Tetenal E6 : crystal is unopened FD bottle

Hello,

I am preparing to use a E6 Kit I bought let's say 4 years max ago. It was stored at 15° max, in the dark.

As I am mixing the FD solution, I observe some crystals at the bottle of the concentrated bottle of FD solution.

Is it normal? Can the kit be safely used?

Thanks & Regards

robinal said:

E6 Kit - FD solution, crystals at the bottle of the concentrated bottle of FD solution.

Click to expand...

As long as there are FEW SMALL crystals, the FD can be used normally (but may not be usable for a 3rd round as suggested by Tetenal), when crystals get big and tend to cover the bottom of the bottle, the FD can't be used reliably any more - it will still develop, though, just "some more time" will be needed to get reasonable colours.
After the long storage time, part 2 of the BLIX may show yellowish sulfur precipitate (or like fog in suspension, when you shake): Gone bad, can't be used any more.
Hope this helps. Good luck!

Thanks.
The 1st roll I developed with the kit seems to fine, very transparent. It was a roll of Fuji Velvia 50 (RSP50).

Then, in a 2nd batch, I developed 2 rolls of Velvia 100 (RVP100). It seems that the development went smoothly, although :
- after the 2nd development step, when pouring out the chromogenic solution, the liquid had a purple color.
- the final film rolls are not as transparent as the Velvia 50.

Comments are welcome. I will search the forum to find out if these observations are normal.

E6 FD doesn't fail at once, it slowly loses activity over time. If you get the impression, that your slides look a tad darker than they should look, you can try to extend FD times. Only if that doesn't give you the results you want, then it's time to start with a new bottle of fresh concentrate. Your statement 'the final film rolls are not as transparent as' tells me you should either extend E6 FD times by 30-60 seconds, or replace E6 FD.

The discoloration of E6 CD after use is normal. There is a competitive coupler in E6 CD, which forms a colorful but water soluble product with oxidized color developer. This colorful product will eventually react with Sulfite to form something mostly colorless, that's when you see E6 CD regaining its original appearance.