Xtol shelf life? Particles floating on bottom of bottles..

Anon Ymous said:

I've mixed Xtol with deionised water and got a very fine precipitate at the bottles. It doesn't cause me much concern though, I can always filter it. My batch wasn't exposed to light either, so that doesn't seem to be a cause. BTW, real distilled water requires a great amount of energy and 2-3$ for 2 US gals is a bit suspicious.

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We can buy 1gal of distilled water (not deionised/demineralized) water here for 1$/gallon (California). Looking at the gallon in front of me, it's labeled as "steam distillation, filtration, and ozonation." The source company seems to be "Advanced H2O LLC."

There seems to be a big difference in price of distilled water in different parts of the world. In Wisconsin at Walmart, I recently paid 85 cents per gallon.

It also has been noted by a knowledgeable poster (Photo Engineer) that clear bottles are OK. However, I still prefer amber glass, old habits die hard.

Anon Ymous said:

I've mixed Xtol with deionised water and got a very fine precipitate at the bottles. It doesn't cause me much concern though, I can always filter it. My batch wasn't exposed to light either, so that doesn't seem to be a cause. BTW, real distilled water requires a great amount of energy and 2-3$ for 2 US gals is a bit suspicious.

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I don't know what's suspicious about it. I pay about 85 cents for a gallon of steam distilled water at my supermarket.

Chazzy said:

I don't know what's suspicious about it. I pay about 85 cents for a gallon of steam distilled water at my supermarket.

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Over here, the price for 4l (~ 1US gal) of deionised water is 0,95€. Steam distilled would cost more, but it depends on the cost of energy too...

I checked also the XTOL stored in the lab, and it had the same let's-call-it-fungus. As I looked at the other bottles I have, it seems to me that the fungus is everywhere: in wetting agent, in print dev, in D-76… The only chemical that lacks it, is fixer. I sure am going to use distilled water instead of tap water the next time I mix anything.

Anyhow, for me the fungus does not seem to alter the developing results.

Whatever the fuzzy stuff is that turns up in XTOL, using pure steam-distilled water does not eliminate it. I have some XTOL mixed just a few days ago with distilled water which is now showing these cloudy floaters...

Ian

Also, I've developed with a small amount of this precipitate and had no issues. You make the call as to how worried you are about it but if you ask me it's most likely oxidized xtol that has fallen from the top of the cap back into the developer when one uses it.

I bought 5L can of distilled water and 1L glass bottles. Made a set of xtol by mixing the stuff straight into the water can, and stirring by agitating the can.



We'll see how this set survives. Temperature in my apartment is 28,5C. I'm planning to use partially filled bottles fairly quickly so I didn't bother with glass balls or anything

Anybody have any resolution to this? I got kind of behind on my development the past couple months and noticed this in my XTOL. It was about 4 months old, stored in the dark in .5 liter water bottles that I've been using a couple of years, and mixed with distilled water. I ran a couple rolls through it and it was fine, but I figured I'd just dump the rest and mix up a new batch in new plastic bottles. I checked the day after, and sure enough the new batch has it too. Mixed in a bucket with a metal stirring rod.

I'm ultimately not worried if it's not an issue and doesn't indicate that something has gone wrong. I'd also rather not have the gunk stick to my negatives...

A few days ago I developed a load of films in my more than one year old replenished Xtol. As usual there were some precipitate on the bottom of the storage tank. I just filtered the volume that I needed with a coffee filter and the developing results were excelent. As long as you keep the container completely filled up and tightly sealed there should not be any problem.

Karl-Gustaf

Just my 2euros worth here - tap water filtered for particles (sludge) not specific chemical elements, stored in 2.5 & 1L plastic bottles sold for chemical storage, cling film under the lid (saran wrap?), stored inside a cupboard. Running replenished with 2.5L bottle as the working developer. Just under one year old and running sweet. Some balck sediment settles to the base of the bottle, just don't shake before use and filtered occasionaly through a dedicated coffee filter. No special water here & looking good. Don't like the look of those "worms" though!

Sim2.

K-G said:

As long as you keep the container completely filled up and tightly sealed there should not be any problem.

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I do, just curious what the fluffies are that float around.

What temperature was the tap water when you mixed the X-Tol? It should be 64-84 F, I believe. If it was colder, maybe all the power did not go into the solution. AFAIK, going hotter than 84 F with the water is of no detriment.

Soda bottles should work fine, so I do not think that is your problem. The PETE plastic is actually a pretty good material for storing photo chemicals. I store most of my chemicals in PETE plastic juice or tea bottles with rubber seals built into the caps.

When I have used X-Tol, I have used it straight or 1:1, so it goes fairly quickly. I never noticed this problem, perhaps because of this.

But I always filter my powder-mixed developer before use; I do it as I pour it from the bottle into the graduate. I put a coffee filter into a funnel and pour slowly. Perhaps this is another reason I never noticed the floaties as being any worse than any other powdered developer. I don't bother with liquid concentrates.

This being said, I don't think the floaties will harm your film if they happen to end up in your working solution. When I used D-76, I often did it by pouring back and reusing until exhaustion, adding time after every so many rolls. There were plenty of floaties then, and no damage to the films.

Water was probably around 78-80 degrees when I mixed. I used distilled water from jugs. Floaties where there the day after mixing, so I doubt it was an issue of me not going through it fast enough.

I had the white floating things my XTOL as well. I just inverted the bottle a few times and they completely dissolved and disappeared. The developer worked fine.
Jeff

I just noticed the floaties.. Thank you APUG, it's member and it's seemingly endless knowledge!! Cause this freaked me out for real.. I was about to cry and pour all of my XTOL out..
ps: I've had the XTOL for a three weeks now stored in completely full soda bottles.

My technique on using xtol and d76 is to collect about 20-30 undeveloped rolls (like when coming back from vacation). I then mix the powder and develop all the films within a week. This way I'm sure the developer is fresh. That's the only way I can be sure that i'm working with quality fresh chemistry.

I had Xtol go bad on me within days but I have to be honest and confess that it was stored in a half-full container. I had to print those negs on very hard paper. Still, the grain structure was very nice.