Shelf Life - Rodinal & Other Chemicals

[EdC]

I'm gradually setting things up to get back into film processing again, after being out of it since dinosaurs walked the earth. While doing so, I've found some things on the shelf that are genuinely old, such as full and partial bottles of Rodinal that are likely over 30 years old. One of these bottles has a price tag of $4.99 on it. I also stumbled across some of the Zone VI film developer, as well, which appears to be unused. From what I've read on the forum, the unsealed Rodinal should still be good. I am not so confident regarding the partial bottle, and with the relatively cheap price for new, can't see that there's much point in giving it a try. Couple of questions here:

1. If the unsealed Rodinal is still good, is the shelf life when opened likely to be shorter than normal?
2. Anyone have any experience with the Zone VI film developer?

Thanks,

Ed

[Kevin Crisp]

Maybe I am the exception but I have had refrigerated Rodinal concentrate go bad. Unless the Zone VI powder looks darned close to off white I wouldn't bother with it. Kind of like brown Dektol that has aged.

Now when the Rodinal went bad, it went really bad. An overexposed strip of film looked essentially clear, so you can try it.

[EdC]

Maybe I am the exception but I have had refrigerated Rodinal concentrate go bad. Unless the Zone VI powder looks darned close to off white I wouldn't bother with it. Kind of like brown Dektol that has aged.

Now when the Rodinal went bad, it went really bad. An overexposed strip of film looked essentially clear, so you can try it.

To clarify my comments above, the Zone VI film developer is liquid, in plastic bottles.

Thanks,

Ed

[barnacle]

I had issues with ~20 year old Rodinol which had large crystals rattling around in the bottom of the jar; development times were, um, erratic to say the least. So I bought some fresh.

Neil

[Kevin Crisp]

Interesting. The only liquid I remember from Z6 was the bentriozole.

[loonatic45414]

Toss it & buy new

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[BetterSense]

I have also had Rodinal go off on me; quite disappointing when it happens unexpectedly. It lasts longer split into smaller glass bottles. For what it costs I would buy new.

[loonatic45414]

Let me further qualify my remark...

Even if it "was good enough" there will be significant change in the developer that you may have to change your exposure & development strategy to get a decent image. Even if your results are good enough, they will be inconsistent once you do buy more chemistry. You'll not only waste precious time but perhaps some excellent images in the process.

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[Tobias Key]

I work by the 'if in doubt, chuck it out' method. It's never let me down.

[greginpa]

I've mentioned this before elsewhere, but I have just finished a bottle of Rodinal with a neat red bakelite cap and rubber cork that was as old as the hills, all of the films mentioned on the box label are long gone, it was half empty when I got it and had muck in the bottom. It worked like a charm. Times were spot on and results as expected. I used it 1:25 and 1:50 and occasionally 1:100 for sheet film in trays and for 35mm and 120 in tanks. I cleaned out the bottle and put my replacement in it for luck.