I used to think all fixer was the same until I tested my old batch

I've been developing BW film at home for like 3 years and always bought whatever fixer was cheapest at B&H. Last week I ran a film strip test on a 6 month old bottle of Kodak Fixer and found out it had dropped to 4 minutes clearing time instead of the normal 2. Turns out leaving it half full in my bathroom in Austin during summer heat wrecked it fast. Has anyone else tested their fixer age vs storage temp and seen big differences?

2 comments

2 Comments

charlesj4618d ago

Well hold on now, is a 4 minute clear time really that bad? I've used fixer that took like 6 minutes before and my negatives came out fine. Seems like folks get real worked up about times that aren't even that far off from normal.

the_seth17d ago

6 minutes"?? Bruh, I gotta be honest that kind of blew my mind a little. I've been doing this for a while and I've never let fixer sit that long, like ever. I always figured if it takes more than 2 minutes, something's off with the chems or the temp. So hearing 4 minutes is already pushing it for me, but 6 just sounds like you're begging for some weird staining or fogging on the film. I guess if it works for you then cool, but I'd be too scared to try that lol.