temperature range on storing chemicals for film & paper development

hello everyone,

i haven't found any useful answers in similiar threads which is why i thought i'd post a new question. i've set up my darkroom in a shed which is pretty prone to the outside weather conditions, meaning if it's cold outside, it's pretty cold inside, too. (same goes for summer and heat). i haven't had any experiences on below zero temperatures so far, but i'm guessing temperatures will drop even more during the next couple of weeks. obviously i won't risk letting the chemicals freeze, but above that, does temperature have any effect on shelf life of film & paper developers, stop and fixers (and while we're talking about it... maybe even paper?!)? i use XTOL and ILFORD. i'd rather not carry my chemicals back and forth from my home to the darkroom all the time if i don't have to, let alone try to find an empty dark cabinet in my already crammed appartement to store fresh chemicals. on the other side, i'm assuming it could take quite a while for the developer to reach developing temperatures around 18-20 once i've turned on the heating, mmhhhh...

thanks for sharing your experiences! i appreciate your help.

cinotrah

High temperatures are bad for paper and film. High humidity and condensation is bad for film, paper and a lot of packaging materials.

To a certain extent, they can also cause problems with liquid chemicals and the containers they are stored in.

If you are involved in making your own chemicals from constituent parts, I'd suggest asking the chemists here specific questions.

I would add to what Matt said. The chemicals probably are ionized solutions so that the freezing temperature is lower than the freezing point of water. That said, it will probably not be good for the chemicals to get frozen, so if possible, protect from freezing.

What is the conection between freezing points and a harm by freezing?

Find somewhere else to keep mixed solutions where the temperature is more controlled. High temperatures will increase the rate of spoilage. Low temperatures can cause ingredients to come of solution. Some like Metol can be hard to get back into solution.

AgX said:

What is the conection between freezing points and a harm by freezing?

Click to expand...

Sometimes freezing changes the chemistry. Frozen and then defrosted beer pretty much tastes like crap, so I am careful about freezing some things.

Since I live in the desert southwest of the USA, it's HOT most of the year. I keep all liquid developers and dry chemicals (I mix various formulas from scratch) in a small refrigerator where the temp is maintained at 45 - 50F. Never had an issue with anything going bad, other than from normal expected shelf life. Film is kept frozen until use.

Kind regards,
Alan

Alan9940 said:

Since I live in the desert southwest of the USA, it's HOT most of the year. I keep all liquid developers and dry chemicals (I mix various formulas from scratch) in a small refrigerator where the temp is maintained at 45 - 50F. Never had an issue with anything going bad, other than from normal expected shelf life. Film is kept frozen until use.

Kind regards,
Alan

Click to expand...

Thanks Alan, that was really helpfull. I'll probably keep the chemicals I use in the fridge and store my stock solutions in some dark place at home.

AgX said:

What is the conection between freezing points and a harm by freezing?

Click to expand...

Liquids loose solubility as temperature declines. Depending on what is dissolved in the liquid, it may drop out of solution as the temperature drops. It's common after solutions are stored long term at low temps to find the bottom of the container coated in solid that has dropped out of solution.

It does not have to reach the freezing point for this to happen.

Yes, I know. Dissolving power and solubilty. Two sides of a medal. It only was that Sirius hinted explicitely at freezing points.