Verichrome Pan, Xtol Times and Potential Base Fog Problem

I once had the above film to develop but wasn't using Xtol then but it is now what I use. I now have another Verichrome Pan and fortunately my search has turned up times for Xtol from some APUGers as well as the Kodak Verichrome Pan tech specs which again was graciously offered here by a member. However in view of its age base fog may be high as it was last time so I'd like to try developing it at a lower temperature than my usual 20 degrees C.

I note that the Xtol chart goes as low as 18 degrees C but no lower. Does anyone here know if Xtol is capable of working properly at a lower temp and what this might be? Is, say, 15/16C OK and is the evidence good that a two or three degree centigrade drop from 18 is worth a try to reduce base fog?

Thanks

pentaxuser

I would strongly advise processing in something like HC-110 or Dk-50 1:1. Xtol has not seemed the best choice with older style emulsions. DK-50 1:1 has worked exceptionally well on 25 year old Plus-X where Xtol looked terrible no matter how it was used.

What is the age of this film and development is not just about temperature, but temperature/time relationship + very many other factors.

Processing old film at low temperature has been discussed before on APUG. There is no real proof that this method is any better than conventional processing.

Gerald C Koch said:

Processing old film at low temperature has been discussed before on APUG. There is no real proof that this method is any better than conventional processing.

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Thanks all. I thought I had seen a reference to a 1942 article by Mees on this in which he allegedly said that there was a correlation between an improvement in base fog and lower temperature but further research gave me a rebuttal on what certainly seems to be good grounds by you, Gerald.

Certainly with a modern developer like Xtol there appears to be no scientific evidence that lowering developer temperature solves the problem of higher base fog in old films

My usual 20C it is then

pentaxuser

The few rolls of this lovely film that I've shot has expired either in the late 1960s or in the 1970s. I've always shot it at box speed (ASA-125). For developing the first roll I went with standing developing in Rodinal, with excellent results.

But moving along with Xtol, I've done most of my rolls in Xtol, 1+2 for 7.5 minutes at 20C/68F again with great results. There was some base fog on some of the shots but nothing really ugly.

Some 127 in A Brownie Holiday

And 120 in a Rolleiflex

And some more in a Pentax 645