Hi,

I am wondering what the shelf life is of ID-11 after it has been mixed? And what sort of containers are good for it to be stored in?

Thanks, Paul Jones

-- Paul (paul.jjones@rmit.edu.au), October 02, 2001

Answers

Funny you should ask as I just started my own B&W film processing yesterday with that developer (I'm new to this home darkroom stuff). I think the most life you can get out of the stock solution is six months. That's all I'm banking on. That's for one liter in a sealed container. I follow the advice of a contributor to Black and White World whereby I hold my breath for long time and then exhale gently into the bottle to displace as much oxygen with carbon dioxide. We'll see how well it works. It's certainly cheaper than buying O2 displacement spray cans.

And I quoth from the notes on the inside of the box: ID-11 stock solution developer will keep: 6 months in full airtight bottles, 4 months in deep tank with a floating lid, 1 month in half-full tightly capped bottles, 24 hours 1+1 or 1+3.

As for storage, I've found that the nice, 1L clear Rubbermaid bottles with the white, snap-cap top do quite a fine job. Since I store my developer in a dark cabinet, I'm not so worried about it oxidizing from exposure to light.

-- Nicholas Barry (photo@isolation.net), October 02, 2001.

The official listed shelf life is 6 months in a full stoppered bottle. This assumes dark storage.

Using marbles or nitrogen air replacements will help, but once you open the bottle and pour some out, degradation will start on the remainder of the bottle, so even with these measures, you will have reduced lifetime if you are using solution over time.

For best results, use glass bottles. Most plastic bottles will allow a small amount of oxygen to penetrate.

David Carper ILFORD Technical Service

-- David Carper (david.carper@ilford.com), October 03, 2001.

Marbles! I never thought of that! You can't get easier.

Of course Ilford stuff is so good and one uses so much of it, it never lies around on the shelf for very long :) But seriously, it is good stuff and thanks Ilford people for following these discussions.

-- Daniel Ridings (daniel_ridings@yahoo.se), October 18, 2001.