Ragu jars for developer, etc

eli griggs · Jul 18, 2007

I am wondering, does anyone else here use the type-1 plastic jars that Ragu sauce comes in to store working chemistry?

Although they are a bit of a pain to clean up, they seem to be just about perfect for storage and use. I do use some Saran Wrap between the lids and chemistry, but other than that and the fact that they are clear, they are ideal, IMO, for pouring and dumping chemistry out of and in to.

Eli

Photo Engineer · Jul 18, 2007

Right back to Rochester. Ragu is headquartered in Rochester too.

PE

copake_ham · Jul 18, 2007

I congratulate your ingeniuty!

This reminds me of a thread I saw once which asked if there was a cheaper way to find one-gallon opaque jugs besides those for $5 or so at the photo store.

Someone else pointed the poster to the laundry and bleach section of the local supermarket where you can usually buy housebrand bleach in brown jugs for about $0.59!

BTW: Has anyone here yet figured out what the heck a "digital tripod" is?

greybeard · Jul 18, 2007

"BTW: Has anyone here yet figured out what the heck a "digital tripod" is?"

I think that in the spirit of this forum it would have one straight finger and two bent ones, instead of the more traditional three legs....

Steve Smith · Jul 19, 2007

copake_ham said:
BTW: Has anyone here yet figured out what the heck a "digital tripod" is?

It's similar to the 'digital headphones' which suddenly became available when CDs were introduced.

Steve.

Akki14 · Jul 19, 2007

I use soda bottles even though everyone says not to. I've gotten quite used to having my print developer (working solution) stored in a Slimeade (halloween branded limeade) bottle. Of course, I don't drink soda(or not as much as I needed 2litre bottles) so I had to go to my friend for the bottles I have red funnels for funneling the liquids back in.

juan · Jul 19, 2007

I use the laundry detergent jugs for chemicals I will keep a short time - such as fixer. For my dry chemicals, I use standard Mason jars. The metal tops are treated to be resistant to chemicals. Store them in a dark cabinet and you don't have to worry about sunlight.
juan

Monophoto · Jul 19, 2007

I use shampoo bottles. They come in a heavy black plastic and can be easily washed out.

Beer bottles are also very good - especially the larger, quart size with screw caps. And they are brown. And for serious beer drinkers, Grolsch bottles are excellent - a rubber-stoppered bail closure, brown glass.

eclarke · Jul 19, 2007

My grocery store sells Oberweiss Dairy milk in beautiful 1/2 gallon glass bottles with a good poly snap cap. The milk is great and only costs $1 more than the common grocery store grade in cardboard and you get the jug!!..Evan Clarke

Akki14 · Jul 19, 2007

Mono - interesting, the grolsch bottles here are always green. I use hoegaarden bottles for my cyanotype chemistry - they are darker brown than the proper chemistry bottles my husband borrowed from work. I just use those strange little lever stoppers on the bottles (never again used for food)

eclarke - Isn't that a deposit on the bottles technically speaking? There's a dairy where I lived in new hampshire that also sold locally in glass bottles but you were suppose to wash and return them.

copake_ham · Jul 19, 2007

Akki14 said:
Mono - interesting, the grolsch bottles here are always green. I use hoegaarden bottles for my cyanotype chemistry - they are darker brown than the proper chemistry bottles my husband borrowed from work. I just use those strange little lever stoppers on the bottles (never again used for food)

eclarke - Isn't that a deposit on the bottles technically speaking? There's a dairy where I lived in new hampshire that also sold locally in glass bottles but you were suppose to wash and return them.

Agree that the only Grolsch "stopper" bottles I've seen are green. I use them as decanters when I bulk buy things like soy sauce in gallon jugs. Work very well although ultimately the salt will eat away at the rubber ring.

eclarke · Jul 19, 2007

Akki14 said:
Mono - interesting, the grolsch bottles here are always green. I use hoegaarden bottles for my cyanotype chemistry - they are darker brown than the proper chemistry bottles my husband borrowed from work. I just use those strange little lever stoppers on the bottles (never again used for food)

eclarke - Isn't that a deposit on the bottles technically speaking? There's a dairy where I lived in new hampshire that also sold locally in glass bottles but you were suppose to wash and return them.

Yes,I get the feeling that not many are returned and the store doesn't push it, it's a pretty fancy store and 3 bucks doesn't mean much to the clientele. I like the glass, just like when I was a kid..way back in the last century..EC

eclarke · Jul 19, 2007

I mix 2 liters of developer stock when I mix and these milk bottles are perfect..EC

Gabe Racz · Jul 19, 2007

Photo Engineer said:
Right back to Rochester. Ragu is headquartered in Rochester too.

PE

My dad worked at Ragu in Rochester for a little while (probably 30+ years ago). After hearing about what falls in those vats I can't eat the stuff to be able to use the bottles for chemical storage.

Now a growler from the neighborhood brewpub, on the other hand, looks quite handy -- 1/2 gallon, brown glass . . . too bad it's hard to resist having it re-filled with beer.

copake_ham · Jul 19, 2007

Gabe Racz said:
....
Now a growler from the neighborhood brewpub, on the other hand, looks quite handy -- 1/2 gallon, brown glass . . . too bad it's hard to resist having it re-filled with beer.

Buy two full ones, refill one.

AgX · Jul 19, 2007

One of the first things I learned about (photo-)chemistry was, never ever to store chemicals in containers once intended for food etc.

k_jupiter · Jul 20, 2007

First off, go to the loval brewers supply store to get replacement rubber gaskets for your Grolsh bottles. There are several other beers bottled the same way.. Fisher fom France...

I use a wine bottle called "Red". Correct shape, dark, works well. I have also use Tropicana Orange Juice 1/2 gallon bottles, but then again, I keep them in a reduced light situation.

Ragu? Too acidic.

tim in san jose

eli griggs · Jul 20, 2007

One of the first things I learned about (photo-)chemistry was, never ever to store chemicals in containers once intended for food etc.

Ragu? Too acidic.

So far I haven't had any problems from properly cleaned Ragu jars. Besides the very handy grip molding, the thick PETE plastic is much more reassuring than soda bottles and far easer for me to hold. I have arthritis and feel the safety of plastic is an advantage I need in my darkroom.

The fact that they pour and receive chemistry quickly, by-way-of extra wide mouths, makes them very suitable for roll film tank development as well, especially with fast dumping Paterson tanks.

The size of these jars is also a plus. Thursday I mixed up a gallon of Kodak fixer and it divided perfectly between three jars; an ideal division of working stock for me.

Some things I do prefer to be in glass, like the 500ml of Parodinal I also mixed up yesterday, but for the time-being, I can't help but believe these jars are just the ticket for my little darkroom.

By-the-way, I'm also using 104 oz. Glad plastic-ware for small print making. Right now I'm making prints less than 8x8 inches and I like the easy way I can put lids on relatively deep trays of Ansco 130 developer, fixers, etc., between seasons. If you've ever messed about with Saran Wrap for even small 8x10 trays, or tried to rebottle tray chemistry, you'll appreciate not having to fool with it other than snapping on an air tight lid.

Eli

AgX · Jul 20, 2007

personal safety

Eli,

My post was not intended to hint at the contamination of the photo-chemicals, but at the accidental poisoning by those chemicals.

Akki14 · Jul 20, 2007

I don't know about you, but I don't eat or drink in my bathroom and that's where my photo chemicals in soda bottles are stored. I agree people turning their kitchens into darkrooms are probably at some risk but I just do not see anyone about to drink my bottle of print developer even if they were drunk to the point of eyes crossing.

eclarke · Jul 20, 2007

I have a dedicated darkroom which has no other activities and we have no children, relatives or young guests so I have no fear of poisoning anybody. I also have labels on all containers..EC

AgX · Jul 20, 2007

Akki, EC,

I repeated a `golden rule´ over here, taught in any chemical course, written down in how-to-do books on laboratory work, and even spread by the government.

However, I admit in my first processing I kept sodium hyposulfate in a German standard-sparkling-water-bottle; even without label... As you I argued, with myself, that I kept it in a separate closet in my workshop and did my processing off the kitchen.

But, I won't employ such a working method any more and take the view that one should not start to be negligent.

(However, with all that fruit-perfumed cleaning agents around our households at least children are at greater risk outside the darkroom...)

Phillip P. Dimor · Jul 20, 2007

I used to have a very bad Jim Beam habit. Also vodka for a while. Skyy vodka bottles and Jim Beam bottles are fantastic, it's easy to mix a gallon of whatever into several 1.75l's and a 750ml. Or even several 750ml's. I like using smaller bottles as I don't do as much processing as I used to. Stuff keeps longer in smaller unopened unused bottles.

I'm not advocating drinking, but the caps are good and screw on nice.
You could buy brown boston rounds from a bottle supply company, they aren't too expensive but shipping them is not as cheap as i'd like.
For me it's glass and a good cap.

Phillip P. Dimor · Jul 20, 2007

Or you could go to a local photo lab and ask for their empty bottles. I use a lot of Kodak c41 chem. bottles and unicolor e6 chem. bottles. We'd throw them out and i'd always save a few.

A lot of labs use the no-mix c41 packs which use no bottles, just bags in a box. If they still mix their own you could ask for them to save the bottles for you.

eli griggs · Jul 20, 2007

AgX, Akki14, I do agree that food and darkroom items should be kept separate, as I learned long ago that when I'm working I can become so focused that I can and have picked up a wrong container and drank from it. Luckily for me, no lye or acid was involved.

Eli

Ragu jars for developer, etc

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