Rodinal Shelf Life (yes, I searched)

Hi. I have a half bottle of Agfa Rodinal, opened about 6 months ago

and not used since.

 

Q: Is it still good?

 

The only mention in the archives I've found is that Rodinal has a

"long" shelf life. I'd like actual weeks/months/years if anyone knows.

Thanks.

years. Many years. YOurs should be good. It will change color but still works. There are stories about 15 year old glass bottles still in use.

I'm still using a bottle opened five years ago, which had been sitting on a dealer's shelf since Ilford made FP3 :-)

I doubt you'll get actual weeks/months/years, because the first bottle of Rodinal ever made still hasn't gone bad. As soon as it goes bad, they'll be able to tell you what the shelf life is.

<p>

OK, perhaps that's a bit of an overstatement (Rodinal was introduced in 1881), but Rodinal is easily good for several years if not decades -- six months is nothing. It will turn a bit brown as it ripens, but that has no noticable effect on its characteristics as a developer.

i think its about 20 minutes

"yes I searched", no you didn't. The search for "Rodinal shelf life" produces 100 results, many threads I have participated in.

 

Please, no BS.

 

 

tim in san jose

Nobody knows for certain because nobody's had the patience - or lived long enough - to test Rodinal to failure. Suffice it to say, a few years at least is a reasonable claim.

 

My small container is more than two years old and down to the last few ml's. (I typically use Rodinal in extremely dilute solutions so it takes me longer than the average bear to use up even a small container). I don't worry about airspace in the container. Since first opening it the color has gone from clear, faint tea to opaque espresso. It produces the same results as always: same development times, same contrast, same grain, etc.

 

Some folks have reported that Rodinal's activity does change with age once exposed to air. If so, the change may be measurable but that doesn't mean the same thing as visible.

I had a bottle with about 2 inches of Rodinal in the bottom sitting on the darkroom shelf for 4 years and it still worked perfectly, although it had by then turned the colour of Turkish coffee. There will probably be a bottle sitting around somewhere after the human race has become extinct.

FWIW, I recently compared Rodinal in 1:50 dilution from a bottle I purchased in 1981 to the same dilution from a bottle I purchased in 2004. I exposed FP4 negatives to a Stouffer step wedge and developed a set in the old Rodinal and a set in the new Rodinal, using the same times. There were definite measureable differences in the characteristic curves. As I recall, the difference in activity (i.e., slope of the HD curves) was about 30% at comparable development times, the newer Rodinal being the more active.

The older Rodinal wasn't cared for during storage.. hot, cold, wet, dry... whatever conditions existed whereever it happened to be stored over the 20+ years. It was dark, espresso colored.

 

I'd advise if you have an older bottle of Rodinal (I mean years, not months), I'd plan on developing standard times with that bottle and not assume it has the same activity as new stuff.

Jim

I'll repeat the apocryphal Rodinal story once more:

During the '90s construction crews were finally clearing some bombed buildings from

WWII in Eastern Germany. They discovered a bottle of Rodinal in the ruins. For the heck of

it, someone developed film with it. Came out perfect! AGFA used to have this story on

their website, along with a cool history of Rodinal. Now it's gone, like most of their B&W

film may be soon....But don't worry. You can get RO9 from J and C photo, which is the old

Rodinal formula from the pre WWII years.<div></div>

You can also make your own by following the recipe in "The darkroom Cookbook". Is it as cost efficient as the commercial brand??? Dunno, but it sure is easy to mix.

Rodinal in glass bottles will last longer than Rodinal in the plastic bottles as

the plastic does allow air to penetrate. I toss liquid developers that have been

opened after 6 months, I toss powder developers after a year. I put the date

of purchase on all developers and only buy from stores that i know have a

rapid turn over for film and chemistry. It's just not worth risking film on old

developer.

Can someone translate the promotional text in the ad that Russ posted?

Hi,

Try this website: http://ets.freetranslation.com/

Use the German to English Pulldown

For example, "bequemste anwendung" roughly translates to:

"most comfortable use"

 

have fun

>>>>>>>>>>>

B Kosoff , jul 05, 2004; 10:41 p.m.

Rodinal in glass bottles will last longer than Rodinal in the plastic bottles as the plastic does allow air to penetrate. I toss liquid developers that have been opened after 6 months, I toss powder developers after a year. I put the date of purchase on all developers and only buy from stores that i know have a rapid turn over for film and chemistry. It's just not worth risking film on old developer. <<<<<<

 

I found a "left over" (about 10ml) in a plastic bottle of Rodinal in one of my shleves... probably 2-1/2 or 3 years old.

Developed a roll of APX-100 (shot with a pinhole)this weekend, looks good enough for me. Haven't printed contacts yet

The all-round developer

 

Agfa Rodinal

 

For specialists as well as hobbyists

 

For plates, films, papers

 

For negatives as well as slides (b/w, of course WB)

 

For bath processing as well as time controlled and tank processing

 

For correct, as well as under- and overexposed (negatives WB)

 

Most comfortable application

 

just dilute it with water 1+10 or 1+30 according to instructions

 

Effective, reliable, extraordinary shelf life

 

Factory supplied in 1/50, 1/10, 1/4 and 1/2 liter bottles

 

More details about all Agfa photo products in the

 

Agfa Photo Manual

 

Circulation 181000 to 200000

 

Price 75 Pfennig (not to be confused with the latest Pfennig value, around 1900 1 Mark was approx. 10 DM or 5 EUR/USD, so the price roughly would be 3 EUR/USD today WB)

 

From your photo dealer

 

Agfa Company on shares for production of Anilin, Berlin 80 36

PS. I was not sure how to translate 'Zeitentwicklung'. I translated it with 'time controlled processing' which hardly makes sense. Maybe it means the same as the term 'Standentwicklung' which translates into 'stand processing'. I have an old book on photography from 1917 and will have a look whether both terms (Zeitentwicklung/Standentwicklung) have the same meaning.

Thanks, Winfried.

I love Rodinal, however I have had occasion to throw it out. A partially used bottle (less than 1 year old, 250ml plastic I think) had gone very dark, which is usual from the above discussion. However when I shook the bottle there was a distinct rattling sound, as if sand was in the bottle as well. I looked and couldn't see anything except some crystals, as if something had precipitated from the solution. I wasn't game to use "test" a roll of film. The rolls developed with that bottle were fine up to the point of it hitting the bin. Rodinal is so cheap I didn't bother risking a roll of film, it was probably fine.

<cite>However when I shook the bottle there was a distinct rattling sound, as if sand was in the bottle as well. I looked and couldn't see anything except some crystals, as if something had precipitated from the solution.</cite>

<p>

It was probably fine. Rodinal stock solution ALWAYS contains a saturated solution of <cite>p</cite>-aminophenol hydrochloride, with

some crystals in the bottom. According to Anchell & Troops <cite>Film Developing Cookbook</cite>, page 117, "All classic Rodinal formulas <em>must have</em> a crystal or two of precipitate at the bottom of the container. If they do not, the developer will not work well and the concentrate will not keep." I've noticed the crystals in every bottle of Rodinal I've bought.

Thankyou Richard, I didn't know that. Learning learning learning! I stall have to buy a new bottle tho'

 

Darryn Richter

This thread is almost 4 years old. I read several times. I have an update which can be considered related.

I had one of my Rodinal worked for about 3-4 years no problem. In early 2007, I opened a new one and after a few months, I had a Rodinal failure - the 1st ever with all my development with all kind of developers.

You have to be careful that Rodinal starts to crystallize, other than turned dark brown (which is not an issue) I believe it's crystallization that killed my Rodinal.

Now whenever I prepare my Rodinal, I warm the whole bottle up in wam water, shake it well then get whatever amount I need. Since then, no more failure.

In a word, be careful with old Rodinal. When it happens, it happens, no warning !