Topic: shelf life of caffenol???

[astrobeck]

Arghhh!

I just mixed up a fresh batch of caffenol only to discover the two sheets of 4 x 5 film I "thought" were exposed, were NOT even loaded.

So, after I finish banging my head on the wall...I'd like to know how long caffenol will last?

Should I just toss the mixture and start over when I do reshoot them.

I looked in the archives here and didn't find anything and a goog search only turned up convoluted answers that didn't really answer the question.

Thanks guys!  Back to head banging.....

[Urban Hafner]

You'll have to toss it I'm afraid. Once fixed you have to use it within hours. At least that's what everybody keeps saying.

[Jack Johnson]

Yep, all the reading I've done says you'll be lucky to get an hour out of it, which makes the stand development interesting, doesn't it?

I cheat now and pre-measure my next batch at the end of every session. I haven't tried it, but I believe I could mix the ingredients, store them, and just add water and the consistency would be the same.

[Francois]

I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work?
Dry in several jars or dry in small film cans or such shouldn't make much of a difference.

[Ezzie]

Never tried I must admit. But I have tried just about everything else when it comes to Caffenol for film development. Look here http://on-your-kitchen-worktop.blogspot.com

If I were to take a bet I would say it will work if stored airtight. May hold for a couple of days, but you will most likely have to add to your development times.

[Alan]

yea i have read that it needs to be used within 30 minutes

have you visited these sites?

http://caffenol.blogspot.ie/

http://www.caffenol.org/

[astrobeck]

Thanks for all the input and help guys.   

I just went ahead and mixed anew batch.  And yeah, I've read just about everything I could find online about caffenol, so the bottom line is I'll mix new stuff and when I have some time I'll experiment with some old mix ( I saved in a bottle) and see what happens.

[Francois]

Wouldn't freezing Caffenol work just fine?
It's not like this developer is all complex photochemistry!
Freeze it, and re-heat in the microwave prior to using it

[astrobeck]

hmmmm.....
 a couple of thoughts on freezing and re-heating.

Freezing it would be okay, but I always thought Vitamin C degraded and lost potency under heat.  But maybe this doesn't matter for the developing solution? 

Also, heating that mixture would enhance the smell?  Not sure I want that in my house or microwave although it might chase the mice away :-)

The ingredients are cheap enough.  I found instant coffee at a Mexican market here in town for $1.00 for a 2 oz. (56g) jar.
 

[Ezzie]

yea i have read that it needs to be used within 30 minutes

have you visited these sites?

http://caffenol.blogspot.ie/

http://www.caffenol.org/

Or here: http://on-your-kitchen-worktop.blogspot.com

The 30 minute legend is a falsum. I've developed three films in succession in the same soup with no ill effect, let mixed caffenol stand for hours unbottled, it works fine. Storing over time however is another matter, but if stored airtight and cool it should keep at least overnight, if not longer.

[astrobeck]

well, now I know from experience that it will last for at least 4 hours.   

I dev'd a couple of 4 x 5 pinhole shots today just as tests and there was no ill effect from letting the mixture sit a few hours.
I've capped the bottle and plan to test the used mixture again
tomorrow.

Homemade pinhole shot on 100 speed ERA film....20 second exposure on each.
These were developed for 8 minutes.

results below

[jojonas~]

trippy shots, becky!

[Alan]

wow that interesting

great results becky !

[astrobeck]

This one was dev'd with day old caffenol.  I kept the mixture overnight in a capped bottle with the air squeezed out of it.

I don't think this is a good example since the pinhole exposure could have been longer or different as I was aiming toward the Sun while it was cloaked in a mess of clouds, so I will try again later.

My developing time of 8 minutes has not changed.

[Ezzie]

Not bad none the less. Nothing wrong with strong contrast in a contre jour scene. Glad the caffenol kept.

[astrobeck]

This one was dev'd with 2 day old caffenol...
Still sloshing it for 8 minutes @ 68 degrees ( more or less on the temp)..  Pinhole exposure was 12 seconds.

I really like caffenol and will probably use it exclusively from now on, now that I have a better idea of its longevity.

A few things of note though:
It smells progressively worse as time passes and the mixture looks awful.  Like nothing you would want to spill on anything let alone pour over negatives.

I'm pretty sure this stuff would kill zombies or at least make them run away! :-)

[Ezzie]

That's quite remarkable for a one shot developer.
Chicago Skyline? I find American building names confusing. They change all the time, according to who owns them, or who is the main sponsor, etc, etc. When I went to school the tallest building in Chicago, indeed the world, was the Sears tower. Now I gather it has changed name.

[astrobeck]

Yeah, I'm pretty pleased with the result too!   

I am wondering now if it matters that I have only dev'd 4 sheets of film it it, and if it would have the same longevity as developing 4 rolls of 120 for example.   
I'm not going to worry about it much though as I'll just wing it some day down the road and see what happens.

For now, I'm going to use caffenol exclusively for developing..I'm that happy with it!

Oh yeah, Sears Tower is called something else, but I'll always call it the Sears Tower.   
Thanks for looking!