Darkroom Chem. Pot of Gold !!

[SteveKarr]

Hi everyone,
I just inherited Many bags of chemicals from a friend.

So ... what do you think about the "usability/freshness" of some of these old bags of dry chemicals? They are still sealed, with no sign of "seeping" in of moisture. They are discolored in spots and have that aged bag look. They are the paper looking ones, not the sexy plastic bags.

And if I do make up a gallon of these developers (say D-19) how long can I expect it to last if handled with the proper bottles & such?

I have:

Microdol X 10 1 gal packs
DK-50 18 1 gal packs
D-19 13 1 gal packs
Those are the easy ones ...

Hardening Fixer 3 5 gal boxes
D-76 1 10 gal box (two part)
Dektol 1 5 gal box
(can I break these up into manageable measure, or is it to be made all at once?)


I also have 8 lbs of balanced alkali .... what's that for??

Many Farmers reducers, 2 part toners & some Potassium ferricyanide & dichromate.

So 10 gal of D76 & 5 gal of fixer ... how do you manage this volume of soup?

Thanks!
Steve

[CG]

You could sell the big packs off to a photo class. They have to buy big boxes of chems. Maybe they could pay you a discounted amount that you could then use to buy more reasonable package sizes with.

[nolindan]

The only chemicals that (normally) go off are the developers. If the developer powder is bright white and free flowing then it's OK. If it is brown, caked or smells bad then best to chuck it.

You can divide up the powders. Storing the divided powder is a bit of a conundrum as you need something hermetic. Canning jars are the best solution I have found. There is a great division of opinion about dividing powders: some claim adamantly that it can't be done; those who actually do it report no problems. Kodak makes a lot of effort in formulating their powdered chemistry so that that all the elements stay in solution - so to speak - and don't settle out.

[DanK]

Hardening Fixer 3 5 gal boxes
D-76 1 10 gal box (two part)
Dektol 1 5 gal box
(can I break these up into manageable measure, or is it to be made all at once?)




So 10 gal of D76 & 5 gal of fixer ... how do you manage this volume of soup?

I wouldn't recommend breaking the large packages up into small batches....if they are older, a good amount of settling may have occurred within the packages....

One option for large volumes, 5gal buckets with lids from your local hardware store...

I've taken 5 gal buckets and added spickets.....some drilled with gaskets, others epoxied...both options work fine....

As far as mixing the 10gal batch - best bet would be 3ea 5gal buckets - mix the entire dry with heated water in first bucket, mix thoroughly (completely dissolved) - then half it to the other buckets, and add water to them for stock solution....D76 holds a good amount of time in a full sealed container.... (well beyond recommended life...IMO)

Also, as far as the paper packages of developer - I still use old stock paper packaged D76 and Dektol....may see a slight discoloration of the developers as compared to new, but they'll work fine...

I develop film in stock solution, so I go through it pretty quick....the 10 gal may seem like a good amount, but you might be surprised how quick it goes....same with the fixer....two bath prints, and it'll disappear pretty quick as well....

I am a 'casual' shooter...and mix 2 gallons D76, 2 gallons Dektol, and 4 gals fixer ( 2gal film/ 2gal paper) every week or two....

Thanks,
Dan

[dsphotog]

I've seen older 5 gallon cubes of Kodak Rapid Fix form a particulate (yellowish color- perhaps sulfur), otherwise it seems to last well.

[Brian Ellis]

With at least some chemicals Kodak used to recommend against trying to divide up one package into several smaller packages. The reason given was that the particular product - Dektol was one I think - contained more than a single chemical and they aren't evenly distributed throughout the package so you wouldn't know that you had the correct proportions of each in the smaller packages.

[Steve Sherman]

As an FYI

The Pot ferricyanide is not nearly as dangerous as it sounds but the dichromate certainly is something to be extremely careful in handling.

2 cents

[W K Longcor]

As an FYI

The Pot ferricyanide is not nearly as dangerous as it sounds but the dichromate certainly is something to be extremely careful in handling.

2 cents

Yes == the dichromate ( or bichromate) is readily absorbed through the skin and goes to the liver where it does really bad stuff. Rubber glove time!

[Bill Burk]

Yesterday I wasted a gallon of filtered water on a bad bag of Dektol (was old 25 years ago when I got it). It would have made a great staining developer, about the color of coffee. To avoid repeating the mistake on the next bag I snipped the corner and poured a little into a few ounces of water to make sure it didn't have the same problem. The second bag was fine.