Brown Ilford Multigrade Developer

[fotokat]

I only print every couple of weeks. I opened a new bottle the last time I printed. When I returned to the darkroom this week the developer was already turning brown. Is the developer still useable in this state? If so how do you tell if it bad?
Thanks
Kathryn :confused:

 

[richard ide]

Try developing a print in it. If you do not get a good black in a reasonable time, throw it out. It seems like a rather short time for it to go off. In future you might fill up smaller bottles to prolong it's life.

 

[hoffy]

How brown is brown? I know that mine goes a little "Weak Tea" like after its open, but still seems to be OK.

But, yes, try and get as much air out of the bottle. A few bags of marbles (washed and thoroughly rinsed before using!) does wonders to help push the air out.

 

[ozphoto]

I have used a wine bottle air pump - works quite well to remove the excess air in my bottles.
Picked up a cheaper version from one of the discount shops (Cheap As Chips, Go-Lo etc) - seems to be doing the trick nicely.

 

[Bob-D659]

Are you mixing the whole bottle of concentrate at once or only mixing whatever amount you need to fill a tray?

 

[Wade D]

I'm using up some old Dektol which looks like weak coffee but still gives good blacks. A test would be in order if you have a doubt.

 

[Shangheye]

Usually OK if it's like weak tea...in the end I moved to 1l bottles, becasue I just fealt uncomfortable with the colour...K

 

[fotokat]

Thanks everyone for your quick response. It's dark brown(coffee). I only mix the amount needed for each session. The prints look okay, blacks are black. As long as the prints look okay, I'll keep using it.