Long Lasting Film Developer

This week I wanted to develop a strip of b&w test film to see if a new (old) camera was working properly. The film was Ilford Delta 400. I haven't developed film for a while and didn't want to mix up anything from powder. I opened a partially used quart bottle of Clayton F76 Plus. It was very dark in color and had to be discarded. I found a bottle of Ilford Microphen which was mixed more than two years ago. The bottle was an approx. 20 oz. Gatorade container. The plastic is pretty thick. The color still looked right. I tested the developer with a piece of film and it looked right. The temperature was 71F so I gave it 6 minutes. The frames all look good. What's funny about this is that the developer was pretty old before I mixed it up. I came into a large supply of 1 quart boxes of Microphen from before the time that Ilford started selling it in 1 liter size. By having the chemistry stored in two separate packets, shelf life is greatly extended. I will mix up another quart this weekend. I have a fresh bottle of F76 Plus on hand now too. It will be handy to test some of my GP3 220 film. I prefer using the 220 Nikor wide spaced 220 reel so a lot of solution is needed.

I like Clayton F76+ but it goes bad 3-4 months after a bottle is opened.

I have been using the same bottle of Ilfotec HC concentrate (mixed as one-shot) for years now. Still working great!

dynachrome, I am unsure from you post what your question is in relation to a long lasting developer? Are you asking us what are long lasting developers and can you say how you define long lasting?

If Clayton F76 Plus doesn't meet you requirement and nor does Microphen then depending on your requirement in terms of longevity the famous one is HC110 but given its recent history and change this longevity may or may not apply in the future. The new stuff hasn't been around long enough for us to know. Ilford Ilfotec HC is said to be reasonably long lasting

That leaves the one known developer that does meet the longevity requirement, namely, Adox Rodinal.

pentaxuser

pentaxuser said:

I am unsure from you post what your question is in relation to a long lasting developer

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I think the point was that Microphen is surprisingly long lasting.

Don Heisz said:

I think the point was that Microphen is surprisingly long lasting.

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Yes but I wasn't sure if dynachrome was simply making a statement on his experiences or was using his experience to ask for information on our experiences

If the former then replies may be unnecessary.

pentaxuser

Rodinal, Kodak HC 110 (New version to be determined) ILfords version of HC110, DDX and Tmax developer, MCM 100, Edwal 12, once aged and replenished, some have kept tanks of D76 going for years, not sure if anyone D76R or if you have to make your own. You can sometimes find botles of unopened of the older version of Kodak HC 110 on EBay. I was using Clayton F76, Kodak DK50, and MCM 100, but has process so few rolls, maybe one a week, I traded for Rodinal and HC 110,

XTOL and Replenished XTOL are long lasting film developer IF AND ONLY IF the bottles are tightly sealed without air. I use StopLossBags™ from StopLossBags.com with their funnel because their bags allow me to force the air out of the bag. But this is true for any long lasting developer ===> All the air must be removed from the developer storage because when developers oxidize they die.

The old version of HC-110 (as stated above, jury is still out on the new version), Rodinal, any of the current and popular pyro formulas, and most of the divided formulas like FX-55. I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones I'm most familiar with.

Paul Howell said:

not sure if anyone D76R or if you have to make your own

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I just mixed my own a few days ago. I don't think anyone makes it packaged, anymore.

rodinal lasts for a very long time. i have a stock mix of xtol that's been going since november 22 now. never got rid of the air in the bottles. put a roll through it last night and it's still great. probably going to throw it out soon though

Forgot to add Diafine. As long as part A and part B are kept separate with no cross contamination will last at least 2 years. Not sure about dividied D76, but should last longer than unreplenished D76.