Shelf Life.

Rolleiflexible · Apr 5, 2023

In emptying out my NYC darkroom, I came across:

1. Unopened one-liter bottles of TF-4 fixer, likely purchased in 2010.

2. Refrigerated Ilford Delta 3200 film, in 120 rolls, expired in 2010.

Any thoughts as to whether either product is still useable?

My intended uses:

The TF-4 would be used to clear kallitypes.

I want to shoot the Delta 3200 at EI 800 (its true rating is ISO 1000) and stand process it in Rodinal.

Paul Howell · Apr 5, 2023

Not sure about the T4, 14 years is a long time, my guess is that the Delta 3200 is still good with some loss of film speed.

Paul Howell · Apr 5, 2023

Sould have added, just open the T4, mix it, the test a strip of film to see if it clears.

Don_ih · Apr 5, 2023

If the T4 is not cloudy, it should be fine. Cloudy means it's sulphuring out.

albada · Apr 5, 2023

My experience with expired Tmax-400 (both TMY and TMY2) is that it had high fog. I suspect the same to be true of your film: It will probably be decent at 800, but expect fog.

Mark

Sirius Glass · Apr 5, 2023

Rolleiflexible said:
In emptying out my NYC darkroom, I came across:

1. Unopened one-liter bottles of TF-4 fixer, likely purchased in 2010.

2. Refrigerated Ilford Delta 3200 film, in 120 rolls, expired in 2010.

Any thoughts as to whether either product is still useable?

My intended uses:

The TF-4 would be used to clear kallitypes.

I want to shoot the Delta 3200 at EI 800 (its true rating is ISO 1000) and stand process it in Rodinal.

The TF-4 lasts forever, test it or toss it.
Keep the film. I have older frozen film that still works as new.

MarkS · Apr 5, 2023

TF-4 is often cloudy. Look for yellow mud at he bottom the bottle. That's metallic sulfur, and is the sign that the fixer is dead.
The film might be usable, but expect some speed loss; which makes it a "why bother" proposition.

john_s · Apr 5, 2023

Alkaline fixers last well. I have Agfa FX-Universal, pH around 7.5, from around the same year that's still ok (no cloudiness, sediment). The TF-4 might be a bit harder to judge as the concentrate apparently has some undisolved component which dissolves readily on dilution to working strength.

Don_ih · Apr 5, 2023

At any rate, it takes a couple of minutes to see if it clears a bit of film.

Maris · Apr 5, 2023

My batch of 120 format Ilford Delta 3200 has an expiry date of April 2020 and has always been refrigerated. It is still useable and I shoot it at EI = 800. BUT the base fog has risen to 0.5. Fortunately the fog is uniform and I can print right through it but the negatives sure look very dark.

albireo · Apr 6, 2023

Rolleiflexible said:
I want to shoot the Delta 3200 at EI 800 (its true rating is ISO 1000) and stand process it in Rodinal.

Why stand? It's a suboptimal way to use Rodinal.

Don_ih · Apr 6, 2023

albireo said:
Why stand? It's a suboptimal way to use Rodinal.

Some people like to do that.

albireo · Apr 6, 2023

Don Heisz said:
Some people like to do that.

Don, have you tried Delta 3200 at 800EI in Rodinal 1+25, normally inverted, 2 times per minute? Sure, it's 10 minutes of my life dedicated to gently inverting a tank but oh boy - those negatives.

Don_ih · Apr 6, 2023

albireo said:
Don, have you tried Delta 3200 at 800EI in Rodinal 1+25, normally inverted, 2 times per minute? Sure, it's 10 minutes of my life dedicated to gently inverting a tank but oh boy - those negatives.

I only use Rodinal at 1:25, actually. I tried 1:50 and 1:100 but didn't like the results.

I've never tried Delta 3200 - never have a situation for it. I've had a couple of rolls in my freezer for years.

Shelf Life.

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