks up and lets air in.
I press the bottle to remove as much air as possible, but if this thing is not working properly air goes in and the bottle takes its usual shape.
Any idea on how to replace this thing? O with what can I replace it?

Thanks.

Jaume.

tokam · Nov 6, 2023

Jaume Tormo said:
Hello all,

My problem is with the thing they use to stop the air leak between the cap and the bottle. With time it breaks up and lets air in.
I press the bottle to remove as much air as possible, but if this thing is not working properly air goes in and the bottle takes its usual shape.
Any idea on how to replace this thing? O with what can I replace it?

Thanks.

Jaume.

Perhaps some cling film / Saran / Glad wrap underneath the screw top. Just fold a bit of the plastic film into 4 layers and place across the bottle top before screwing on the cap. Don't forget the butane / Protectan spray first.

Ivo Stunga · Nov 6, 2023

Having bought 5l of the stuff for the third time and using it up in 2 years or so, I have no problems of PQ going bad. Slight discoloration, yes. But works just fine.

I just transfer the 5l can into 4x 1l and 2x 0.5l bottles with hinged cap - to the brim almost, topping it off with some lighter gas/butane.
1l bottles are for long-term storage, 0.5l for immediate use, topping it off with butane after each use.

Doing this the contents of 0.5l bottle in-use discolors slightly at the end, but 1l bottles stay pretty much intact.

Therefore I recommend going for glass bottles with hinged caps - easy, straightforward, cheap as they can be had by reusing some bottles.

Xylo · Nov 6, 2023

It's funny you should mention that because a few years ago I did an oddball experiment that for some reason works (even though the experts say not to do that).

I take the bottle and split the concentrate into smaller plastic bottles and then store in the film freezer.
The components will separate, but they dissolve back to normal once you dilute them.
I put just enough concentrate in each bottle to make 1 liter, so it's an easy to measure thing.

I don't know if it works for other developers, but for PQ, it works.

Ivo Stunga · Nov 6, 2023

Last batch I received had crystals in it - still works great, have half of it spent about year in.

But stuff falling out of solution doesn't sound sound lol. But if it works, it must work.

relistan · Nov 7, 2023

Someone mentioned other Ilford liquid developers having issues. I always use Ilford Multigrade developer for paper and I've had bottles partially filled last over a year. They yellow but work fine. It's only when it starts to get truly brown that the effect is really noticeable.

Jaume Tormo · Nov 7, 2023

tokam said:
Perhaps some cling film / Saran / Glad wrap underneath the screw top. Just fold a bit of the plastic film into 4 layers and place across the bottle top before screwing on the cap. Don't forget the butane / Protectan spray first.

Thank you for the tip!
I will try the plastic film and the butane.

Jaume Tormo · Nov 7, 2023

I'll also try moving it to a better bottle.

Thank you all.

Once opened, PQ Universal spoils pretty quickly.. Any remedies?

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