Not Recommended...But I'm Trying It...

ic-racer · Feb 26, 2022

Followup.

Without reading the prior posts, the idea is to see if the Dektol lasts longer by not mixing it with water all at once and storing the remains of the open package in a vacuum container.
First batch is a fail.
Turns out both the Dektol in my vacuum container and Dektol in an UN OPENED bag turned black. I tried both and they mixed to an dark opaque liquid that stained the prints.
I threw all that out and have a new bag of Dektol that looks different and the crystals are pure white. I put that in my vacuum container now.

Sirius Glass · Feb 26, 2022

ic-racer said:
Followup.

Without reading the prior posts, the idea is to see if the Dektol lasts longer by not mixing it with water all at once and storing the remains of the open package in a vacuum container.
First batch is a fail.
Turns out both the Dektol in my vacuum container and Dektol in an UN OPENED bag turned black. I tried both and they mixed to an dark opaque liquid that stained the prints.
I threw all that out and have a new bag of Dektol that looks different and the crystals are pure white. I put that in my vacuum container now.

All paper developers including Dektol do not have a long life no matter how they are stored. An opened package even sealed is not as good as an unopened package. I have not had an unopened package of Dektol fail, but evidentially that can happen. Any marks, cracks, creases or other damage to the unopened package?

ic-racer · Feb 26, 2022

The unopened package that failed was a bad batch. I recall a few threads on it.
The bad batches spoiled my test. So starting over with bright white crystals (prior batches were brown from the start.

Sirius Glass · Feb 26, 2022

ic-racer said:
The unopened package that failed was a bad batch. I recall a few threads on it.

Yes, it seems that failed batches generally do not work. Go figure.

pentaxuser · Feb 26, 2022

ic-racer said:
Followup.

Without reading the prior posts, the idea is to see if the Dektol lasts longer by not mixing it with water all at once and storing the remains of the open package in a vacuum container.
First batch is a fail.
I threw all that out and have a new bag of Dektol that looks different and the crystals are pure white. I put that in my vacuum container now.

So in summary it appears that you have already gone through 2 packs of Dektol successfully using the method you set out in your first post but in the above you had a fail that may or may not be connected to faulty Dektol rather than your method?

Most of the responses in the interim 15 months seem to have been about recommendations to use other developers

So have I got my summary right i.e. two sets of successes and one failure but the one recent failure is either likely or certainly to do with the powder itself rather than a failure in your method?

Thanks

pentaxuser

ic-racer · Feb 26, 2022

My big mistake was to think the brown dektol batches were the new normal.

pentaxuser · Feb 26, 2022

Let us know how it goes with the "right" 3rd set of Dektol. If that works as well there has to come a point when the reasonable conclusion on the rest of our parts has to be that while sheer luck may still account for all 3 successes it becomes increasingly unlikely to be the real answer

Somewhere down the line more and more of us will have to become convinced that it works, won't we?

Or have I just donned my Saturday night rose coloured spectacles?

pentaxuser

ic-racer · Feb 26, 2022

Even with the title of thread, I did not want people to think storing the partially mixed powder is my recommendation. But I'm still going to do partial mixing myself.

Doremus Scudder · Feb 28, 2022

I'm going to try and convince you all again that mixing D-72 from scratch is going to be a better long-term solution than trying to divide Dektol powder and sequester it after opening.

Once you've purchased the five stock chemicals (Metol, hydroquinone, sodium sulfite, sodium carbonate and potassium bromide), you can mix as much as you want whenever you want. I use a spoon recipe, so there's not even the hassle of weighing things out. I can make a stock solution or a working solution in whatever amounts I might need. The actual mixing time is not much more than mixing Dektol from the powder, and maybe less than mixing Dektol and then vacuum-sealing the portion you don't want to use. And, there's absolutely no waste unless I grossly miscalculate. I think it's cheaper in the long run as well.

Best,

Doremus

Donald Qualls · Feb 28, 2022

Doremus Scudder said:
I think it's cheaper in the long run as well.

It shouldn't be cheaper, if economics work the they they're taught -- Sino Promise buys the chemicals by the container load, probably pays less than half the rate per pound/kg you would. Where you might save money is if there are too many middle men in the supply chain, each taking a markup ranging from 1.5x to 2x, after pricing in container freight from China to wherever you are.

However: if you have those five basic ingredients, along with a few other common ones (some of which you can get at the supermarket, like borax right next to the sodium carbonate monohydrate aka washing soda), you can make up a fairly wide selection of developers for film and paper without having to order anything. Want to try FX-15 on that roll of Pan F you've been waiting to try? You'll need, at most, one additional ingredient. Like D-23? Two of those ingredients, aside from the distilled or demineralized water you should be using for mixing developers anyway.

Making your own developers is more about freshness and options than about saving money, though it will cost very little more (and might well save you money if your 5L or 1 gallon packages go off before you can use them up).

gone · Feb 28, 2022

ic-racer said:
Turns out both the Dektol in my vacuum container and Dektol in an UN OPENED bag turned black.

I'm not surprised. The only way I will buy Dektol anymore is off eBay or etsy. That old stuff has always been good, like aged wine. The new stuff....after 2 corked batches, never again.

Most people will say that scooping it out of the bag or can for one shot development isn't a good idea, but I've seen posts where they stated that they had no issues. Like most things in life, the best way is to just try it and see what happens.

ic-racer · Mar 1, 2022

The New bag of white Dektol came from BH and i was under the impression the 'brown Dektol' issue has been resolved. Interested in other's experiences with this.

MattKing · Mar 1, 2022

The replacement Dektol I received from SinoPromise seems absolutely fine.
Even the faulty brown stuff worked for me - I just couldn't see the development happening when the print was in the tray!

ic-racer · Mar 1, 2022

MattKing said:
The replacement Dektol I received from SinoPromise seems absolutely fine.
Even the faulty brown stuff worked for me - I just couldn't see the development happening when the print was in the tray!

I used the first brown bag OK like you, but the last brown batch actually turned the prints brown! I had never seen even the blackest Dektol do that before.

ic-racer · Mar 1, 2022

To clarify, the Dektol stored in my vacuum container turned brown, mixed up black and turned the prints brown. So I opened a sealed (but expired) package and it did the exact same!

I realized I should show these, so I dug them out of the garbage.
Right hand is Dektol that expired 2020 and was pure black when I mixed it. It turned the prints brown.
Left hand is new Dektol from B&H. It's crystals are pure white.

The print is fixed by the way. The brown is from the Dektol.

ic-racer · Mar 1, 2022

Newfresh Dektol in sealed container.

pentaxuser · Mar 1, 2022

Good, so the game's still afoot, Watson! As the Baker Street private eye used to say

pentaxuser

Not Recommended...But I'm Trying It...

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