Raw Chemical Storage

[brian steinberger]

I have a some bottles of raw chemicals I've purchased from the Photographer's Formulary over the years and have kept them in the plastic containers which they arrived in. I was just wondering if it's recommended to keep raw chemicals this way or if I should store them another way, such of glass, and what the benefits would be. Thanks.

 

[dancqu]

I have a some bottles of raw chemicals I've purchased from
the Photographer's Formulary over the years and have kept
them in the plastic containers which they arrived in. I was
just wondering if it's recommended to keep raw chemicals
this way or if I should store them another way, such of
glass, and what the benefits would be. Thanks.

The one-size-fits-all answer for short and long term storage
is glass. A standard for dark room and other chemical storage
is the Boston Round; wide-narrow, a selection of caps and lids,
amber and clear. Not expensive. Google for, Boston Rounds .
Lots of suppliers. Ebay also. Dan

 

[brian steinberger]

Dan, thanks, all I can find for Boston Rounds is narrow mouth bottles, fitting for liquids. Do they have wider mouthed bottles for powdered chems? Also, why glass over plastic?

 

[dancqu]

Change of Name?

Packers or wide mouth Boston Rounds.
Going by both from my quick shopping
at a few suppliers. I'll check again. Dan

 

[Mike Wilde]

Plastics are all to some degree impervious to air/moisture migration through them. Plus the cmeistry can stain/bond to thier walls.

Glass bottles only have the lid seal to leak to allow moisture/air migration, and are easily cleaned out for re-use with another dry chem with a strong acid /hot water rinse, then distilled /w rinse.

 

[fotch]

Dan, thanks, all I can find for Boston Rounds is narrow mouth bottles, fitting for liquids. Do they have wider mouthed bottles for powdered chems? Also, why glass over plastic?

Brian, I have extra 250ml and 1250ml wide mouth amber glass bottles. Send me a message if you’re interested in either of these two sizes.
I think glass eliminates the gas transfer problems. I always thought some chemicals were light sensitive and needed the Amber color to protect the contents. Recently, PE posted something to the effect that at Kodak, they use clear bottles.
I still prefer Amber for safety. In a commercial lab with trained workers, the possibility of confusing a food item with a non food item is probably nil.
In the home, there is a bigger risk. Even if the risk is low, reducing it further is still a good idea. The amber bottle is always going to contain something you won’t digest. Labels can get smeared, fall off, or ignored. Water, wine, beer bottles, while mostly safe if they have a proper label and kept in the darkroom will be mostly safe but there is still an element of danger.
The dark brown plastic bottles sold for photo use or amber glass bottles sold for chemical use are much safer in a home or small commercial darkroom.

 

[Mike Wilde]

My 'free' source is empty yeast bottles. They are about 240mL, and have a metal lid with a good rubber gasket, and are wide mouth amber glass.

We bake almost all of our breads in bread machines (I say machines, because used three or more times a week, they only last a few years before repairs are needed, soI ahev a stable of them). We also make our milk up from powder. I know it is different ion taste, but it works for us. It makes shopping a once every week event for fruit and veg, and a more serious shop about once a month. Not running out for milk and bread every few days we have found, as a side effect of what started as a time saver, also saves one from a lot of impulse purchases.

 

[brian steinberger]

Thanks everyone. I found these http://www.greenwoodprod.com/cart.php?m=product_list&c=107 made by Greenwood Products. Near the bottom of the page are the two wide mouth bottle sizes. 12 come in a case for about $23. That's not bad. I'm also going to look on ebay.

 

[juan]

I've also stored chemicals in common Mason jars sold in the grocery store for food canning. The jars are glass and the metal caps have an insulating material made to keep acid foods from reacting. The jars are clear, so I simply keep them in a closed cabinet and out of direct light.
juan

 

[Ektagraphic]

I store the concentrate that is unmixed in the bottle it came in but I store my mixed chemicals in Delta Datatainer bottles. I know it is a funny name but they work great and they have ample space to write info and instructions on what is in the bottle.