Which chemicals oxidise?

Hi All,

I've just restarted using B&W film. I'm not using many film at the moment so though it would be interesting to mix developer from small quantities of separate ingredients and not have the issue of developer going off ie oxidising in a bottle.
Even the concertina bottles will not squeeze down if you use 120ml a time.

So I've bought some chemicals to make up ID11 or D76, Quinol, Borax, Metol and Sodium Sulphite and then I realised that these could also oxidise if not kept in an oxygen free atmosphere.
So could anyone tell me which ones are likely to oxidise so I can take special care of them.

Many thanks
Andy

Oxygen free storage is an overkill. Borax has pretty much an indefinite shelf life, the rest can oxidise. Keep them away from high temperatures, preferably in airtight containers. This way, they can keep very well, for many years.

Just keep the chemicals in the containers they came in and they should last decades.

I think he's talking about mixing them up in solution...

Hi,
Andrew: I mean in their powder form.
I think you all will agree that ID-11 in liquid form has a limited shelf life unless kept oxygen free. I'm just wondering about keeping separate ingredients (not the part A and B bags) a long time.

So from your comments it seems that keeping them in plastic food bags (which is how they came) or similar and force most of the air out should be good for long time storage.
I did read on a forum recently that some of the chemicals had a red/orange tinge after long time storage but I've no idea which they were and how long they had been kept and where I found the comment.

Ta
Andy

AndyNC said:

Hi,
Andrew: I mean in their powder form.
I think you all will agree that ID-11 in liquid form has a limited shelf life unless kept oxygen free. I'm just wondering about keeping separate ingredients (not the part A and B bags) a long time.

So from your comments it seems that keeping them in plastic food bags (which is how they came) or similar and force most of the air out should be good for long time storage.
I did read on a forum recently that some of the chemicals had a red/orange tinge after long time storage but I've no idea which they were and how long they had been kept and where I found the comment.

Ta
Andy

Click to expand...

I have everything from metol, phenidone, to cathecol, in plastic zip lock bags with air squeezed out. The baggies are kept in plastic jars. Some of the metol is dated '95 and still works fine.

Ah...no plastic food bags on their own are not adequate.

Keep the chemicals in glass jars - Wilkin's/Tiptree jam jars work well, the lids don't rust.

Thanks I'll save some jars and store the bags in them.
I have some take away container. I guess these will do as well.

Historically I know that cheese wrap (and possibly other food wraps) has an oxygen barrier (EVOH) but I guess I'll not find that in a bag.
So I need to eat more peanut butter and marmalade for breakfast.

Cheers
Andy

AndyNC said:

So I need to eat more peanut butter and marmalade for breakfast.

Cheers
Andy

Click to expand...

No one said the life of a film photographer was easy.

Your dry chemicals like Metol, hydroquinone, sodium carbonate, sodium sulfite, potassium bromide, borax, etc. last for years in their original containers as long as you keep them tightly closed and away from heat and moisture.

If you want a down-and-dirty quick way to mix up a specific small amount of D-76 (ID-11 is the identical formula), then first weigh out what you need for each chemical from the batches of dry chemicals you have. Then see what volumes those little piles of chemicals amount to in spoon measures. E.g., 2g of borax = what in tsp measures (maybe 1/2 tsp. or whatever). Find the spoon values for all the ingredients. After that, you can mix up X amount of D-76 by just using measuring spoons as long as you use the same batches of chemicals. When you get a new bottle of dry chemical, find the spoon equivalent for that batch; it may vary a bit from batch to batch depending on crystal size and shape, etc.

With D-76, D-23 and quite a few other developers, spoon recipes figured this way are more than precise enough for consistent results. Many print developers are the same; I mix D-72 and ID-62 with spoon recipes all the time.

An alternative to mixing small amounts from powder is to use a liquid concentrate developer like HC-110 (Ilfotech HC is similar and may be a better choice now since Kodak chemicals seem to have some manufacturing problems these days). Then you can just measure out a small amount of concentrate with a syringe for each batch of film. The concentrate lasts for years.

Best,

Doremus

Developers oxidize easily. The other chemicals are less reactive but vary from easily oxidizing to non oxidizing. Store mixed chemical in bladder bags if you have any concerns.

The only significant chemicals which can go off when dry is phenidone, glycin, and amidol. Pretty much everything else, keep it dry and closed up and it'll be fine for decades.

Thanks for all your feed back.

So it's going to be bags in sealed jars.
I have an "Air Duster" which turned out to be propellant only ie no air. I'll spray a little of this into the top of the jar to force out most of the air. Quick and easy.

Cheers
Andy

OP: Table 3 on page #332 of "Modern Photographic Processing" Volume 1 by Grant Haist should be of use to you.

AndyNC said:

Hi All,

I've just restarted using B&W film. I'm not using many film at the moment so though it would be interesting to mix developer from small quantities of separate ingredients and not have the issue of developer going off ie oxidising in a bottle.
Even the concertina bottles will not squeeze down if you use 120ml a time.

So I've bought some chemicals to make up ID11 or D76, Quinol, Borax, Metol and Sodium Sulphite and then I realised that these could also oxidise if not kept in an oxygen free atmosphere.
So could anyone tell me which ones are likely to oxidise so I can take special care of them.

Many thanks
Andy

Click to expand...

afaik, all development agents.