Rodinal: Lo, what fools some mortals be....

Uncle Dick · Apr 12, 2008

Dear Friends,

Let me set the story in order. I work in a photographic shop. I got an order from a local pro photo lab for 4 bottles of Rodinal. I took 4 of the 125ml bottles off the shelf and sent them by courier. Yesterday the manager of our shop gave these same bottles to me as a present for my darkroom - the pro photo lab had taken one look at the colour of the liquid and decided that it was exhausted. My protest that it was NEW, that Rodinal is always that colour, and that it is impossible to exhaust concentrated Rodinal anyway - it lasts 14 years longer than the Pyramids - fell on deaf ears. I now have another 500 ml of developer to use.

So tell me - what is the longest that anyone has ever kept Rodinal and then used it with success? Years? Decades? Aeons?

Uncle Dick

Phillip P. Dimor · Apr 12, 2008

I've personally used 6 or 7 year old Rodinal. It is dark, there is a clear granular sludge in the bottom of the bottle. I don't think it will redissolve without heat.. I've heard stories of people finding rodinal in a can(?before my time) from the 60s/70s and it being fine, and an opened can from the 80s that was fine as well.

Murray@uptowngallery · Apr 12, 2008

Lore and legend has it the stuff just gets darker but keeps working.

I don't know if it matters whether high dilutions are better or worse with vintage stuff.

Mark Antony · Apr 12, 2008

I've used stuff that was the colour of Guinness, honestly it worked out fine. I rarely have it laying around for more than 18 months but I've heard that some have used 5-10 year old stuff with no problems.
Mark

Philippe-Georges · Apr 12, 2008

Many years ago, when clearing away some boxes coming from my boy's bedroom in the parental house, I discovered, among other photo stuff, a 'glass' bottle of Rodinal that was opened. I do not know when Agfa stopped using glass to bottle up Rodinal. But, to shorten a long story, I used that for processing a few rolls of Agfapan (1+50), the negatives came out perfect...

jim appleyard · Apr 12, 2008

It can last for decades. I once inherited a glass bottle of the stuff, cork and all that was only partly full. I have no idea how old it was, but it worked just fine. It had to better than 30 years old as I only remember the glass bottles with the screw top, not cork.

Gary Holliday · Apr 12, 2008

I posted the same question 2 years ago regarding oxidised Rodinal and everyone assured me that it was absolutely fine to use.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Dave Miller · Apr 12, 2008

Gary Holliday said:
I posted the same question 2 years ago regarding oxidised Rodinal and everyone assured me that it was absolutely fine to use.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

And was it?

RobC · Apr 12, 2008

Dear Uncle Dick,

The tiltle "Pro" grants all sorts of dubious privilges such as always being right and far more knowlegeable than those with a lifetimes experience. It should be law that all those calling themselves "Pro", must have a stamp of legitimacy stamped on their forehead so that mere mortals are forewarned to humour and be deferential to such lofty photographers.

p.s. If they are members of APUG you will in future be able to refer to them as "Ex Clients" or any suitable term which comes to mind.

weasel · Apr 12, 2008

I can attest that I used some rodinol "sludge", from the hinterlands of my darkroom that was 23 years old. There was about 1.5 inches of dark brown crystal laden stuff left in the bottom of a 500cc bottle.
I shook the crap out of it, mixed it 1:50 and it worked just fine.
I rate rodinol right up there with 65 Dodge Darts and cock roaches for longevity.
I only hope my prostate ages as well............

Snapshot · Apr 12, 2008

I've never purchased a bottle of Rodinal that didn't have a dark colouration. I've never had a problem with any. Apocryphally, I've heard Rodinal lasts for decades.

Neanderman · Apr 12, 2008

I know a lot of people who swear by Rodinal and not one of them has ever told me they had any go "bad" on them.

Personally, I've use decade old stuff with no issues.

Ed

RoNinHeart · Apr 12, 2008

At least they recognize that it still exists. One of my local shops insists that Rodinal is no longer produced. When I told them that I ordered some from Freestyle last week they said well, it must be old. Agghh. I tried to tell them that's it's still being produced but they don't believe me.

bill williams · Apr 12, 2008

Old UFG...

Last week I opened a can of Ethol UFG that stated it should be used by July of 1977. It was pretty gray looking, and mixed up to be the color of strongly brewed tea. I mixed it 1:5 and it was pretty clear looking then. I developed some Delta 100 that had an expiration date of sometime in 1998. The negatives turned out just as if the film and developer had been made this year. Also I developed some Tri-x that I'm sure was from the 80s but the box was gone. Developed some TMax 100 that was best used by Aug 2002. All of the negatives turned out just fine. I still have 11 cans of the UFG, and I guess it will be working well into the next century, as it probably hasn't change any since its best used by date which was Jul of 77, and is not likely to. Oh, and the developer works good on fresh film also. I'm just trying to work in some of the older things before they get too old. However old that might be.

dpurdy · Apr 12, 2008

I bought a few of the larger bottles of Rodinal last year. Are you telling me I don't have to be keeping them in the refridgerater? Actually about about 17 years ago I had a bottle of Rodinal that was only on my shelf (open bottle) for about a year and turned black like black french coffee and I used it on a roll of film and it came out blank. Panatomic X. I got some new Rodinal and finished processing that batch of film and it came out fine. (it was a custom processing job) I have to assume the old rodinal was dead.

Dennis

vet173 · Apr 12, 2008

I developed some Ektapn in some rodinal that was only about 1/4 bottle left. It was about 12 years old, and had crystals on the bottom. Worked just fine.

John Bragg · Apr 12, 2008

Rodinal 11 years old and going strong !!!!
Just ordered more to future proof in case of supply issues.

John.

CBG · Apr 12, 2008

RoNinHeart said:
At least they recognize that it still exists. One of my local shops insists that Rodinal is no longer produced. When I told them that I ordered some from Freestyle last week they said well, it must be old. Agghh. I tried to tell them that's it's still being produced but they don't believe me.

They are right to the degree that, I believe, Rodinal production had been stopped at some point, but wrong in that it was later re-started.

C

edz · Apr 12, 2008

CBG said:
They are right to the degree that, I believe, Rodinal production had been stopped at some point, but wrong in that it was later re-started.

While production stopped in November 2005 it was, of course, re-started. Agfa Werk Vaihingen (Rodinal's home) was taken over by A&O. A&O's program included most of the Agfa chemical program. A&O early this year sold the factory to Connect Chemicals Production & Services GmbH. Different owners but Rodinal continues to be bottled. Rodinal is filled into plastic bottles using inert gas. This means that unopened plastic bottles still have very long shelf-lives. Once opened, however, this bottles have less than glorious properties and Rodinal is probably-- should the need arise for rests to last longer than a few years--- best re-filled into full glass bottles.

dpurdy · Apr 12, 2008

All the testimony of longevity doesn't explain why R09, which is supposedly the original Rodinal formula, definitely dies and relatively quickly. I never trust the bottom third of a bottle of R09 as that has shown less activity than the fresh bottle.
Dennis
The last bottles of Rodinal I got from Freestyle were very light in color, almost clear.

erikg · Apr 12, 2008

I've gotten many bottles that start out very pale in color, and then darken, I usually notice it by the half way point. I've tried to catch any change in activity with test frames from time to time, measuring the density, but I haven't ever found anything significant. It does seem to last and last. I have used some that was 2-3 years old with no trouble, but I've never had any super old stuff, as I keep using it up. Strange about the RO9, I wonder what is up with that.

cotdt · Apr 12, 2008

dpurdy said:
All the testimony of longevity doesn't explain why R09, which is supposedly the original Rodinal formula, definitely dies and relatively quickly. I never trust the bottom third of a bottle of R09 as that has shown less activity than the fresh bottle.
Dennis
The last bottles of Rodinal I got from Freestyle were very light in color, almost clear.

because R09 is more diluted with water, and water somehow degrades it faster.

edz · Apr 12, 2008

dpurdy said:
All the testimony of longevity doesn't explain why R09, which is supposedly the original Rodinal formula,

R09 is not Rodinal. Its perhaps the "original" (Dead Link Removed) but its not the same as Agfa Rodinal. Agfa Rodinal is filled using inert gas. R09 is not. R09 also uses very very poor plastic bottles (much worse, in my opinion, than Agfa's current HDPE packaging). If one wants R09 is last it must be refilled into a quality glass bottle. I would also not discount DDR paraaminophenol inventories (given that the DDR ceased to exist in 1989 that's no less than 18 years).

Gary Holliday · Apr 13, 2008

Dave Miller said:
And was it?

Yeah I used it it it was fine.

If I want new bottles to last years, should we keep it sealed or decant into amber bottles?

edz · Apr 13, 2008

Gary Holliday said:
Yeah I used it it it was fine.

If I want new bottles to last years, should we keep it sealed or decant into amber bottles?

Agfa Rodinal is probably fine in their sealed plastic bottles. One could improve things by dividing a 500ml bottle into multiple filled to the brims 100ml amber glass bottles.

Rodinal: Lo, what fools some mortals be....

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