Expired D-76

[Melvin]

I have a bag of D-76 that has an expiration date of 2/08. Does anyone here know if it's safe to use. Just thought I'd ask first before I mix it up and try it.

 

[Al Kaplan]

I'd go ahead and try it. The stuff doesn't stay perfect until that date and then suddenly DIE. Cut off a foot or so from a roll with maybe 6 exposed frames and soup it. Trim a new leader on the film in the cassette.

 

[xayraa33]

I have used D-76 that was many years old in its unopened package with no problems.

 

[sevo]

If the bag is sealed, a year or even five won't matter - if it isn't, it will have been dead long before the official expiration date. Bags will eventually decompose and get holes, but the official date is pretty conservative. Canned D-76 is pretty much eternal, I still use what is left of a crate full of D-76 cans I picked up for cheap in the mid eighties.

Sevo

 

[Melvin]

Great! Thanks all, just what I needed to know.

 

[Tom A]

With the "bagged" developers, time is inconsequential - as long as there are no holes or tears in it. If the powder feels "loose" when you hold the bag, it is probably fine. The various components in D76 are "hygroscopic" (absorbs moisture) and will go hard it moisture has entered the bag. That's when you just throw it out! I have used bags of D76 that are 10 years out of expiry date, with no ill effects - and I still have a couple of the cans with D76 around - from the 70's. Oxygen and residual moisture in the air are the biggest "killers" of powdered developers.