Ilfotec DD-X Shelf life questions....again...

[mr. mohaupt]

Hey gang,
I really want to shoot Delta 3200 and after reading all the glowing reviews of Delta 3200 in DD-X I want to give it a shot. The only problem is that I know it will take me more then 6 months to use a whole litter of the stuff because my regular developer is Rodinal (and after a post earlier I am content with only using Rodinal )
So my question is if I were to divide DD-X into smaller bottles (say 200ml) so long as I keep them "air-tight" it should keep for longer than 6 months right? Anybody have any suggestions for smaller 200ml bottles to keep the stuff airtight?

At 1:4 dilution I should pretty much use it all up in 10 rolls.

Thanks!
~M

 

[jorj]

I've got some DD-X going on 8 months which is still fine. YMMV, of course.

If you're concerned, you might go with a simple accordion bottle, and squeeze out the air before closing it up.

 

[hpulley]

If you pour the DD-X into two 500mL bottles then you might be able to save one half for until you use it if the seal is good. When I mix up powdered chems I generally put the stock solution into several containers but still try to use it all up in 6 months if I can. 500mL is about the smallest container I can get which is easy to use though I have some 200mL and 50mL whisky sample bottles that work until the screw caps don't seal anymore :-(

10 rolls in 6 months isn't much really but if you don't shoot much then you might want to mix up a 2.5L packet of Microphen instead. Used stock that would be 5 rolls worth which would also last 6 months.

However, DD-X is useful for more than just Delta 3200 and if you use it for all your shooting I suspect you'll shoot more than 10 rolls in 6 months anyways.

If you only develop occasionally then HC-110 is best as it keeps almost forever in syrup form. I like it even though I shoot a lot as I never have to worry about using it up quickly.

In my experience the D-max of Delta 3200 in DD-X 1+4 was lower than I liked so I didn't love it as a combination. It is great for some other Ilford films though, FP4+, HP5+, Delta 100 and 400 look great in DD-X 1+4.

 

[K-G]

I have used the combination of Delta 3200 and DD-X and I found that it works excelently. Storing developer concentrate in smaller bottles to minimize air volume is normally a good idea. I tried to do that with my DD-X leftover last year but after less than a day the developer started crystalizing. I described what hapened in a new thread last december but obviously nobody knew anything about it. I'm enclosing a link to that thread so you can se what happened. I don't mean to scare you from trying because it probably will work. Any experience from your side would be good to know. Good luck !

Karl-Gustaf

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[zenrhino]

If you've got some DD-X that needs to be used up, shoot some Neopan 400. The two are beautiful together.

 

[mr. mohaupt]

If you're concerned, you might go with a simple accordion bottle, and squeeze out the air before closing it up.

Jorj,
I don't know why I didn't think of this. This is a great idea, thanks!

HPulley,
I am totally sold on Rodinal right now. I finally have used it enough to know exactly what kind of results I am going to get. My favorite mix right now is 1+50 or 1+~70 with Fomapan 100 or Delta Pro 100. Rodinal doesn't do great with high speed films though and I have been asked to shoot a few concerts recently and I have seen some samples of Delta Pro 3200 in DD-X and its exactly what I love about harsh and dim lit photography. I think with my RB on the 6x7 negative it will be dreamy.
Maybe my concept and understanding of Dmax is a little off but maybe it has to do with your developing time. http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/201071394723115.pdf
Page 5 shows a graph with contrast and development time. Maybe if you reduced your dilution to 1+9 you could get away from the toe. *shrugs* I don't know though, I am no expert
According to The Dev Chart 1+9 @1600 yields 20 mins and 1+4@1600 yields 8 mins (3200 is another 1.5 mins, these times are for 120 film)


Karl,
I am no expert but crystallization to me says something went terribly wrong. I would suspect your bottles (you said "Clean" soap bottles) might have had a little residual something or other inside of them. The developer is so cheap it would be worth buying more and trying it again in different bottles.

 

[pentaxuser]

I used to store mine in emptied 3L winebags. The stages are:

1. Drink wine 2. Remove bag with dispenser from box 3. Clean bag and dispenser 4. Fill with DDX and lay bag flat so that the 1L comes up to the neck of the hole where the dispenser fits. 5. Replace dispenser and re-fit bag into box.

Now the most important bit. Label box "DDX" If you don't and are a white wine drinker you might forget and try to drink it

Dispense DDX as required. As the DDX is removed the bag collapses. No air can get in to replace the removed liquid. I have had 11 months usage this way. I might have got more but the DDX ran out.

pentaxuser

 

[wogster]

I've got some DD-X going on 8 months which is still fine. YMMV, of course.

If you're concerned, you might go with a simple accordion bottle, and squeeze out the air before closing it up.

Those accordion bottles are a great concept, but they don't always work as good as marketing says they do. Some are made of oxygen porous plastics, they tend to leak after a while and a 1L bottle, even squished down completely holds about 300ml. There are some old ideas though that still work great. Start with glass bottles that have metal lids with an appropriately sized neoprene washer to make sure you have an air proof seal. If your developer comes in a 1L bottle, you want two 500ml bottles, get ones with a mouth large enough that a glass marble will fit inside. Get a nice big bag of marbles, you want enough that you can fill the bottle with them. Now you pour your developer concentrate into one bottle, right to the cap, and seal it up. Fill the other bottle with the remaining concentrate, drop in a few marbles until it is full to the cap, cap it off, this is the one you use, as you use up the concentrate you add more marbles, to again get it to the cap. When the bottle is empty of concentrate, wash the bottle and marbles well, let them dry and put them back in the bag. Open your other bottle and do the same thing.

 

[Arvee]

The plastic accordion squeeze bottles, at least the ones I have tried in the last 30 years, are gas permeable. Don't waste your time or money. Check out the Photo Formulary and order some Boston rounds in a couple of sizes and seal the bottles with Saran before screwing on the tops. Leave as tiny an air bubble as possible. I use 500s and when I break one open, I decant the remainder into a 250. I have a couple of 250s and 8-500s that I store my developers in. I get excellent shelf life out of Xtol with this scheme. With some developers that I use even less volume, I have a couple of 125s that I decant half of a 250 into after breaking it open.

You get the idea.

 

[Harry Lime]

I also suggest breaking it down in to smaller glass bottles, if you need to store it for a longer period. When DD-X goes bad it get's a yellowish tint.

 

[mr. mohaupt]

Get a nice big bag of marbles, you want enough that you can fill the bottle with them. Now you pour your developer concentrate into one bottle, right to the cap, and seal it up. Fill the other bottle with the remaining concentrate, drop in a few marbles until it is full to the cap, cap it off, this is the one you use, as you use up the concentrate you add more marbles, to again get it to the cap. When the bottle is empty of concentrate, wash the bottle and marbles well, let them dry and put them back in the bag. Open your other bottle and do the same thing.

Brilliant! I am going to order glass bottles from Photo Formulary

~M