Seems that original Kodak bottles are not airtight...

[jernejk]

Just checked my chemicals and realised:
- Bottle of polimax, half full, went completely brown. An unopened bottle from the same batch is still ok.
- HC110 has brown marks where air is in the bottle. I squeezed it to let out air last time i used it, but the cap doesn't seem to be airtight. The liquid still seems ok, not brown.. dare I use it??

 

[snapguy]

Talkin'

You talkin' about all old Kodak bottles or just the ones in your possession? How old are they? Have they been taken care of since they were new? Enquiring minds want to know.

 

[Alex Muir]

I bought a bottle of HC110 (new production) a few months ago and decanted the contents into smaller glass bottles. I then used the empty plastic bottle to store some stock ID11 developer. I found quite quickly that the cap was leaking. The ID11 was able to spill out and left staining around the neck. I no longer use this bottle to store any chemicals. Maybe the caps are faulty?
Alex.

 

[David Lyga]

One of the greatest inventions of all for photography came in the 1990s with the introduction of PET plastic bottles for carbonated soda. The long slender ones can be somewhat squeezed to let out air. You can readily store developer in these and they will hold off oxidation as well as glass bottles do. Alternately, use glass marbles to take up the slack. - David Lyga

 

[jimjm]

Once I open and start using any bottle of stock or concentrate developer, it's useful life becomes much shorter for me. I use HC110 and TMax concentrates, and the same goes for stock developer mixed from powders. I always mark on the bottle when purchased, opened and/or mixed. Same goes for paper developers and fixer. The only exception is Rodinal.

Many folks will break down their stock solution into smaller bottles, which I think is a good idea. Probably also helps to ensure that bottles are stored in a cool, dark place.

I've had the brown stains in HC110 bottles, but it's never been a problem as long as the concentrate looks OK.

 

[gone]

I agree, Rodinal seems to last forever. I use TD-16 pretty often, a D76 variant, and get 6 months from the stock solution w/ consistent results the whole way through, unlike D76. People tell me that the tops leak on all these plastic bottles (mine don't, but that's just mine), and you have to use Saran Wrap between the cap and the bottle to keep out air. Developers don't like storage in high temps either, which is probably why my D76 was going off so quickly here in Florida. Putting the D76 into smaller bottles didn't help my problem, unfortunately. The PH would still rise. My TD-16 doesn't suffer from this issue, nor does the Rodinal in it's plastic factory bottle. The Microdol-X I have gets used up before anything can go bad because I like it so much.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Kodak chemistry is packed under an inert atmosphere. Once you open the bottle, air gets in. The cap is air tight, but that tiny amount of air can lead to browning but not spoilage of the complete batch. Use of an inert blanket of gas will solve this.

PE

 

[MattKing]

With respect to HC-110, it isn't air that causes it to go brown, it is water in the air.

And brown HC-110 works as well as clear HC-110.

My brown Polymax-T works great. Seems to work great even years past the best before date.

 

[jernejk]

thanx all… will repackage in pet bottles and squeeze the air out.

As for polymax… i'll try and throw it away in case it's bad… at least with paper developer there's no real risk.

 

[MattKing]

thanx all… will repackage in pet bottles and squeeze the air out.

As for polymax… i'll try and throw it away in case it's bad… at least with paper developer there's no real risk.

Don't throw the PolyMax developer away! It will probably work fine. And you can test by just developing a print.

And the HC-110? Decant if you wish, but my few years old, half used HC-110 is brown and just works, and works, and works.

 

[Photo Engineer]

With respect to HC-110, it isn't air that causes it to go brown, it is water in the air.

And brown HC-110 works as well as clear HC-110.

My brown Polymax-T works great. Seems to work great even years past the best before date.

Matt, you are right to an extent. Air alone does little to HC110, but let in water and then the air begins its dirty work. Oxygen oxidizes and CO2 messes with the buffer capacity. Now, in the concentrate this means little in the early stages and the stuff keeps on working, but later on, all bets are off. Things can finally catch up with you and it can go dead.

I'm sure that in this case the developer is still ok.

PE