What's wrong with my Ilford Rapid Fixer

I've had a 1L bottle of Ilford's Rapid Fixer since March this year, used it extensively and now about less than a third is left. This 'stock' solution hasn't changed color but the smell has 'changed' a bit (not sure if it's a rotten egg smell) and my eye tells me it's getting a bit cloudy. I can't see any suspended particles in it, however.

For the past 2 months, when I mix up working solutions of the fixer (1:4), all was well at first. The working solution worked as per normal for the first few rolls I processed in a day or two. Then, I store this working solution in an opaque white plastic bottle, capped tightly and with very little airspace left at the top.

Within a few days, I noticed that the said fixer in the white opaque plastic bottle has left a grayish residue all over the inside surface of the bottle under it's 'waterline', so to speak. The liquid itself remains to be colorless with no suspended particles as best I can tell. If I swipe my finger over this grey residue, some of it comes off. Scrubbing with a brush, most of it comes off but I can tell it'll be very hard work getting all of it clean.

Then, I tried fixing a developed roll using this 'spoiled' fixer. The roll (Arista II) came out 'foggy'.

What is happening to my fixer?

Fixer tends to decompose into sulfur and sodium sulfite. The sulfur makes the clouds in your fixer.
Argentum sulfite is not well soluble and gives brownish deposits. If it is only little it is colloidal and makes the fixer opaqe.

If the effect is only small I recommend to use to fixer only for not so critical work. There is teh danger that some argentum sulfite partikles remain at your film or paper, but mostly they will be washed away.
If you have thick deposits you should not use teh fixer anymore.

Ilford's label says an open full bottle will last 6 months; an open partly-full bottle is good for 6 months. If you can't use it quickly enough, divide it up into small portions and store (small glass bottle work well for this) but it sound like piu58 says, it's expired.

Try decanting the stock solution into empty wine dispenser bags. I do this and have never had a problem with fixer in as short a time as you appear to have had.

pentaxuser

I have found that the last several 1L bottles of Ilford rapid fix are notoriously not air tight. Follow the advice of others and as soon as you open the stock solution bottle, decant it into other airtight bottles that you can squeeze the air out of.

Regards,

Dave

piu58: Just as I thought, thank you for your input. I'll take your advice and only use it for non-critical shots.

Kevin: Yes, thank you...but I was thinking that Ilford's recommendations are a bit on the conservative side?

pentaxuser: Thanks! That's a brilliant idea, one that I'll be sure to try out.

Dave: That's troubling to know that Ilford's recent bottles of Rapid Fixer are somehow not airtight...why do you think it's so? I think you may be right, as I have found a tiny bit of brownish deposit/residue along the edge of the bottle's mouth.

pentaxuser said:

Try decanting the stock solution into empty wine dispenser bags.

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That does not help. The sulphite remains in the solution.
(When I wrote about non so critical work I thought about separating the sulphur of course.)

An issue with some chemistry bottles is there's a seal that has to be removed under the screw top, across the mouth of the bottle. Often this doesn't open cleanly and seems to stop the bottles sealing properly. This happens with Kodak fixer bottles as well, and some developers.

My experiences with Hypam & Ilford Rapid fixer (essentially the same except Hypam has additional buffering for use with a hardener) are that they keep very well as a concentrate and well past Ilford's 6 months recommendation once opened. I'm just finishing the last of some 6+ year old Hypam on a 5 litre container which I'm certain has been open for at least 4 years, it was just starting to precipitate sulphur. As I use 2 bath fixing for prints I've used it as the 1st bath and fresh new fixer for the 2nd to be safe.

However storage life of any chemistry also depends partly on how long it has sat at the importers/retailers as well which is an unknown factor.

Ian

piu58 said:

That does not help. The sulphite remains in the solution.
(When I wrote about non so critical work I thought about separating the sulphur of course.)

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My reference was to decanting fresh fixer into wine bags from the start and not as a solution for the OP's fixer which may well be "off". I realise and hope the OP does as well as, that decanting will not cure a fixer which may be past its useful life.

Wine bags make dispensiing easier as well but everyone must make up his own mind as to what to use

pentaxuser

No worries, I think it's pretty well established now that my current fixer stock is 'off' or gone bad.

And I'm not so silly as to decant that spoiled fixer in hopes of getting rid of the sulphur I'll be getting myself a new bottle o' fixer pretty soon. Thinking of trying some alkali fixer.

Thanks guys.

P.S: Ian, your explanation as to how the seal across the bottle's mouth interferes with the bottle being airtight sounds feasible. That's the case with mine. When I tore off the paper seal, it didn't break away cleanly. Ilford really should come up with a better bottle design then.