firstcall soft packs

[steveo_mcg]

Any one use them? I've just discovered a bottle, 90% full, of d74 (rhs) has leaked in the kitchen cupboard and I lost a half a bottle of fixer a few months back. I like the theory but the bottles don't seem robust enough for my house.

 

[Asha]

Never used them Steve......Always the solid plastic bottles that chems come in or in concertina style storage bottles if solution made up.....never had a problem!

If the bottle is larger than the quantity of developer you have then one of the best ways to stop dev going off is to place glass marbles in the bottle to displace the air present ( ie to bring the fluid back to the top)

Alternatively squash the concertina bottle down to expell excess air or purchase a can of anti-oxidising spray.

 

[steveo_mcg]

Yup, I think next time will be conventional bottles, I liked the smaller sizes of RHS because I don't use it that much but if I ever run out of Rodinal I'll get it in a bigger (harder) bottle. Good trick with the marbles, I'll remember that.

 

[retrogamer1990]

I am quite a fan of them, I got a soft pack of Rodinal and it's great for keeping the chemicals fresh, and they don't take up as much room in already bursting cupboards. I'd say go for it!

 

[steveo_mcg]

The problem is I all ready have and the second of them has leaked in 6 months.

 

[retrogamer1990]

The problem is I all ready have and the second of them has leaked in 6 months.

I must have misread the post. I'm paranoid now! Thanks for the tip, I'll watch out for mine - but so far, no problems.

 

[brianwar]

I am quite a fan of them, I got a soft pack of Rodinal and it's great for keeping the chemicals fresh, and they don't take up as much room in already bursting cupboards. I'd say go for it!

Dunno why you'd bother with Rodinal.

Stuff has a shelf life of years.

 

[retrogamer1990]

Dunno why you'd bother with Rodinal.

Stuff has a shelf life of years.

The rodinal was just what I happened to get, but I can see that the principle would work well

 

[freecom2]

This is the first I've heard of their failure - but I haven't heard that many people who have bought them. Perfectly happy using plastic bottles (I reuse the ones that the developer came in). The principle is great but plastic/glass seems to have worked okay in the past!

 

[steveo_mcg]

Yeah, I'm off the same opinion. I mainly bought the softpack because it was a better size for my usage and the same price per L as the larger bottles.

 

[freecom2]

Yeah, I'm off the same opinion. I mainly bought the softpack because it was a better size for my usage and the same price per L as the larger bottles.

Fair enough, and it's always worth giving it a try, even just to satisfy the intrigue everytime you go on the Firstcall website. Personally, I buy all my chemicals from Silverprint in person - because I can, and it's a nice place - so I've never bought anything in soft pack, and don't really need to. My developer of choice always manages to last long enough before I dump it.

 

[Superewza]

I've had some rodinal, fix and stop for quite a while and they're perfectly fine thus far.

 

[steveo_mcg]

Fair enough, and it's always worth giving it a try, even just to satisfy the intrigue everytime you go on the Firstcall website. Personally, I buy all my chemicals from Silverprint in person - because I can, and it's a nice place - so I've never bought anything in soft pack, and don't really need to. My developer of choice always manages to last long enough before I dump it.

Yeah the only place in a reasonable distance to me is Calumet and they're not all that well stocked, given the delivery costs for chemicals you might as well try stuff and bulk out that order.

I've had some rodinal, fix and stop for quite a while and they're perfectly fine thus far.

I think the issue is more likely my less than delicate handling a tougher bottle would probably suit my house better.