unmixed blix melted thru bottle

[rbrigham]

hi

I have a kit of kodak 4x 5l rt/lu blix
i just went to mix up another 5l and the bigger bottle had melted a hole thru it
is this common after a while ?
the kit was only bought a year ago

best

robin

 

[Wayne]

Melted? Pictures please.

 

[koraks]

Haven't had this happen with blix, but RA4 developer is notorious for dissolving plastics. I got the stains to prove it, too.

 

[Wayne]

Really? What kind of plastic? I've stored it for years in #1

 

[rbrigham]

It was the darker solution and it was in the manufacturers sealed bottle
unfortunately I did not take a picture before disposing of it
it seemed to have a pinhole part way down
it was bought as part of a 4x5l kit last year and stored at room temperature -about 21 deg C
about a 1/4 of it dripped out into the cardboard box which sort of contained it

best

robin

 

[DWThomas]

It could just have been a defective bottle. A few years back I came home from a vacation and stepped into the dark room to find the floor rather wet. The source was an unopened gallon jug of distilled water! It was about a quart below full.

 

[MattKing]

It could just have been a defective bottle.

Or a damaged one - those bottles are not impervious to impact damage.

 

[AgX]

Amongst the common plastics we come across/use in our darkroom work, there only is one critical plastic: PET
There are chances of disintegration at high pH levels.

But I am not aware that processing concentrates are sold in PET bottles.

I got a faint memory of some orginal PE bottle being reported here of having cracked at some crease.

 

[Wayne]

Amongst the common plastics we come across/use in our darkroom work, there only is one critical plastic: PET
There are chances of disintegration at high pH levels.

But I am not aware that processing concentrates are sold in PET bottles.

I got a faint memory of some orginal PE bottle being reported here of having cracked at some crease.

I've seen seam leaks on HDPE, which is probably what the concentrate was in.

 

[AgX]

HDPE is amongst the most resistant plastics.

Concerning the substances we use and temperatures applied in storage it can be regarded as stable.
I assume the leakage you have it about was induced mechanically or by UV radiation, or by combination of both.

 

[thuggins]

Both parts of the color developer will melt thru PET. Neither part of blix has ever done this, and I've been using the same PET bottles for years. HDPE will hold all the concentrates with no issue. If yours leaked, the problem was likely the bottle and not the chemicals.

 

[Wayne]

Both parts of the color developer will melt thru PET. Neither part of blix has ever done this, and I've been using the same PET bottles for years. HDPE will hold all the concentrates with no issue. If yours leaked, the problem was likely the bottle and not the chemicals.

Why would the separate parts of the developer ever be in PET in the first place? Aren't they shipped in HDPE?

 

[mklw1954]

Kodak C41 concentrates are provided in sturdy HDPE bottles. I use PET bottles for working solutions with no problem but I use them within a week.

 

[Wayne]

Kodak C41 concentrates are provided in sturdy HDPE bottles. I use PET bottles for working solutions with no problem but I use them within a week.

Right, the concentrates would never be in PET unless someone transferred it. But I have some mixed C41 developer in PET that I put there in 2018. The bottles have frozen at least twice and they are still fine. The solution has mold in it though.

 

[grat]

It could just have been a defective bottle. A few years back I came home from a vacation and stepped into the dark room to find the floor rather wet. The source was an unopened gallon jug of distilled water! It was about a quart below full.

Gotta watch out for that hydrohydroxic acid. That stuff can kill you.