I found many bags of expired Xtol

[pmu]

Hi, I found my old chemicals. There was also ~80 euros worth of expired large bags of Xtol developers. Stored in warm, couple of winters in freezing temperatures. The dates were 2013, 2015 and 2017.

Should I just dump them or make a test with one of the 2013 bags and if it works, just use it quickly? I would of course test all bags separately. Is there a risk of the Xtol sudden death? The chemicals feel normal inside the bag. They still feel like powder, no clumps etc.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Huub]

Mix the oldest. When the compounds in the two bags are not clumped and brown, but the pale powders they should be, you will probably be alright. To make sure you can do a test of course and when that works out well, it will be as good as ever.

 

[MARTIE]

I would keep them and just do a leader test, at dilution, before each and every processing batch.
You're looking for the film to turn a decent black within a minute or so. Anything grey, I'd dump the lot of that batch.

 

[Jainey]

This sounds scary.

 

[Donald Qualls]

Should I just dump them or make a test with one of the 2013

FWIW, the Xtol I've been replenishing for the past year or more was mixed in 2020 from a bag that expired in 2002.

 

[relistan]

I mixed up 10 year old XTOL and it was fine. As others said, try it, you might like it

 

[Duceman]

I’ve recently mixed bags of XTOL that expired 2013 with no problems.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

There's only one way to find out...

 

[Sirius Glass]

Test a film leader. I have had good bags that were older. All you have to loose is a strip of film.

 

[MattKing]

The use before dates aren't magical - they provide an indication of how old the product is, and relate as much to the expected integrity of the packaging as anything else.
It would be prudent to set up a test target that you can duplicate in the future. Expose and develop one film in known good developer, and then keep the negatives for future comparisons.
If you don't have known good developer, you can take a chance on the bag that looks to be in the best shape, and see if the result is well developed negatives.
From then on, whenever you open a new package, use it to develop a new film exposure of the test target. Check to see that the new stuff is giving good results and, if so, use it.

 

[Moose22]

This sounds scary.

As I understand it, Xtol doesn't die gently. When it's done, it stops working pretty quickly.

Scary to just go ahead and develop with mixed xtol 6 months old, but for leader testing it's a good thing. If it's working, it's working! If it's bad, you are likely to know it.

 

[faberryman]

How do guys end up with ten or fifteen year old bags of developer? I buy my developer when I need it, and when I use that up I buy some more.

 

[Moose22]

How do guys end up with ten or fifteen year old bags of developer? I buy my developer when I need it, and when I use that up I buy some more.

Exactly. I'm half way through a batch and thinking about buying another one next month.

Though I guess I can see it happening. Buy two bags then switch to a different developer and forget about them for a while? Or something like that. I mean, I bought film before the prices rose and now I have enough film in cold storage that it'll take me at least 18 months to use, so I'm not exactly judging too hard here.

 

[Truzi]

How do guys end up with ten or fifteen year old bags of developer? I buy my developer when I need it, and when I use that up I buy some more.

You could have an aunt like mine, who finds odd stuff from friends, at garage sales, and flea markets. A few weeks ago she brought me a Box-O-Cameras. A few years ago my mom found a pile of D76, Dektol, and other powders at a Volunteer's Of America charity and picked it up because it was cheap and had something to do with photography - though she had no idea what. It said "Kodak" so she figured I'd like it, lol.

 

[pmu]

Thank you everyone, I will try the chemicals.

BTW, the reason why I have many bags of Xtol is that I used to (and still do) order my chemicals and films from Germany. I live in Finland. Much smarter to buy a bigger lot because of postages etc. Haven't shot film for a few years though.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Thank you everyone, I will try the chemicals.

BTW, the reason why I have many bags of Xtol is that I used to (and still do) order my chemicals and films from Germany. I live in Finland. Much smarter to buy a bigger lot because of postages etc. Haven't shot film for a few years though.

Now go out and shoot a lot of film so you can show us how the XTOL worked out.

 

[Larry the sailor]

How do guys end up with ten or fifteen year old bags of developer? I buy my developer when I need it, and when I use that up I buy some more.

Well, in my case it was due to an unplanned 18+ month medically induced hiatus from the darkroom.
I've got 2 bags of Dektol that are a little over a year out of date. Just mixed one up this evening and will try it tomorrow.

 

[Donald Qualls]

The Dektol I have in my darkroom right now was mixed in 2005 from a 5 gallon bag that had expired around 2000. I mixed with half the water, and the developer was still good when I used some last year. It has been stored in glass with butane blanket...

 

[pmu]

The 2013 Xtol worked just fine. Thanks all!

 

[Donald Qualls]

Glad to hear it.

 

[Kino]

I have 5 foil pouch bags of D76 from the 1980's that still run freely inside. I have no doubt they are still good.

 

[Sirius Glass]

The 2013 Xtol worked just fine. Thanks all!