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  #1  
Old 29th September 2011, 09:41 AM
Peter S Peter S is offline
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Default Mixing Xtol

Yesterday for the first time ever I mixed some Xtol dev. I mixed it in 5litres of deionised water, part A came out of the packet somewhat with the consistency of brown sugar,but somewhat harder, I had to crumble it with my fingers before use, and after dissolving it was almost a dark brown solution. After adding part B it cleared to the colour of light straw.
I bought the dev. in December of last year, have I kept it to long before use, and is part A always a brown colour.
I await the jury's verdict before use.
Peter
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Old 29th September 2011, 09:51 AM
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B&W Neil B&W Neil is offline
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Peter,

I have used a lot of XTOL (and still do) and this doen't sound good to me. Has this pack of XTOL been purchased recently or has it been hanging about for a while somewhere ?

Neil.
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Old 29th September 2011, 10:53 AM
Neil Smith Neil Smith is offline
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It doesn't sound good to me also, I used it the first time at least 6 months ago and it was clear when mixed. And in fact I have one bottle I just opened (I split it into 5 x 1Ltr bottles) and this is still clear after as I said over 6 months.


Neil
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Old 29th September 2011, 10:59 AM
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Mark-NY Mark-NY is offline
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Neil - This is not my experience w/ xtol. The final solution is clear and part A has always been a crystalline powder. Never seen anything dark brown at any stage of mixing. it might be OK but who knows - certainly not worth risking anything important.
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Old 29th September 2011, 01:33 PM
Peter S Peter S is offline
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Thanks for your input gentlemen, I think I will expose a roll of 35mm on nothing of importance and try it, I was concerned at the appearance of part A, hence the question.
Once again Many thanks.
Peter
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Old 29th September 2011, 02:05 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Just to add my experience. Part A does take a while to dissolve. I use a stirrer with a flat bottom and usually "crunch" the crystals to help it dissolve. So nothing strange about a hard crystal structure but as others have said, once part B is added it should go clear.

My understanding with powder developers is that in powder form and while still sealed and unmixed, the powders have a very long life. Might it be that one of your packets wasn't sealed properly at the factory so had deteriorated?

Let us know how development goes.

Mike
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Old 29th September 2011, 06:11 PM
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Martin Aislabie Martin Aislabie is offline
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Both Kodak and Ilford have a 3 year shelf life for their powdered developers.

I now write on the packets when I got them to try and manage my stock

Normally, the product life is far more than the quoted 3 years - but if the packets are not perfectly sealed then the 3 years is meaningless.

I have not used XTOL all that much but both A & B were white and crystalline out of the packets and dissolved very readily, the liquid remaining almost entirely colourless throughout.

To avoid getting old stock, I always buy my Chemicals (both dry and wet) from a busy source - Silverprint, Ag or one of the other FADU sponsors

Martin
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Old 29th September 2011, 07:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Aislabie View Post
Both Kodak and Ilford have a 3 year shelf life for their powdered developers.

I now write on the packets when I got them to try and manage my stock

Normally, the product life is far more than the quoted 3 years - but if the packets are not perfectly sealed then the 3 years is meaningless.

I have not used XTOL all that much but both A & B were white and crystalline out of the packets and dissolved very readily, the liquid remaining almost entirely colourless throughout.

To avoid getting old stock, I always buy my Chemicals (both dry and wet) from a busy source - Silverprint, Ag or one of the other FADU sponsors

Martin
Martin, do Kodak and Ilford actually quote this 3 year shelf life? I would have thought that if kept sealed, in powder form, they would keep for much longer.
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Old 29th September 2011, 08:55 PM
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I've used 10 year old packs of Microphen without problem. But Xtol is another story. Brown is bad! Do you have the packaging? Call Kodak (if they still have someone to answer the phone). They should replace it unless you've had it for some time.
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Old 30th September 2011, 03:22 PM
Tony Marlow Tony Marlow is offline
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Quote:
Martin, do Kodak and Ilford actually quote this 3 year shelf life? I would have thought that if kept sealed, in powder form, they would keep for much longer.
Ilford say in their fact sheet that unopened powder developers, ID11, Microphen and Perceptol, will last indefinitely. Once opened they should be mixed immediately.

Tony
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