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

[Matt5791]

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+]

3-6 years unpoened. It should be fine.

 

[Uncle Bill]

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]

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]

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]

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]

The darker the better ;-))

 

[reellis67]

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]

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]

Thanks for the advice,

Matt.

 

[rtuttle]

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]

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]

...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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.