Storing Ansco 130

[gbenaim]

Hi All,

I just got a pack of ansco 130 from the PF, and was wondering in what type of container I should store it before I mix it. Thanks,

GB

 

[juan]

Just leave it in the packages it was shipped in. Maybe put the package in a cool, dark place.
juan

 

[Shawn Dougherty]

I think you meant you want to buy the containers before you mix it...?

I use brown glass bottles that seal tightly, you can get them at any photo site like freestyle. A cheaper alternative, and how I store my fixer, is to buy 1 liter brown bottles of hydrogen peroxide at Walgreen's, clean them well and there you have it. The less air in the bottles the better. The plastic allows you to squeeze the bottles so that there is almost no air. Best. Shawn

 

[eclarke]

I would just leave it in the packages it comes in, may be in a ziploc bag after opening, in a cool,dark place. The stock, once mixed, stays fairly well but once the working strength is made, it will start to discolor. I leave it in my trays for 3-5 days and sometimes by the 5th day a black precipitate settles in the tray and can discolor the prints. I homebrew my own and use it 1+3 for Ilford FB and Oriental FB papers, plenty active..Evan Clarke

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

If you mean dry chemicals, leave them as is, away from heat and light.

If you mean chemicals in solution, pretty much everything that is glass, brown, and tight will do. I use 45oz (1.18L) beer bottles, they cost me 20c each at the corner store.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

I keep my Ansco 120-ish developer in 4 litre (1 gallon) aluminized plastic (mylar?) bags that wine comes in...the ones with the removable brown plastic spigots. They're light tight, and they collapse as they empty making them air tight as well. Also, they're fun to empty of their original contents

Murray

 

[gbenaim]

I did mean in solution. Is it important that the bottles be brown or dark colored and glass? What about green or brown pastic?

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Brown is good because it doesn't skunk the hops in beer.

I store mine in brown DATA plastic containers. The A-130 lasts for a good long time. I use the single quart bottles so when I mix, I usually use half a quart, and the second half gets used so quickly after the first half that the air exposure doesn't seem to matter. But you could, like Shawn says, squeeze a plastic bottle to let most of the air out. That is good advice if you're storing it for a longer period of time.
I think you can use the working solution for up to a year if kept in filled up air tight bottles. I've never gotten that far. More like two weeks.
- Thomas

 

[MurrayMinchin]

What about green or brown pastic?

As I understand it some plastics allow oxygen to pass through them which shortens the life of developers...this is probably why glass is recommended so often. As for colour, even clear should do if it's kept out of the light in a cupboard.

Murray

 

[MurrayMinchin]

I think you can use the working solution for up to a year if kept in filled up air tight bottles.

I've kept my stock solution for almost a year in the wine bags and it's still good...for some reason the wine never lasted as long

Murray

 

[PhotoJim]

Glycin, one of the ingredients, doesn't keep all that long as a powder. However, unlike most other developers, Ansco 130 stock lasts a very long time once mixed. Even the working solution lasts several months.

I suggest you mix it up now and store it in glass or dark plastic bottles (as full as possible) and keep them in a darkish room.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

Glycin, one of the ingredients, doesn't keep all that long as a powder. However, unlike most other developers, Ansco 130 stock lasts a very long time once mixed.

Yup.

My Ansco 120-ish developer has Glycin in it. I order it from Photogaphers Formulary once or twice a year and mix the developer right away while the powder is fresh.

Murray

 

[doughowk]

I store the working solution in brown glass bottle (eg, from Photo Formulary). I mix the ingredients in distilled water and top-off the bottle also with distilled water after every printing session. The color stays only slightly amber and seems like it lasts forever (a few months at least).

 

[juan]

I mix mine and dilute it one to one to make a total of two liters. I pour it into two one liter glass bottles. I use one bottle as my developer and use the second to replenish the first after each session. When I've gone through the second bottle, it's time to discard and make fresh.

I've kept powdered glycin for almost three years by keeping it in the freezer.

Any color glass works fine so long as you keep the bottles in a darkened cabinet of some kind.
juan

 

[Bob F.]

Mine (and all other developers that I need to keep) goes in plastic fizzy pop bottles filled to the brim. I've had ID11 last well over a year in a dark cupboard in plastic cola bottles so the much more stable Ansco 130 should last effectively forever...

I don't know how long it will actually last as I always use it up within six months or so - it certainly lasts that long. Even when discoloured it can be perfectly OK. I've had the stuff turn so dark you can't see the bottom of the tray and still it worked fine.

Have fun, Bob.