Bad XTOL?

Dani · Jul 31, 2020

I just mixed XTOL and, it was made last year... "newer" batch, expires next year and I got a ton of floating things and the color is not what I remember it to be. Part A dissolved fine but left those little things floating. I mixed part B and still there.
I don't know what to do now

pentaxuser · Jul 31, 2020

What colour was it? . I am a user of Xtol myself but my last mixing pre-dates the latest change. It certainly used to go to a kind of orangeade colour before turning as clear as water before being decanted into containers. If I recall correctly a few( very few) small crystals tended to remain in the water before adding part B but a quick crush action with the flat end of the plastic stirrer always dissolved them

pentaxuser

Donald Qualls · Jul 31, 2020

pentaxuser said:
It certainly used to go to a kind of orangeade colour before turning as clear as water before being decanted into containers.

Instructions for my 2002 Xtol specifically said it would turn orange when mixing part A, but would then clear when Part B was added (and it did). That's apparently exactly what you expect (I'll be curious to see if Mytol does that).

That said, I saw no "floaters" after mixing part A, but Xtol has changed manufacturer at least once between mine and a 2019-made package, and again since then. Also, because I didn't read the directions before mixing, I mixed in hottish water (above 100F, probably below 120F), so everything dissolved pretty promptly.

MattKing · Jul 31, 2020

There was a batch of X-Tol that had problems due to a failure of the (revised) packaging material. I would reach out to Kodak Alaris - profilm@kodakalaris.com.
While you are at it, maybe you can ask about when the current shortages might end, and report back .

NB23 · Jul 31, 2020

Still good, at least mine does that.

Check back in a few days to see if it has dissolved.

Alan9940 · Jul 31, 2020

Donald Qualls said:
Instructions for my 2002 Xtol specifically said it would turn orange when mixing part A, but would then clear when Part B was added (and it did). That's apparently exactly what you expect (I'll be curious to see if Mytol does that).

I just mixed a batch of Mytol, yesterday, and it didn't turn orange. I would say that it had a very slight orange(ish) / copper (ish) tint when fully mixed. Perhaps, mixing each individual chemical in separately avoids any noticeable color change?

Dani · Jul 31, 2020

It's kind of greenish and there are less of those particles floating. I remember XTOL being like water. Now, there are less floating particles but there are still there. I saw this, I'll contact them https://twitter.com/KodakProFilmBiz/status/1197212541753143297
Also I used a coffee filter and did 1:1 and developed a roll. It's some tmax 400 from 2002, seems to be working fine.
Thank you everybody!

pentaxuser · Jul 31, 2020

Well certainly any shade of green is clearly different to it being the colour of water which the former Xtol was. Is there any mention in the latest instructions as to what Kodak expects the resulting colour to be?

It's good that it seems to have worked as it should and as long as it works then I'd have no problem with what looks like a slightly cloudy hint of green but certainly this kind of a change, if it should be as your Xtol is, needs an explanation from Kodak. If it is meant to be slightly cloudy with a hint of green then my only concern for the future is that in my experience the former Xtol as it ages does change to a very slight pale straw colour which is a useful sign that it is "on its way out" i.e. beginning to become exhausted. It would be useful to know what if any is the new sign of exhaustion

I'd be interested in hearing from you what Kodak have to say.

Thanks

pentaxuser

Donald Qualls · Jul 31, 2020

@Dani Do you have the expiration date or batch number off the Xtol package? There was some Xtol several years ago that would work fine when freshly mixed, and then die suddenly without warning. This was determined to be due to iron contamination, as I recall (iron reacts to oxidize ascorbate), and iron in solution is one of the things that could make a greenish solution.

Dani · Jul 31, 2020

I'll be emailing Kodak soon. Yes I have the expiration date and batch number. EXP 2022-10 Batch 8441. It's definitely on the green side.
Once I hear back from Kodak I'll report back.
Thank you!

Donald Qualls · Jul 31, 2020

Wow, they're giving three years from manufacture date (or were last year)? Used to be two years. That's years newer than the batch(es) with the iron contamination problem, but green is still not a normal color for Xtol. We look forward to hearing what Kodak Alaris has to say.

Alan9940 · Jul 31, 2020

Keep in mind that a LOT of things are changing these days with Kodak, especially it seems with their chemistry.

Sirius Glass · Jul 31, 2020

I found that when I mix Solution A the water must be warm and I must stir for a long time to get all the powder into solution [orange] before I add in Solution B [clear]. If I do that then I have no floaters. When I did have floaters the XTOL still preformed properly, but I had to be sure the film was rinsed.

pentaxuser · Jul 31, 2020

Alan9940 said:
Keep in mind that a LOT of things are changing these days with Kodak, especially it seems with their chemistry.

True and if it is green then it is probably the St Patrick's Xtol which sells well in Boston

pentaxuser

NB23 · Jul 31, 2020

Canary green? Like the yellow one, yeah?

Alan9940 · Jul 31, 2020

pentaxuser said:
True and if it is green then it is probably the St Patrick's Xtol which sells well in Boston

pentaxuser

Dani · Aug 2, 2020

No reply so far but I developed a roll of Tmax P3200 pushed 2 stops and performed beautifully so at least for now it's all good.

Dani · Aug 28, 2020

I'm still waiting to hear from Kodak and my XTOL has gone completely bad. I ruined a couple of rolls and today when I finally got some Eco Pro I went to open the floating lid tank and saw that! A bunch of stuff sunk and it had a very bad smell. Not like sulphur but something similar.
I don't think it lasted me 2 weeks!

Donald Qualls · Aug 28, 2020

Looks like mold in that shot...

138S · Aug 28, 2020

Dani said:
I just mixed XTOL and, it was made last year... "newer" batch, expires next year and I got a ton of floating things and the color is not what I remember it to be. Part A dissolved fine but left those little things floating. I mixed part B and still there.
I don't know what to do now

Filter it and do an strength test, just put 50ml in a cap and throw a film end in it, lights open. If in 5 to 7 minutes the film end it becomes well black then you may process a test roll. If film is important then dump that developer.

Presently Alaris is doing some weird things.

Dani · Aug 28, 2020

I did that yesterday and it took 20 minutes for the film to turn black. I just tossed all the developer but saved 500ml, just in case.

pentaxuser · Aug 28, 2020

Dani said:
I'm still waiting to hear from Kodak and my XTOL has gone completely bad. I ruined a couple of rolls and today when I finally got some Eco Pro I went to open the floating lid tank and saw that! A bunch of stuff sunk and it had a very bad smell. Not like sulphur but something similar.
I don't think it lasted me 2 weeks!

So how long have you waited since you said you'd "contact Kodak soon" on 31 July? If you contacted Kodak within a couple of day from that quote then it has been nearly a month. It would seem that more and more things connected with the chemistry arm of Kodak are causing concern amongst Kodak users

pentaxuser

Sirius Glass · Aug 28, 2020

Dani said:
I'm still waiting to hear from Kodak and my XTOL has gone completely bad. I ruined a couple of rolls and today when I finally got some Eco Pro I went to open the floating lid tank and saw that! A bunch of stuff sunk and it had a very bad smell. Not like sulphur but something similar.
I don't think it lasted me 2 weeks!

All developers oxidize quickly and the oxidation destroys them. Do not use a floating lid; use a sealed container with the air pushed out.

Bormental · Aug 28, 2020

I mixed a fresh 5L batch for replenishing my 2.5L bottle. I also noticed the increasing difficulty mixing compared to the previous bag. First, the water wasn't as pink/orange as before after the first bag, and later I had some floaters, but I filtered them through coffee filters The resulting solution looks pretty much like water though. I've replenished about 300ml since then and haven't noticed any problems. This was my 3rd bag of Xtol though, I do not have a feel for what's "normal" yet.

138S · Aug 28, 2020

pentaxuser said:
So how long have you waited since you said you'd "contact Kodak soon" on 31 July? If you contacted Kodak within a couple of day from that quote then it has been nearly a month. It would seem that more and more things connected with the chemistry arm of Kodak are causing concern amongst Kodak users
pentaxuser

Well... what is the "kodak arm" today ? https://www.dpreview.com/news/18766...l-division-to-its-largest-chinese-distributor

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