Very old film developer and fixer - will they work?

So I've been rooting around a darkroom at my university, and I've found (among other things) three packs of sealed Kodak film chemicals. Specifically, one 99g bag of D-76 concentrate, one 397g bag of the same, and a 170g bag of Kodak general-purpose fixer. Along with these, I found a gallon jug of D-76 developer in liquid form from 2002 (so I assume these packs must be at least that old). Kind of exciting to see what the results may be. Now, I've tried inspecting these bags, and aside from a barcode on the large bag of D-76, there's nothing indicating what year these are from. I'm kind of curious as to whether or not they'll work, and what kind of effects they'll have on my film and paper developing.

Does anyone know how I can date these? They're still sealed, and I'd much rather experiment with them than just throw them out. Should I shoot a test roll and try and develop it? If so, what would be the best way to do it?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

25 Aug 2010

Tom:

The sealed bags of D-76 and fix should be fine to use. I have used sealed bags of D-76 that are older then the ones you have will good results. The jug of liquid concentrate I cannot speak to because of lack of experience. In any case experiment with these. They should work well for you.

Regards,
Darwin

Welcome to APUG.

Dump the made up D76, the packed chemistry should be fine. Modern packaging is a vast improvement over previous types an it's unlikely there's any problems after 8 years, so give it a go, test with an unimportant film.

Ian

2002 can be considered 'fresh' - excitement potential is zilch.

I have used D-76 in old cans marked 59¢ in grease pencil and it still works. If the seal isn't broken and there isn't any moisture in the mix the stuff should be good for a millenium or two.

2002? Very old?
VERY OLD????

I made my very first print in a darkroom in about 1969... and I'm one of the youngsters here :confused:

What are you trying to say, exactly??? :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

2002 is positively new by my reckoning. My darkroom is full of chemicals that old and older. If a packet is sealed and contains powder it will probably be absolutely fine. Concentrated liquid would be dodgy (unless it is Rodinal) and diluted chemicals are not only dead but they have probably ruined the bottle they're in!

As Ian Says - dump the gallon of D76 - use the rest.

Thanks for the help! I'm actually kind of upset that the concentrate is too "new" for me to experiment with, but oh well. Thanks anyway!