Freezer or Fridge?

[lindsay]

I told SWMBO that I wanted to buy a small fridge for the garage to keep film stock in, and she'd be able to keep some spare/overflow food in it.
That conversation became "what sort of extra fridge-freezer can we fit in the garage then?"
So today we took delivery of a 50-50 fridge freezer which is now working down to temperature nicely.

I have a goodly stock of 35mm, 120, 4x5 and 10x8 film to go into it. Some of each must definitely go in the fridge part for ready use, but should I put the remainder in the freezer? And if so, what is the best way to store it in there, as-is or in freezer-bags, and if the latter, should I breathe CO2 into them or try to wrap them as tight as possible to limit the amount of H2O from air/breath? All advice gratefully received.

 

[Nod]

I'd stick roll film in the freezer as supplied in the cannister and/or plastic/foil packaging. Sheets, not sure!

 

[sirch]

I wouldn't breathe into them becuase of mould/fungus, I know freezing will stop that but you are then going to warm it up and keep it in a camera for a while. I just use freezer bags and things seem okay but I keep sheet film in the fridge, I'm not sure how it would behave when you wanted to get one or two sheets out of the box. I'm sure someone will be along who has tried it.

 

[lindsay]

Picking up on Sirch's last point, I'd only put whole boxes off film in the freezer (potentially) and move them to the fridge when I needed to open a box then keep it there. Good point though, also about the breathing.

 

[excalibur2]

Picking up on Sirch's last point, I'd only put whole boxes off film in the freezer (potentially) and move them to the fridge when I needed to open a box then keep it there. Good point though, also about the breathing.

Same here freezer then before use fridge, but because of complaints by my wife (because of shortage of space) had to put some sealed food on top of the non bagged film (in the freezer)......well so far haven't suffered with fungus in my cameras. Also taking film and food in/out and probably breathing doing it haven't noticed any affects on my shots, so wouldn't think it would penetrate inside to the film but who knows....................................................

 

[sirch]

probably breathing doing it

I can see a difference between breathing in the general vicinity when moisture droplets will quickly fall to the floor and exhaling directly into a plastic bag and the sealing it

 

[Topsy]

I keep the bulk of my film in the freezer (along with food) in the standard packaging but inside a plastic food box to stop any hard corners of the food pressing onto the rolled film (120). I keep ready use in my beer fridge and top up from the freezer as I use the ready use film.

 

[excalibur2]

I can see a difference between breathing in the general vicinity when moisture droplets will quickly fall to the floor and exhaling directly into a plastic bag and the sealing it

Well Chris some older people salivate so the film and food might get more moisture when bending over an open freezer draw for me am open minded on how to store film and I suppose film in stored containers is the best idea, but interesting to know how shops, Kodak etc store their film if using a freezer.

 

[Marino]

Maybe a film lab that has been around for a long time would know the answer to the question. I wonder if keeping the film in the freezer changes the film properties.
With the prices going up i was also thinking of buying bulk film and putting it in the freezer.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

It would be inadvisable to take film of any sort in and out of the freezer on a regular basis.
Every time you do so it will cause condensation.
Individual films or boxes of film should be double sealed in their own bags, so that they can be thawed out slowly over24 hours. Before unsealing.
Open boxes of sheet fil. Can. Be stored in the fridge part, but are also subject to condensation, so should be allowed to come up to room temperature before opening. This be done as infrequently as possible. When I was using sheet film I never replaced open film back in the fridge. The chances of condensation is too high.

However in those days I was using several boxes a week.

It would be even safer to use bottled dry nitrogen in the sealed bags for storage.
Some people use it to inflate their car tyres.

 

[soupdragon]

I'm another one that uses zip seal food bags to store boxed roll film and sheet film in the freezer.
As far as I can tell, 120 film is hermetically sealed. I take one roll out of the freezer when I need it and leave it to warm on a side table.

The only film I don't freeze is Kodak Portra. But that's because I hate it and as soon as I've used my stock I won't be getting any more.

 

[Sky]

I've always kept unopened boxes in their original packaging in the freezer. Either in a seal-able sandwich-box type container or freezer bags.

I move them to the fridge once opened and when I intend using any, I take it out of the fridge the night before use.

I started doing this in the seventies and have never had a problem with condensation.

 

[Cluster]

@lindsay There's a problem running a fridge-freezer in a garage or shed.

If the FF is one of the less expensive types that uses a single compressor, the fridge thermostat governs the running of the compressor. In these simple FFs, the freezer is run only when the fridge thermostat warms up enough to switch on. The FF is designed to give a sufficiently cold freezer for average siting, in a heated house for example.
When sited in an unheated outbuilding, in cold conditions (say below 6C) the fridge thermostat can be quite happy with its temperature and so will not switch the compressor on, as the fridge is cold enough. The freezer, which is not run on a thermostat, warms up. At low enough temperatures, the freezer can warm to the ambient temp and actually defrost, or look to be OK, with ice inside etc, but can be hazardously warm (for food storage).

I discovered this when returning from a week away on holiday, one December. There had been an unusually cold spell and I had left the house heating off. My wife and I had assumed that the FF in the kitchen had failed as the freezer was clearly not working. It had just got cold enough for the fridge not to run, the freezer had completely defrosted.

The more expensive FFs with dual thermostat controls and dual compressors, will not suffer this problem.

Maybe there have been advances in tech since we bought our FF, but perhaps it's worth checking.

 

[lindsay]

Thanks for the advice Dave @Cluster . Our garage is actually well insulated (but is ventilated with a fan like you get in bathrooms) so rarely gets actually cold or hot, it seems to stay around circa 17 degrees in summer/ no lower than 14 or so in winter, so by the sound of it this may not be a problem, but I'll certainly keep an eye on it after seeing your comments, thanks.

 

[Ian_M]

Does film really need to go in a freezer, sounds like a myth to me. I remember years ago most decent shops used to keep it in a chiller cabinet much like the one they have in pubs to cool drinks in.

 

[Nod]

This is what Kodak have to say on "raw" film storage.

Motion Picture Film Storage & Protection Information

A leading global manufacturer focused on commercial print and advanced materials & chemicals. We believe in the power of technology and science to enhance…

www.kodak.com

 

[soupdragon]

Does film really need to go in a freezer, sounds like a myth to me. I remember years ago most decent shops used to keep it in a chiller cabinet much like the one they have in pubs to cool drinks in.

As I understand it, the turn over of film stock in "decent" shops was high enough to negate the need for freezing.
However, these days, home users often need to store their film for extended periods of time. Hence, frozen film will last almost indefinitely with the exception of degradation due to background radiation.

 

[Ian_M]

This is what Kodak have to say on "raw" film storage.

Motion Picture Film Storage & Protection Information

A leading global manufacturer focused on commercial print and advanced materials & chemicals. We believe in the power of technology and science to enhance…

www.kodak.com

Thanks, that interesting. Maybe I’ll put just the one in the freezer and try it out in 10 years, if I’m still around!