Rodinal - how long does it keep......

Matt5791 · Nov 17, 2006

How long does Rodinal keep in unopened new bottles. I have one which is probably around 3-6 years old.

Thanks for any advice,
Matt

mario Ag+ · Nov 17, 2006

3-6 years unpoened. It should be fine.

Uncle Bill · Nov 17, 2006

I think a lot longer than 3-6 years, I read somewhere they found a pre war bottle in the rubble of Dresden in the late 1950's/ early '60s,tried it out and it worked just fine.

Bill

noseoil · Nov 17, 2006

The WWII vintage wasn't the longest find. I heard a story about the two original bottles Noak brought with him on the Ark, they were still working well when they were found. tim

jim appleyard · Nov 17, 2006

Last year I was given a partially used bottle of Rodinal; came in a glass bottle with a rubber cork. I have no idea how old it was, probably decades old. It was almost black in color, but worked just fine.

Jerevan · Nov 17, 2006

I wonder if the longevity is different between Rodinal in older glass bottles and the newer plastic ones? Plastic doesn't keep air out as well as glass does, I have been told.

But then again, I never keep it for very long, I like to use it too much...

mono · Nov 17, 2006

The darker the better ;-))

reellis67 · Nov 17, 2006

I've got a two year old bottle that is getting quite dark red, but still produces results consistent with those from years ago. I have some bottles that have been unopened for at least one year, perhaps two, that have very little color at all from what I can see through the bottles.

- Randy

gainer · Nov 17, 2006

As we have seen, the color of Rodinal is no guide as to its quality. The lack of color of XTOL is no guide to its quality.
Dilute a small amount of Rodinal 50:1 with water and aerate it thoroughly. See how dark that small amount of oxidized Rodinal can make the solution.
The test of Rodinal is in the use. When you get worried, do a snip test. In fact, you should do one with a new bottle just for the record. Keep the result for comparison with later tests.

Matt5791 · Nov 17, 2006

Thanks for the advice,

Matt.

rtuttle · Nov 17, 2006

I have half a dozen or so unopened bottles when I thought there was going to be a pending shortage. I also have two different versions, one with the old logo and one with the new. Has anybody scene or heard of different development times with the new?

Gerald Koch · Nov 17, 2006

Jerevan said:
I wonder if the longevity is different between Rodinal in older glass bottles and the newer plastic ones? Plastic doesn't keep air out as well as glass does, I have been told.

But then again, I never keep it for very long, I like to use it too much...

I think the bottles used are not just simple plastic they are composites made of more than one layer. If an SPI symbol is visiable then it should be a 7 in a triangle which signifies composites.

reellis67 · Nov 17, 2006

gainer said:
...In fact, you should do one with a new bottle just for the record. Keep the result for comparison with later tests.

Exactly. I make a note of when a new bottle gets opened so that I can go back and reference those negatives with the 'new' negatives down the road. So far, I've not run out of time before I ran out of developer.

- Randy

PKM-25 · Nov 17, 2006

I have ten bottles. I am hoping to be able to use them 20 years from now..

Now the one I am wondering about is Technidol. I have 23 boxes of it and want to use it like in the year 2020.

Xmas · Nov 17, 2006

Matt

Used the dregs from my plastic 'bottle' from '79 or so this Oct, it had been stored half full from '79, I have rediscovered photography...

It seemed to perform ok at 1:50 and 1:100, now I need a bottle of the new stuff.

Noel

Fotohuis · Nov 17, 2006

I think the bottles used are not just simple plastic

Right, they are packed in H.D. silar plastic bottels.

In the time my Rodinal test is reaching 5 years I will publish the yearly Rodinal "altering" test done with a densitometer.
Only two years to go.

JLP · Nov 18, 2006

I'm counting on Rodinal lasting forever, i have more of that stuff in my fridge than food and i want to bring what's left when i can't see a neg. anymore to heaven where i will use the last 10 bottles. By the way, no kids in my household and i know the difference between a beer and a bottle of Rodinal.

jan

jimgalli · Nov 18, 2006

I opened up a NOS bottle from a stash of 1971 stuff I bought on ebay. I've been using it for 2 years now. Never lets me down. It's the old glass bottle with the rubber stopper.

Fotohuis · Nov 18, 2006

Has somebody an original Rodinal bottle from 1891 somewhere in the fridge?
It could be an interesting film test against the latetst A&O version of Rodinal.

In principle the receipture of Rodinal is not changed over 100 years but the latest small refinement for Rodinal was done in 1996 according information I had directly from Agfa in 2003.

Rodinal - how long does it keep......

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