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Using 1 year old stock solution developer (D76)

JBoontje

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Sep 19, 2009
Messages
48
Location
The Netherla
Format
35mm
I'm sorry if this question has been asked before.

When I started developing film for the first time, I mixed up about 4 liters of D76 in two tightly closed jugs. I developed one roll of film with a part of this solution, and never opened it after that. I did not really have room to keep this film developing-thing going, so I completely quit it.

We are going to move, and the new house might have some more room for me to start developing film again. I'm still stuck with the two jugs of D76, which will be 1 year old in December. Kodak says that the storage life for Stock Solution in a Tightly Closed Bottle like mine is 6 months... which means the developer became unusable. http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/j78/j78.pdf

What do you think? would it be a problem to use my old developer? Or should I stay safe and buy another pack of D76 to mix it all over again?
 
I would sanity test it on a bit of scrap film. If it turns the film black, and the solution doesn't look super dark, then I would use it with confidence. That's just me though. Developer is fairly cheap after all.
 
If it looks like a bottle of clear plain water, it will work fairly well. I have a test bottle that is older than yours, it is still water white, but I haven't done a comparison test with it in a while.
 
Shoot a test roll and process it, if it works good, if not replace the D-76, at worst you will be out a roll of film and have to replace your D-76.

I have heard spine chilling tales of how people have stored D-76 in heat, cold, and in open containers and it still worked just fine. In fact it was a story of a person that stored stock D-76 in plastic jugs in a "garden shed" in the UK that saw temps of over 100°F and almost freezing for over two years without problems that made me decide to process my own film because I wasn't sure I would be able to use a gallon of D-76 in less than 6 months. You may not be able to produce pro quality work with it, but you should be able to make a good quality image.
 
Whoa, think about this for a minute. How much does a roll of film cost? How much does a gallon of D-76 cost? Hint, a gallon's worth of D-76 doesn't cost much more than a roll of premium B&W film. What the heck are you saving if it turns out to be bad? Throw it out! If it turns out to be bad, and it likely has lost at least a bit of potency by now, and you waste a roll of film, you've already blown almost the cost of a gallon of fresh developer. Why bother?
 
If your time is valuable and the pictures you take are important, don't take a chance. Just toss it and buy new developer. It's cheaper than your time and images. If, on the other hand, you like to tinker and have the time to experiment, then go ahead and test a roll and then let us know if your old developer is any good.

Dave
 
If it was me, I know I would much prefer moving empty jugs than jugs full of old D76.

As others have said, developer isn't expensive.
 
JBoontje said:
What do you think? would it be a problem to use my old developer? Or should I stay safe and buy another pack of D76 to mix it all over again?
Click to expand...

Because D-76 is not expensive but also not for free and new mixing also takes time, I would say, shoot a few pics for testing and cut them as a short strip from your film roll. Develop it and look if it the developer still works well. If your bottles were really tight, then I bet it is as good as shortly after mixing. Nevertheless the D-76 could work a little more rapid. That means you could get a little denser negatives with the normal time, because D-76 becomes even stronger when stored for a long time.

Best,
Andreas
 
As you are moving house I would suggest to restart your film developing in the new abode with dev mixed from the water supply of the new house.

Then if there are issues with the results at least any new tests can be conducted without changing the variable of the water used in the stock/diluted developer.

Additionaly, and I agree with what has been posted previously, it's easier to move with empty bottles rather than gallons of liquid, dev is relatively cheap - fresh start/fresh dev.

Invest in a new pack, go on.....

Sim2.
 
You know, I forgot about the new water because you are moving, if you were staying put I would say use it, but your moving, I change my vote to toss it and start fresh.
 
I have done tests with developer stored in 8 oz bottles, sealed. I did a 6 exposures a monthe for 8 months with a new bottle of developer. Absolutely same for 6 months, then it drop off slowly. Enough to be off a paper grade. And it did not look brown either at 8 mo.

Kodak is right on the money 6 mo for perfect consistency. Where they are wrong is a half full bottle being good for 6 weeks. BS. It changes significantly in a week, for to hot and then dies slowly. You can not compensate.

Only prints of a test target or densitometer readings are accurate enough to psysically see if a developer is working. A few drops prove absolutely nothing. Except that it is alkaline, not base.

Toss it and flush the bottles , make a new batch, and store in small one time use glass bottles. Use for 6 mo, then toss.
 

Makes no sense at all. It takes maybe 15 minutes to mix up and bottle a gallon of D-76. Takes twice that long just to make the test. Far longer if you include drying time, and you can't judge a negative when it's still wet just as you can't judge a wet print. The gelatin will shrink as it dries and the apparent density will change.

Year old D-76 will not be more active than fresh D-76 either. Using an old formulation of D-76, one could experience an increase in activity shortly after mixing. This settled down after the first day or two. After that the developer was stable. I have not experienced any increased activity with the currently available formulation from Kodak.

I have used D-76 that was older than the published shelf life on occasion and sometimes it was OK, other times not so much. Logical conclusion? Results are unpredictable and inconsistent.
 
Do it or don't. Just don't do it on film that has anything worth processing. Well, I guess that kinda limits things a bit. You wouldn't be processing any other film now, huh.

Hey, it's not worth it. And what if it gets everywhere somehow during the move. I know, I know. But anything can happen, Murphy.
 
I had a 2 liter bottle of D-76 that was forgotten and sat in a dark cabinet for little over a year. When I found it it was still clear so I did a snip test. Worthless! Completely bad. Time wasted. Buy new and mix after you move.
 
Lots of replies... Thats why I love APUG, always someone out there to help a hand.

I think I´ll just start fresh. My rolls of film, even though I´ve only got about 3 exposed rolls of Tri-X, are too important for me to experiment with.

How about Fixer? A tiny amount of a 1L bottle of my Ilford Rapid Fixer is gone.
*Edit*: the fixer is also one year old.
 
Any old rapid fixer will do. They're all the same really. I use Kodak's "Flexicolor Fixer and Replenisher" because I can get it in large quantities very inexpensively.
 
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