Oxygen removal

[John Layton]

You could also thoroughly wash and re-use something like a Sprint stop bath box, with its "air-evac" bladder. (other chem concentrates might be more difficult to remove thoroughly). Or just wash out your old wine boxes...same principle!

Oh...and anyone remember those plastic "accordion" bottles? I think either Kalt or Delta had those...do they still make them? I did try one of those for a bit years and years ago...and to be honest, it was very difficult for me not to make a mess of things!

I do like the idea of (very clean!) marbles...will try this sometime. Might be good to also incorporate some kind of (inert plastic mesh?) pouring cap - so those marbles don't suddenly come plopping out...now that would be a mess!

[Deyoung]

I've been using Stop Loss bags for storing XTOL stock. Work very well and you can squeeze any air out of the top before sealing. I've used XTOL 8 months after mixing with no problems.
For other chems, I tend to leave the seal in place and use a syringe to poke a hole to extract the necessary amount. Then seal with a piece of tape and close the lid. Not sure if that helps, but it hasn't hurt.

[willwilson]

I use 5oz 150ml brown glass jars for storing xtol. Fill all the way up, so no air. Then use the jar for measuring your water. I have enough for a whole batch of xtol.

I use dust-off spray for fix and paper dev that are partial use.

You can get the jars on Amazon. There are a variety of sizes but I just use more than one jar if I am developing a lot of film at once.

-=Will
www.willwilson.com

[John Layton]

Will those jars look interesting. How are the lids? Do they have the plastic coated paper seal (which tends to slough off over time), or something else? Years ago I had a couple of brown glass bottles whose caps incorporated some sort of bomb-proof plastic to seal their lids...and I've been looking ever since to find replacements for these.

[willwilson]

Hi John, yes disposable coated paper seals. I have an extra box of jars as they age. Darkroom work is often not the best for the planet. They have been fine for the last few years though. There were definitely some broken ones on arrival, order extras.

-=Will
www.willwilson.com

[jmpgino]

Hello, I play around welding, to say play is rather untrue as I dropped $12,000 into the three main systems. Well some years ago I was sick of my photographic chemicals going off so quickly. Rodinal especially turns into crystals quite quickly. So I started to use Argon gas this gas is used in TIG welding as a shielding gas to push away oxygen when welding, since it is an inert gas it seemed obvious to me it would work. It is heavier than oxygen so I open the tank valve slightly and let the hose hang over the bottle for a few seconds to disperse the oxygen and then put the screw top lid back on. It works my chemicals last literally years now.you can go and buy a small cylinder and have it filled by your local welding supplier. It is not that expensive either, I doubt you would use up a small tank in decades of use.
I also use it with paper developer and fixer when I am printing over a few days. Hope this helps, oh and the food industry users Argon gas as well, many products in jars and bottles get a quick squirt of the gas before the lids are screwed on, that is why after we open jars the stuff goes off quickly, because when we tip out the Argon and the oxygen gets in…..cheers, James.

[ethics_gradient]

Hello, I play around welding, to say play is rather untrue as I dropped $12,000 into the three main systems. Well some years ago I was sick of my photographic chemicals going off so quickly. Rodinal especially turns into crystals quite quickly. So I started to use Argon gas this gas is used in TIG welding as a shielding gas to push away oxygen when welding, since it is an inert gas it seemed obvious to me it would work. It is heavier than oxygen so I open the tank valve slightly and let the hose hang over the bottle for a few seconds to disperse the oxygen and then put the screw top lid back on. It works my chemicals last literally years now.you can go and buy a small cylinder and have it filled by your local welding supplier. It is not that expensive either, I doubt you would use up a small tank in decades of use.
I also use it with paper developer and fixer when I am printing over a few days. Hope this helps, oh and the food industry users Argon gas as well, many products in jars and bottles get a quick squirt of the gas before the lids are screwed on, that is why after we open jars the stuff goes off quickly, because when we tip out the Argon and the oxygen gets in…..cheers, James.

Haha, read through the three pages thinking "here's my chance to mention argon from any welding supplier" and it turns out I was beaten by a nose! +1 on the argon.

[jmpgino]

Well I just joined a short time ago and this was my first post. The people who posted earlier talked about using Nitrigen, well sadly they are wrong about that gas. It may be inert but it is LIGHTER THAN OXYGEN, so it will not displace it. Only Argon has this capability since it is very heavy. Welders have died Tig welding cracks in stainless steel wine and beer vats, they are down in there welding away and the Argon they are using displaces the oxygen in the vessels they are repairing and they simply die when the Argon has displaced the Oxygen above their heads. It is the best gas to end your life if you so wish to do so, a totally painless way to escape the pain of a cancer…….and oh boy welding stainless steel with the stuff is like pouring butter. So remember it is INERT AND HEAVIER THAN OXYGEN. Look up inert if you are not sure what it means, knowledge is a wonderful thing…..

[Peter De Smidt]

Argon seems like the best choice if one has the required equipment.

[Eugen Mezei]

The poor mans marbles = a smashed windshield.