Chemical bottles

[tom_patrick]

<p>Hi</p>

<p>I need some chemical bottles to store my ID-11, Rapid fixer and ilfostop in?</p>

<p>Where will i find decent ones to do the job? I cant seem to find anything online?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>I ordered mine from Freestyle.</p>

[tom_patrick]

<p>I live in England. I need huge ones to fit the 1:3 ilford id-11</p>

<p>Im new to this, and it all of a sudden seems VERY complicated. Reading the inside of the carton for the ID-11 is confusing. I had read up on it and it seemed a lot more straight forward!</p>

[neil_grant]

<p>Tom, are you saying that you want to store ID ll diluted 1+3? It's not recommended - you only store the stock soln. Try Ag Photo in Birmingham.</p>

[tom_patrick]

<p>Hi</p>

<p>Thanks, so do you keep the stock solution then just mix what you need yeh?</p>

<p>That makes things a lot easier. AD photo doesnt have what i need i checked. It's where i just got my chems from.</p>

<p>Are the collapsable bottle necessary?</p>

<p>Also - looking into this has made my wonder if i need special measuring jugs? Or can i just use standard ones? I dont want them to melt!</p>

[chris_waller]

<p>Tom,<br>

I use old 2 litre domestic bleach bottles. I buy Morrison's own-brand bleach because the bottles have fairly wide necks with air-tight child-proof caps. They have moulded-in handles which makes them easy to grip and the newer bottles are wider, making them more stable. Also, they come in four colours according to the type of bleach (thin bleach - white, plain thick bleach - blue, pine - green and lemon - yellow) which means I can colour-code my chemistry.</p>

[wclark5179]

<p>I use mt 2 liter & 1 liter soda bottles. The cap and bottle are designed to seal quite well, time after time because of the original contents under pressure. I use mt 7 up, others would work, to store stock developers as they are green and I'm suspicious that the green color may enhance longevity. I still Am using stock D-76 that's 2 yrs. old & it works fine.<br /> I find products on sale for around $1.00 in 2 liter bottles.</p>

<p>Just a thought to help.</p>

<p> </p>

[chris_douglas1]

<p>sunburstbottle.com has 1 liter amber boston rounds for $ 1.50 each. </p>

[mark_walker4]

<p>Tom,<br>

Firstcall in Taunton (super service) have 1 litre brown glass bottles which are excellent, or for 2 litres the concertina type - by Kaiser I think. For myself, you can't beat glass for reducing oxidation and for cleaning and re-filling quickly. The concertina type can hold alot of dry residue and thier air tightness isn't garaunteed. I'm always on the lookout for old brown or blue glass 'Winchesters' now discarded by chemists.<br>

Mark Walker.</p>

[richardsperry]

I use 1 gallon distilled water jugs.

Recycle, Love your mother.

[cj8281]

<p>Another one that is good, brown plastic bottles that hydrogen peroxide comes in. As far as measuring cups, the more accurate the better, plastic or glass.</p>

[cj8281]

<p>Another one that is good, brown plastic bottles that hydrogen peroxide comes in. As far as measuring cups, the more accurate the better, plastic or glass.</p>

[eddy_pula]

<p>I use beer growlers from local breweries. Half Gallon size made of brown glass with a screw top. Plus you have to drink the beer to get them so thats a plus. My favorite is Berkshire Brewing Company Lost Sailor. A old photographer clued me in.</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>Beer and Photography do get along well.</p>

[paul_hoyt]

<p>The accordion style plastic bottles tend to break at the weak point where they "flex". I have used Grosch beer bottles that have the reusable flip top pressure cap. But I mostly use glass marbles to displace the air from my liquid developers.</p>

<p>Paul</p>

[tom_patrick]

<p>Right I'll have a look for something.</p>

<p>I found glass brown bottles like the winchester ones on first call photographic. Have just had a bit order delivered though so not too up for paying 7-50 postage for one £4 bottle! I am right in thinking i only need one? (id-11, ilfostop, rapid fixer) The other bottles are fine to just keep making mix then discarding after processing?</p>

<p>Thanks everyone!</p>

[jeremy_john]

<p>Go buy yourself either a couple of growlers (approx 1/2 gallon jug) of beer or gallon jugs of wine. Take them home, consume the contents, wash out bottles, and you have just about the nicest chemical bottles around! Just don't try to do it all in one evening. :)</p>

[indraneel]

<p>Maybe off topic but... ID-11 stock (or even 1:1) gives much better results than diluted 1:3... much smaller grain, better contrast, even when reused for 3 or 4 rolls. I tried saving money with 1:3, not a good idea.</p>

<p>I second the hydrogen peroxide bottles, smaller size bottles mean less air at the top... but even with full bottles ID-11 starts degrading quickly after 6 months or so. It's also easier to put the smaller water tight bottles in the sink/water bath.</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>Yes I have only used 1-3 a few times I can remember mostly 1-1. As 1-1 is a good switch off between Grain and sharpness. 1-3 I was using for some high contrast film but found that ID-11/D-76 was not what I needed and that Rodinal 1-300 was what that film needed.</p>

[tom_patrick]

<p>Thanks.</p>

<p>I found a black 1 litre plastic chemical container thing - it looks like a petrol can. </p>

<p>I am going to use the ID-11 at 1:1 after some research. Apparently you cannot use 1;3 for delta 400 anyway so thats that.</p>

<p>Im going to keep the stock solution then just mix what i need when i dev a roll. Then heat it to 20c in a little plastic beaker surrounded by warm water. Right?</p>

<p> </p>

[indraneel]

<blockquote>

<p>heat it to 20c in a little plastic beaker surrounded by warm water</p>

</blockquote>

<p>... or a sink and a stopper. The more water in a water bath you have, the more stable will be the temperature and finely controllable. Between the timer and the wash changes, there's hardly much time to fiddle with the water temperature. You might also want to keep the temperature adjustment chart handy.</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>Or add the water warmer than the developer when you dilute to get it close. This time of the year here my water is running 22-24c in the sink. I have to chill my developer in the freezer for a few minutes.</p>

[mark_walker4]

<p>Tom, it would be useful to have 3 as you do not use fixer and stop just once (!). A mixed 1 litre of fixer will keep for 3-6 months and fix 10-20 films - check the label for capacity - so ideally should be in a one litre full container (dark glass recommended). As for stop bath, as a mixed solution it will keep for 20-30 films or until the purple exhaustion indicator dye becomes apparent. So, £19.50 may sound alot for three glass bottles, but they could last a lifetime and save faffing about replacing the plastic ones. Just a thought.<br>

Cheers<br>

P.S. Our American friends have it easy when it comes to sourcing materials, here in the UK market choices are, frankly, crap.</p>