Xtol, again

[Melvin J Bramley]

Does Xtol just stop working or does it slowly produce under developed images?

 

[F4U]

Never used it. After all the horror stories of it going suddenly bad, I wouldn't touch it. If that's of any kind of constructive assessment at all...

 

[retina_restoration]

Does Xtol just stop working or does it slowly produce under developed images?

Xtol often fails quite suddenly — it can work one day and then a couple days later you get blank film. Always, always test it before using it once it's more than a few weeks old.

Never used it. After all the horror stories of it going suddenly bad, I wouldn't touch it. If that's of any kind of constructive assessment at all...

Such issues are entirely avoidable as long as you test it before using it on an important film.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Never used it. After all the horror stories of it going suddenly bad, I wouldn't touch it. If that's of any kind of constructive assessment at all...

Your last sentence certainly should override the first three. It wasn't that Xtol was bad, it was the way it was made or who made it that cause the stigma about Xtol. The problem seems to be at rest now. If you haven't tried it you are missing out on a great film developer. But the truth is I no longer use Xtol, but I do use XT-3 from Adox, which is the same thing. Adox XT-3 mixes easier and has no "sudden death" problems that I have heard of.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I used it religiously it since it came out in the 90's, until I switched over to Pyrocat-HD around 2003, and still use it occasionally (XTol-R). I've never had it go bad on me...except when Sino Promise took it over, and put out a defective product. I still have a couple of bags from the replacements. Once I finish that, I will just go to an XTol variant, like Mytol.

 

[retina_restoration]

I used it religiously it since it came out in the 90's, until I switched over to Pyrocat-HD around 2003, and still use it occasionally (XTol-R). I've never had it go bad on me...except when Sino Promise took it over, and put out a defective product. I still have a couple of bags from the replacements. Once I finish that, I will just go to an XTol variant, like Mytol.

Andy, consider also Crawley's FX-55, which can be made up easily from two stock solutions plus a weight of ascorbate mixed in just before use.
I keep a 1% solution of Phenidone in Glycol and use that instead of weighing dry Phenidone for the mixing of working solution — it makes things a bit faster and more precise. The nice thing about FX-55 is that the alkali + sulfite stock Part A lasts a long time, and you can avoid entirely the failure of Mytol due to the Fenton reaction.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Andy, consider also Crawley's FX-55, which can be made up easily from two stock solutions plus a weight of ascorbate mixed in just before use.
I keep a 1% solution of Phenidone in Glycol and use that instead of weighing dry Phenidone for the mixing of working solution — it makes things a bit faster and more precise. The nice thing about FX-55 is that the alkali + sulfite stock Part A lasts a long time, and you can avoid entirely the failure of Mytol due to the Fenton reaction.

FX-55 is a great developer! Thanks for reminding me about it!

 

[AZD]

I started using Xtol replenished once I began tray developing 8x10, but now use it for 35mm and 120 as well. For 8x10 the amount of developer needed would be problematic.

So far so good. The last batch was mixed over a year ago and is still good. The replenished liter has been used over 40 times now without fail. I accidentally dumped the last liter during a moment of foolishness, but it was doing fine. I simply keep everything in a cool, dark basement. I run a clip test (35mm leader trimming from my bulk loads) before I do anything. Not to say that it couldn’t die, but so far so good.

Xtol-R has been delivering everything I want from a developer. My 8x10 negatives (Foma 400) contact print beautifully with little effort.

 

[Cholentpot]

I started using Xtol replenished once I began tray developing 8x10, but now use it for 35mm and 120 as well. For 8x10 the amount of developer needed would be problematic.

So far so good. The last batch was mixed over a year ago and is still good. The replenished liter has been used over 40 times now without fail. I accidentally dumped the last liter during a moment of foolishness, but it was doing fine. I simply keep everything in a cool, dark basement. I run a clip test (35mm leader trimming from my bulk loads) before I do anything. Not to say that it couldn’t die, but so far so good.

Xtol-R has been delivering everything I want from a developer. My 8x10 negatives (Foma 400) contact print beautifully with little effort.

Xtol-R has been my go to developer since I was taught about it on this site. It's just good stuff. When you have a lot, or a little film to develop it just works. I have a five roll tank that the 1 liters is perfect for.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Your last sentence certainly should override the first three. It wasn't that Xtol was bad, it was the way it was made or who made it that cause the stigma about Xtol. The problem seems to be at rest now. If you haven't tried it you are missing out on a great film developer. But the truth is I no longer use Xtol, but I do use XT-3 from Adox, which is the same thing. Adox XT-3 mixes easier and has no "sudden death" problems that I have heard of.

I should have mentioned that I too use/used Xtol and XT-3 in replenished form. It was one reason I went to Xtol in the first place. I was using an old Yankee 4X5 film developing tank and it would suck through gobs of developer. Xtol-R was a gift from the photo Gods for sure. Plus, it gave me excellent negatives with little effort. Luckily I have never had a problem with either Xtol or Adox XT-3. Knock on wood!

 

[mshchem]

Never had a single problem since it first appeared. I ALWAYS use demineralized (RO) water.

XTOL in the Adox version XT-3 is so pleasant to mix, less dust and easier to dissolve.

I use a small lab propeller mixer for my mixing of powders and a microwave oven to warm up the pure water to the 85°F . Makes mixing XTOL or Bromophen effortless.

Adox Rodinal or their other liquid developers are so easy to use.

Sudden death (I think it's nonsense) is usually bad water, bad mixing or a bad manufacturing thing.

XT-3 (and yes it looks like lemonade) if you want to have a go.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I have used replenished XTOL for years and a single bottle of replenished XTOL for over a year. As with any developer, a quick film test is always advised.

 

[Melvin J Bramley]

I have used replenished XTOL for years and a single bottle of replenished XTOL for over a year. As with any developer, a quick film test is always advised.

I did some film clip tests last night and concluded that Xtol failure is NOT my problem.
Yet to figure out what is!

 

[VinceInMT]

Coincidentally, I just did a test roll the other day to check out some stock XTOL that I had mixed 2 years ago. I used some FP4+ and it turned out OK. Maybe a bit flat but OK. I tossed it and made up a new batch and ran another test.

The first image is from the old developer and the second image is from the new. Both are on FP4+. These are scan of the negatives, no post processing. The images were shot on separate days so the lighting was a bit different.

 

[radialMelt]

Just processed a couple rolls with XTOL from a 5L batch I mixed up about 11mo ago and stored in a wine bag. 1+1 dilution. Processed perfectly.

 

[dynachrome]

If I developed film more frequently I would probably use Clauton F76+ or the Arista equivalent most of the time. It's also a phenidone based developer. Late last year or early this year I got a large supply of sodium sulfite and metol. I will be using D-23 most of the time and mixing it up as needed. I have a few magnetic mixers with heaters to make things easier.