Cleaning concertina bottles

[RH Designs]

I gave up with concertina bottles years ago. They were hard to clean and air always seemed to get in somehow. I now use wine bottles with a Vacu-Vin to extract the air. Works a treat, and I get to drink the wine first .

[Ian David]

Originally Posted by Mike O'Pray

Maybe the makers of concertina bottles didn't properly research their allegedly air leakage bottles but I have seen posts saying that so called PET bottles such as are used for lemonade etc are safer. However it isn't clear to me why concertina bottles are less safe than PET bottles and why air penetrates such bottles. Is it due to the concertina construction?

Hi Mike
Concertina bottles have failed me in the past because they frequently seem to let air in due to a poor lid seal. This tendency can vary from bottle to bottle and from manufacturer to manufacturer.
You will however struggle to find a PET softdrink bottle that lets air in - they pretty much all have great lid seals. That being said, I mostly use well-filled glass bottles (because I just like glass).

Ian

[cowasaki]

So are clear bottles ok for developer (film/paper), fixer and stop ?

I have 2L of ID-11 stock in a PET bottle inside a black bin liner plus the rest in concertina bottles. The paper developer is all in concertina bottles at the moment and the fix and stop I have mixed as required and disposed of (I have the last batch of fix in a sealed container though).

[Ian David]

Originally Posted by cowasaki

So are clear bottles ok for developer (film/paper), fixer and stop ?

Depends who you ask.
In my experience, where chemicals are not exposed to constant bright light, clear bottles are fine.

Ian

[Paul.]

Originally Posted by cowasaki

So are clear bottles ok for developer (film/paper), fixer and stop ?

I have 2L of ID-11 stock in a PET bottle inside a black bin liner plus the rest in concertina bottles. The paper developer is all in concertina bottles at the moment and the fix and stop I have mixed as required and disposed of (I have the last batch of fix in a sealed container though).

Yep I store a lot of my chemicals in clear containers, in fact the 5lt of multigrade dev I baught came in a clear container but if you have any concerns just put the container in a cupboard and close the door, my darkroom is perminantly blacked out so only put the bulk chemicals in the cupboard the rest is poored back into clear labeled bottles and stood in the trays ready for next time. I also reuse my fix and stop, the stop lasts for ages the fix I am more careful with and change aprox every 30 prints, I mix it as film fix ie. 1to4 rather than the paper fix of 1 to9 and fix for 1min.
I some times have 4 or 5 weeks between printing sessions depending on other priorities and find chemicals last between sessions with no problem, though if I am useing the print for public exhibition I will mix fresh chemicals.
Paul.

[FrankS]

I have a few of those concertina bottles and I don't use them. Cleaning them was never a problem because I never let them get crusty. But they do leak air, and that defeats the purpose of the bottles altogether. Doesn't matter if it's the cap or the bottle itself that leaks, it still leaks. To put it bluntly, they're usually crap and not worth the plastic they're made of. I'll never buy another that's for sure. Plastic soft drink bottles work very well for me. They seal well, and when they don't just chuck 'em and get another. There is no shortage of those things around my place. I like seltzer water, and I buy it by the case of 1L bottles. On the subject of light, well I guess that strong light will speed up the breakdown of ID-11. Normal room light won't, and if you're storing the stuff in the darkroom, it's dark in there anyway. There's no real need for extraordinary light proofing measures.