Does anyone have any idea if D76/ID-11 will keep for any period of time in tight full bottle.
I process inividual sheets with a small amount of chemistry but have many small bottles [100ml/ about 3 oz] that I can decant the developer into for storage.
That way I reduce the risk of oxidation on a larger volume of developer.
Any thoughts from practical experience?
I am not a prolific photographer, 10 - 15 35mm cassettes a year and some 120 films, over the last 35 years. I make up 5L of ID11 stock and use it diluted 1:1 as a one-shot. That develops 33 35mm cassettes or 20 120 rolls and lasts me a couple of years at least. I keep it in a 5L container (ex-MG developer) in my cellar darkroom at 16 -20 C (it never gets higher than 20 C). That means that as I get towards the end of a batch there is a large air-bubble above the liquid. I don't have any concertina bottles. I have just finished a batch, which was quite brown - it darkens steadily with time. If there is a difference in activity I can't be sure; if anything there is less contrast but I am happy with the results.
Years ago I had a batch of stock which after a couple of years, probably longer, developed a black precipitate like thin tea leaves which hung in suspension - that was gone bad, I tried it and it wrecked a film. That is the only time I have thrown stock solution away.
Similarly I buy 5L containers of Ilford MG developer and Hypam. I re-bottle the diluted MG developer and only throw it away when it is so brown I can hardly see the image coming up - well not quite but it does seem to go on for ever.
And I re-bottle diluted Hypam, but always test it on a scrap of undeveloped film before using it again; when it takes more than 30 seconds to clear the film it goes down the sink; the one thing I do not want to do is under-fix a print or film, because I won't find out it is under-fixed for months or years and it will be too late to do anything about it. In practice I usually replace the working developer when I discard the working fixer.
Richard