Unopened Kodak HC-110 developer dated 2003

Chungle456

Chungle456

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So I ordered a 1L bottled of Kodak HC-110 Developer from a UK camera shop that sells through ebay for £45, as a new product. When it arrived I could see no expiry date on the bottle, but there is "2003" indented on the bottom. I'm guessing this is when it was bottled? It's definitely unopened and the colour of the liquid seems correct. However I'm wondering with it potentially being 20 years old and with no idea how it has been stored in that time, will it still develop my film correctly? Could it have degraded over that time? Usually I'd try a test roll, but at £45 I'd send it back if there was any doubt over it performing as it should.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on this.

Thanks
 
I'd query this with the seller if you bought it as in-date. If I remember tomorrow I'll have a look on my HC-110 and see if I can find a date
 
I've just checked my bottle, and it has 2012 indented on the bottom of it, but it has a (fairly small) inked stamp (in black ink) on the front giving the expiry date of 2022-07. It could be that the former is the date of the bottle manufacture perhaps? I'd be dubious if there's no expiry date on it. I'm assuming there's a foil seal on the contents?
 
I checked my bottle again. The foil seal is there. I also got a very bright torch and had a scan of the bottle. There is a VERY faint outline of an expiry date above the label, its really hard to make out but I think it says "Expires - 2023 / 02". So I've been sent expired developer... Is HC-110 one of these developers that is ok to use for say a year or so after expiry as long as it has stayed unopened like mine?
 
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I believe it will last for years - that's why I got it. But I don't know for sure.... I'm down to the last few ml of mine and it's definitely darkened over the time I've had it, but it still develops perfectly well (almost 12 months out of date now).

The thing to bear in mind, is that if you're using quite a low concentration (1:31) it will last an age unless you're shooting a lot of film!
 
I bought it to replace my usual Rodinal and heard it does last pretty long. and yep will probably be using 1:31 dilution. Think I will hold onto this bottle, but might pop a message over to the seller asking if he knew it was out of date. Cheers
 
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Chungle456 said:
I checked my bottle again. The foil seal is there. I also got a very bright torch and had a scan of the bottle. There is a VERY faint outline of an expiry date above the label, its really hard to make out but I think it says "Expires - 2023 / 02". So I've been sent expired developer... Is HC-110 one of these developers that is ok to use for say a year or so after expiry as long as it has stayed unopened like mine?
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I bought my bottle of HC-110 in October 2018; it was the original syrupy version. I added marbles to it as it was used up, which made it easy to get small amounts out with a syringe, but eventually the bottle almost filled up with marbles, and it wasn't so easy to get all the remaining syrup out (marbles kept falling out and blocking my funnel!). I bough two 100 ml bottles and one 300 ml bottle, and when I succeeded in decanting it a month or so ago, it turns out I still have about 450 ml! I had been a bit concerned about quality, but it's absolutely fine. There's a joke about the bottle of HC-110 found in Tutankhamun's tomb still going strong!

IMHO you should have absolutely no concerns and expect it to be good for your next 100+ films over the coming decade!
 
Just had a look at my bottle and it has a very clear date marked on the front above the label - EXP: 2023-02 in my case but as Ian says above it goes brown as it ages so if it's yellow it is probably okay. I'd still get back to the vendor and ask though.
 
BTW I keep mine in the fridge and fill the air space with protectan (or similar) gas
 
I've had mine since Dec 2017 with an expiry date of 2019-08. I don't take any special measures for storing it, other than in the cupboard under the utility room sink. It was working just fine when I last used it in November, and I'll happily keep on using it. My Rodinal is a lot darker!

20230331_175010-tp.jpg
 
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