TETENAL Shelf life
Stock Solutions
Factory sealed: 2 years from the date of manufacture.
Opened Stock Solutions
Once the bottle is opened, the life span
immediately drops to 6 months (unless the solution is already within the last 6 months of
its original 2 year life span--say 3 months left--in which case it still has only 3 months
of life left at best after opening). As the air space within the bottle increases, the
remaining life decreases, at an ever faster rate. For instance when the bottle is only
half full of solution, it will probably only have 1/3 of its remaining chronological life
left. When it has only 1/4 to 1/3 of its solution left it will probably have only 1/10th
of its remaining chronological life left.
There are several ways to reduce air exposure. One is to "squish" the plastic
bottle so the solution physically rises to the neck of the bottle, and there is less
surface area exposed to air. Another way is to use marbles to raise the solution. A third
way is to use Styrofoam balls to "cover" the surface of the solution, like a
floating lid. When in doubt, run a test roll
first.
Unused Working Solutions
7-14 days maximum in a bottle filled to the brim. Your results may
vary.
Used/Reclaimed Solutions
These solutions should be discarded at the
end of the processing day. These solutions will not keep overnight in
most cases. Chemistry is one of the cheapest components of the whole
photographic process. Don’t risk ruined film!
Tetenal Date Codes
Reading the Production date code on TETENAL
chemistry
You should always check the date code on all
chemistry you purchase to make sure it is fresh. TETENAL puts its date
code on the outside of the box and on the individual bottles for
larger kits. Smaller kits have the date code on the inside of the box
top and on the bottles. The code will be a STAMPED number, not part of
the bottle printing. The number will usually have 7-9 characters, but
we only need to concern ourselves with the first three digits from the
LEFT. The first digit from the left is the last digit of the year in
which the chemistry was produced. A, "4" as the first digit
would indicate the chemistry was made in 2004. The second and
third digits from the left will indicate the week the chemistry was
made. Therefore, if the date code started as "312…." Then the
chemistry was made in the 12th week of 2003.
Here are some examples
016548773
16th week of 2000
402555817
2nd week of 2004
TETENAL chemistry is guaranteed, when purchased through an authorized JOBO dealer, for two years past the manufacturing date. If you receive chemistry from a JOBO Authorized dealer part its expiration date, please contact that dealer for assistance.