How to know if mixed D-76 has expired?

[OzJohn]

Why do people stress over whether developer is any good? It's not hard to find out and PE's suggestion early on is as good a test as any. If in any doubt, toss it out because the film you are going to soup in it will almost certainly have cost more than the soup itself and anyway the images on the film have to be more valuable than even a gallon of D76 - don't they?

 

[Roger Cole]

Mm… where exactly do you buy these chemicals? What’s the name of the shop?

Are the results exactly the same as with the Kodak powder, or very similar?

I don't know where you would get them in Buenos Aires. There are several online sources but I don't know if they can ship to you.

One of the best known, Photographer's Formulary, says on their web site that they will ship outside the US but can't ship everything. You could contact them to see if you can get the ingredients. You'll need a decent scale but that's readily available from Amazon for not much money.

http://stores.photoformulary.com/terms-conditions/

Results should be the same.

 

[kevs]

Hi, I did the tests.

1) The leader got gradually darker and at the time recommended for normal processing at 20ºC, it was black. How much black? I don’t know, I took the film and observed it closely, it was dark. Then I immersed it again for 2 minutes, to see if it went on getting darker. I don’t know for sure if that happened, probably not, cause I couldn’t see any difference.

2) Then I developed a strip of film with the same mix I used for the leader. And I think it came out just fine. As a matter of fact, I overdeveloped +1, because I exposed -1, something I usually do, and the roll I am going to process now will be “pushed” too. I compared the negative with others I processed this way and I don’t see any difference in density. Anyway, what I think is important is that the leader turned black at the normal time of developing.

I also used my 2 years-old mix of fixer (Ilford Rapid Fixer), which I previously tested watching the clearing time. It was just like before. And I know that it is possible to fix a lot of rolls with a mix. So, in my case, the six months recommended by Ilford for a solution of this fixer were also too cautious.

Next weekend, I am going to develop the other roll. If something goes unexpectedly wrong, I let you know.

Thanks again.

Hi Lemur,
Your bottles look fine for long-term storage and your test results sound positive. Check the writing at the edge of the developed film; if that has a normal density you're good to go.

Fixer should be fine, it doesn't deteriorate from exposure to oxygen like developer does, though you might find flecks of silver if it's been used before. I've stored diluted fixer for years between uses without any problems.

I hope your developing goes well. Have fun.

 

[Lemur]

Yes, I speak with experience. It's always best to do a clip test with oldish D-76. I've never had any D-76 turn brown, only Dektol paper developer.

@Rick A Does “dead” mean not working at all? Is there a gradual transition between normal working and “dead”, I mean, the developer loses gradually its power until it is totally non-functional? Or is it sometimes dead all of a sudden?

Thank you.

 

[Lemur]

I don't know where you would get them in Buenos Aires. There are several online sources but I don't know if they can ship to you.

One of the best known, Photographer's Formulary, says on their web site that they will ship outside the US but can't ship everything. You could contact them to see if you can get the ingredients. You'll need a decent scale but that's readily available from Amazon for not much money.

http://stores.photoformulary.com/terms-conditions/

Results should be the same.

Thank you for the information.

 

[Lemur]

Hi Lemur,
Your bottles look fine for long-term storage and your test results sound positive. Check the writing at the edge of the developed film; if that has a normal density you're good to go.

Fixer should be fine, it doesn't deteriorate from exposure to oxygen like developer does, though you might find flecks of silver if it's been used before. I've stored diluted fixer for years between uses without any problems.

I hope your developing goes well. Have fun.

@kevs Thanks for the tips.

What color are these “flecks of silver”? What I have had, since the beginning (this is my first and only batch of D-76), are floating black particles, after every developing. They are in the used D-76 but some of them go to the stop bath and fixer, and even to the Photoflo after a 30 minutes water wash (unless all the chemicals produce the particles by themselves). The particles are scale-like, I mean, they are flat but with irregular shape. Is this what you are talking about?

 

[kevs]

@kevs Thanks for the tips.

What color are these “flecks of silver”? What I have had, since the beginning (this is my first and only batch of D-76), are floating black particles, after every developing. They are in the used D-76 but some of them go to the stop bath and fixer, and even to the Photoflo after a 30 minutes water wash (unless all the chemicals produce the particles by themselves). The particles are scale-like, I mean, they are flat but with irregular shape. Is this what you are talking about?

I meant purely in the fixer; you shouldn't see this in fresh developer or stop bath.

Silver flecks in fixer are usually as you describe, black and scale-like. If left in storage for months, used fixer will often deposit a layer of silver on the inside surface of the bottle. That layer will easily flake off when disturbed, so ends up at the bottom of the bottle. You can filter them out and dump the silver or collect it for salvaging.

Because I reuse my film developer (ID-11 in my case), I do get tiny particles of silver and other gunk (presumably gelatin from the film) at the bottom of the bottle. The developer contains a silver solvent, so it can accumulate in used developer.

I've never seen this in fresh developer, however, and I don't know what would cause that. You should be able to filter out the flecks, and as long as you agitate the tank properly it shouldn't cause any problems.

 

[Lemur]

@kevs Yes, I think I don’t get silver flecks purely in the fixer, for the moment. My particles are originated in the D-76. It seems that this is not common, so I don’t know what I am doing different.

Curiously, I get the particles also after developing with Kodak Flexicolor developer, so I don’t discern what is going on.

Yes, I could filter this dirt. But that makes me loose time and coffee filters. And, more importantly, sometimes the particles stick to the film. So this is why it would be in interesting to detect the problem and solve it. Maybe I will post a different thread about this.

 

[Lemur]

By the way, I developed another roll and it turned out okay.

Also, I've just realized I posted this thread in the wrong section, the Color one. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.

 

[MattKing]

If you want to have a thread moved, "Report" one of your own posts, and request that the thread be moved to the correct sub-forum.
That way you bring the situation to the attention of the moderators, who can do that for you.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

How do I know if mixed D-76 is still working fine, just looking at it? What are the signs that it has expired?

I have some D-76 in 150 ml glass bottles, just to the top. I mixed it like 2 years ago. In theory, it is good only for 6 months, but I know that it could last more if it is kept in good conditions, without air exposure.

I opened a bottle and it looks good, the same as before, as far as I remember, which is a bit yellowish.

If it looks good, does it work well? Or not necessarily?

I store my D-76 in clear glass bottles and stop using it when a gray participate has formed at the bottom but best to verify as PE described.