Found some old Microdol and Extol

I found a couple 1-quart powder packets of Microdol-x and a 1-gallon powder packet of Extol. They have been in my basement for 3-4 years and in the basement of the guy who sold me the darkroom kit for long enough for him to decide he would never have time to use them. Are they any good and how do I make that determination? The Microdol is presently more interesting to me, but 2 quarts really aren't a very big deal. If they are good, what are they most suited for? If they are no good, how do I safely dispose of them?

pbromaghin said:

I found a couple 1-quart powder packets of Microdol-x and a 1-gallon powder packet of Extol. . Are they any good and how do I make that determination?

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Is that Extol as in Xtol or was there a developer called Extol? If it is Xtol then isn't this a relatively new developer and given it is powder and still sealed I'd have thought it to be OK except that I seem to recall that the 1 gallon pack was the one associated with sudden death which might be a cloud on the horizon.

However a good test is to try the solution on a film leader for the time recommended for that particular film. If it turns black to the extent that you can just see the filament of say a 60W light bulb through it then it should be OK for developing

If your 1 gallon pack belongs to the sudden-death Xtol then unless you use it all quite quickly it might be better to test the solution each time before developing the film. Always better to be safe than sorry

pentaxuser

It was the 1 litre packages of X-Tol that coincided with some earlier failures, and the cause of those failures was most likely due to some problems with tap water, not the packages themselves.

I don't know that there ever was a 1 gallon package.

Right, it is X-Tol and it says it's for paper. I don't wet print yet, so it will be sitting even longer.

It looks like the thing to do is to shoot some more tri-x.

Michael, the answer to that will have to wait until this evening, if I get time online at home. Either that, or tomorrow.

If it is for paper, then it very probably is Dektol. As said before, Microdol-X and Dektol will be significantly brown when mixed if bad. Xtol doesn't necessarily turn color when it goes, so I personally wouldn't mess with Xtol that old, though you could certainly mix it and do a test.

I assume what you have is Microdol-X rather than the older Microdol, which I don't imagine even came in packets. I've still got some around, and it is a nice developer, but not something that seems all that useful for me anymore with Xtol around. Obviously it does have a following and the older stuff does too.

Yes, it's Dektol and Microdol-x. I've only ever used 3 film developers and don't wet print, so developer names are a mystery to me. I apologize to all you smart guys for getting it wrong. One of the Microdol-x packets seems a bit solid, and on the other the paper feels damp. That could be just basement texture, but I don't have a real good feeling about this. I fully expect all of it to be shot to uselessness.

In that case, what do I do with all this poisonous powder?

Microdol-X at 1:3 gives box speed or pretty close; at 1:0 the speed loss is a full stop and is well documented. Great stuff, love the MDX

Has anyone compared Microdol-X directly to Xtol? I like Microdol-X at 1:3, and still have a couple gallon mixes, but haven't bothered with it when Xtol seems to do everything as well or better. Microdol-X might (or might not) have finer grain, but some people actually complain about TX being too fine grain already now. Just for the record, I'm very happy with TX and with its grain in Xtol.

Microdol-X does give very pretty negatives with a lovely warm tone, for what that's worth.