Film chemicals - how long a shelf life?

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Andy
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Hi,

I've looked out all my darkroom kit which has been stowed away for around 15 years!!

There's quite a few bottles of unopened developer, fix and stop.

Anyone know if these are useable or should they go straight in the bin?

Same goes for paper, is this any good for say doing some practice prints?

Any opinions (from those in the know) gratefully received.

Thanks,
Andy
 
The stop should be good, and depending on the developer it may be. If it's rodinal or hc-110 you should be fine, they have excellent shelf life. I'm unsure about fix, but think the last bottle of ilford's rapid fix I read said to use the concentrate within six months of opening.
 
Thanks Dfhaii.

Its a long long time since I used it all, but seem to recall that one of the three had to be used with a short time frame, so that'll be the fix!!

Some of the bottles have lost thier shape (collasped slightly inward).... I'm guessing even though these are unopened, are probably best discarded?
 
Developer is the weakest link in the chain. If its still unopened, makes no difference, bin it. I think the best before date is on the bottle. Paper if coloured, bin it. B/W should be OK.
 
wow - we're having a real thread from the dead session tonight aren't we marcin :LOL:
 
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