Shelf Life of D-76 (diluted 1:1)?

Diaga67 · Sep 2, 2006

Hi Everyone,

I have two gallons of D-76 (diluted 1:1) that I mixed in April which has been stored in standard brown, opaque photo chemical containers (completely full). I noticed on the Kodak website that the shelf life of the full strength stock is 6 months, but they have no information on D-76 diluted 1:1. For those of you that use/have used D-76, given it has been nearly six months, should I discard the chemicals instead of using them? I would hate to throw them away if I do not need to, but I also would hate to lose a roll on bad chemicals.

Thanks for the advice!

Jim

glbeas · Sep 2, 2006

D76 1:1 is used one shot. All that extra water helps oxidise the developer faster and the lower concentration helps it exhaust faster. Not worth the trouble of keeping after the darkroom work is done for the day.

Dave Krueger · Sep 2, 2006

Good question. I think the only way you'll know is to try a roll and see if the developer is still good. Gary makes a good point, of course. Usually developers are diluted from the stock solution right before they are used. That's why shelf life is usually only given for stock solutions.

I tend to avoid taking chances with developers. When I find that I have old developer around due to a dry spell in my shooting, I usually dump it out and make fresh stuff. Developers are just to cheap to warant the risk in order to save a few bucks.

dbltap · Sep 2, 2006

Ditto the above. But as an aside, I am working out of a gallon jug of ID 11 stock that I mixed up July last year. I use it 1:3. Developed a roll of Neopan 400 today. No problems. The myth is that this stuff should be no good after 6 months. My Acufine stock also is good after a year. My Xtol seems to be getting a bit weak after a year, though. The Acufine and Xtol are stored in glass adult beverage containers. ID ll in a brown plastic bottle.
Jim

Diaga67 · Sep 2, 2006

Thanks so much for the information. I won't make that mistake again!

Jim

Wendel4 · Sep 2, 2006

I too have had very good experience with D-76 1:1 keeping properties. As long as the bottle is full, room temp, and out of the sun it should be good for months, even pre-diluted.

StephenS · Sep 3, 2006

I only dilute what I need at the time. Plus, I can get an almost exact developer temp easily that way by altering the temp of the water I'm using to dilute. No need for water baths.

But I don't keep unused developer around too long - a few weeks at most. If you let it sit for a period of time you may get inconsistent results and why bother when you can mix up a new gallon for a few bucks?

Gerald Koch · Sep 5, 2006

Kodak says 3 months is the shelf life for unused D-76 diluted 1:1 and that it should be used as a one shot and not replenished.. It is therefore better to mix it as FS and dilute it just before use.

ericdan · May 8, 2016

I mixed up 1 Liter of D-76 stock with warm water last night. Left the bottle open to cool down and fell asleep.
Stock solution was exposed to air for 8 hours. Is this still good to use?

dosilverhalide · May 8, 2016

I have left d 76 stock , for hours in a bucket and it works fine. I like your 35mmlove site, and I bought an Olympus xa2 at the flea market today and everything seems to work on it. J

ericdan · May 8, 2016

dosilverhalide said:
I have left d 76 stock , for hours in a bucket and it works fine. I like your 35mmlove site, and I bought an Olympus xa2 at the flea market today and everything seems to work on it. J

Cool, so maybe I'll run a clip test on it before putting film thru. Have six rolls to develop and don't wanna take chances.
Thanks for the feedback, too. I'm sure you'll love the XA2. I shoot mine every single day!

Gerald C Koch · May 8, 2016

I am curious why you diluted the D-76 in the first place. It would be more practical to dilute it just before use.

Bill Burk · May 8, 2016

Half-full bottle shelf life is 2 weeks. So at worst you started the 2 weeks clock ticking. You couldn't have completely ruined it.

Gerald - ericdan didn't dilute it, that's a 10-year old original poster who did that.

Jim Noel · May 8, 2016

Mixing large quantities of D-76 straight or undiluted is usually a waste of good chemistry. For over 50 years Ihave mixed it by the spoonful as I need it. NO waste!

ericdan · May 8, 2016

Gerald C Koch said:
I am curious why you diluted the D-76 in the first place. It would be more practical to dilute it just before use.

I didn't dilute it. I mixed up 1 liter of stock.

ericdan · May 8, 2016

Jim Noel said:
Mixing large quantities of D-76 straight or undiluted is usually a waste of good chemistry. For over 50 years Ihave mixed it by the spoonful as I need it. NO waste!

1 liter is not a large quantity. It's the smallest package that can be bought now unless you cook up your own D-76.
I have 6 rolls to develop in a patterson tank. 1L is almost perfect for that at 1:1. not much of a waste.

Gerald C Koch · May 8, 2016

ericdan said:
I didn't dilute it. I mixed up 1 liter of stock.

Sorry should have read more carefully.

However to the powers that be, it would be helpful if text were not in a light gray or in a thin font. The problem is contrast. I am sure that older folks like me would appreciate that.

Ronald Moravec · May 12, 2016

Use immediately after diluting. 60 minutes at the outside.

DREW WILEY · May 12, 2016

What do you mean by standard brown bottles? There is a significant difference between amber glass bottles and those thin plastic jugs sold in
camera stores. I suspect you mean the latter, which are much more permeable to oxygen. I wouldn't store any kind of developer in those things.

Shelf Life of D-76 (diluted 1:1)?

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