Xtol Developing newbie, ratios?

[roboboy]

Hello all,

This is probably a silly question but; I just bought some of this:

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/8751752-Kodak-XTOL-Powder-Film-Developer-to-Make-5-Liter

and being completely new to this I have no idea what ratios I should mix the initial 5L if any, and to what effect? Im developing Tri-X 400 shot at 400. Do I just use the initial 5L straight from the mix or do i store that and dilute X amount further when needed?

Dev times from the chart:

Tri-X 400 Xtol stock 400 6.75
Tri-X 400 Xtol stock 400 7
Tri-X 400 Xtol 1+1 400 9
Tri-X 400 Xtol 1+1 400 8.75
Tri-X 400 Xtol 1+2 400 10.5
Tri-X 400 Xtol 1+3 400 12.5

How many rolls would it be doing, because 5L doesn't sound too much considering it cannot be reused. I'm using the 2 reel Paterson tank and that seems like it would hold a fair amount of dev at a time.

Thanks.

 

[Turtle]

Keep the 5l as your stock and then I would advise to start out mixing up a 1:1 mix as you need it. This is a good starting dilution and very nice with TriX.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

The patterson tanks have solution volume printed on the bottom. I beleive it takes 20 oz for two 35mm rolls. Be careful with Xtol, it requires at least 125ml of the stock solution for EACH roll of film processed according to Kodak's Xtol datasheet. That means you need 250ml of stock solution (that is 500ml of 1+1 developer) for two rolls. You can do that in your tank if you do 1+1 at turtle recommended, but do not use higher dilutions.

 

[Photon42]

If you can, use filtered water to set up the stock solution. Then store it in dark bottles in the fridge. I went for a one 2l, two 1l and two .5l bottles, and use a protection gas (Protectan). This way I was hoping to minimize the aging process. Mine was still going strong after 15 month. Dilute to 1+1 just before development, as it has been said already by Chris and Turtle.

Regards
Ivo

 

[dfoo]

I mix the 5L pack into 2.5L for more convenient storage... then when I dilute for developing I obviously add half the required amount of XTOL.

 

[slm]

I read you need a minimum of 100ml per roll of 35mm film. I believe the effect of dilution causes an increase in grain but also in sharpness.
I just developed Arista EDU Ultra 100, for 10mins at 1:2 dilution and I'm very happy with the results. You could also check out here for more info.

Cheers

 

[venchka]

I concur with all of the above. I store Xtol in a wine bladder form wine in a box in the refrigerator. My last batch was working fine after 8 months. I think, but would have to verify, that the Paterson System 4 2 35mm reel/1 120 reel tank holds 800ml with room left over for agitation movement of the Xtol. Use that much working solution. You want full coverage of the film. You also want full working strength of the developer. Developer is cheap. Photos are priceless. Don't skimp on developer.

Personally, I like Xtol diluted 1:3 with continuous agitation.

 

[Trius]

Wayne: Glad you tried the box wine storage! I haven't bothered with refrigeration, but I'm not in Texas. 😉

 

[Gray Fox]

I may be technically/manual dexterity challenged, but I have tried refilling a wine box bladder to no avail. How is it done? Thanks, GF

 

[ljosha]

I use 1+1 dilution with Tri-X. I've been using this combo just for a couple of months now and I am still confused about developing times. Kodak recommends 9 min for 1+1 EI 400, normal contrast. I find my 8 min developed negatives a bit dense. I need to use 2 grade paper to get them printed normally. My enlarger has condenced head.

Perhaps 5.5 min EI 200 will be ok for contrast scenes (sunshine) and about 7 min EI 400 for cloudy days.

I guess that is a personal preference. I almost always find manufacturer's published times too long. In some cases 30% cut is needed. That is for printing, for scanning 8-9 min is pretty ok.

 

[wgerrard]

What Kind of Light Affects Xtol?

What Kind of Light Affects Xtol?

Posslbly a dumb question, but perhaps not: Is Xtol affected by any and all kinds of light, or just natural sunlight? If the latter, I think I'll stash my translucent 5-liter jug of the stuff in the fridge.

 

[topoxforddoc]

Another vote for 1:1 dilution. I agree that stock solution keeps for at least 6 months.

Charlie

 

[Todd.Hanz]

1:1 is the ratio I use most but have had great results with 1:2 and 1:3 Xtol. With Tri-X try Xtol straight up once in a while, pretty nice as well.

Todd

 

[JohnTF]

1:1, I prefer to store stock in ground glass stoppered bottles, but Saran wrap under any screw cap really helps, much denser than other brands, and tested down the years to work. I used to sell bottles and caps, even the best leaked air, without the Saran wrap.

The collapsible cubitainers used to be sold by my camera shop, the box kept most of the light out, but it was in a darkroom. ;-)

The bottles the photo shop get with the RA4 chemicals from Kodak are high density plastic, and the bottles were sold by B&H years ago.

Unfortunately, I gave away my bottle capper so I cannot use those beer bottles with crown caps. ;-)

Regards, John

 

[venchka]

Thanks Earl

Thanks Earl

Wayne: Glad you tried the box wine storage! I haven't bothered with refrigeration, but I'm not in Texas. 😉

Thanks for the tip Earl. I have a friend who drinks wine faster than I use Xtol. I have a good supply. I keep all my chemicals in the fridge. It makes coping with 28C tap water easier.

I may be technically/manual dexterity challenged, but I have tried refilling a wine box bladder to no avail. How is it done? Thanks, GF

Very carefully. Use a table kinfe to pry the spigot out. I can only get the think out once. When the wine is gone. I have never had any luck getting it out after the Xtol is gone.

These will work and easier to refill.

http://www.survivalsolutions.com/store/product41.html

 

[kossi008]

I read you need a minimum of 100ml per roll of 35mm film. I believe the effect of dilution causes an increase in grain but also in sharpness.
Cheers

100 ml per film is also what I heard, and what I've been using to no ill effects so far. It means 50 rolls of film from the pack and also that I can go up to 1+3 in my small (0.5 liter) tank for a single roll.

The other supposed effect of higher solution is a slight boost of film speed, but I haven't confirmed that yet, as I just started out w/ the higher dilutions.

Oh, and I mix mine to double concentration (i.e. in 2.5 liters of de-ionized water). Storage is in black plastic bottles with protective gas and no refrigeration. So far, I've been able to verify a shelf-life of 13 months (that's when it was used up).

 

[Tim Gray]

I always mix mine up with distilled water then pour into 10 .5 L water bottles (Dasani was on sale when I needed bottles). The bottles just go in the closet. It's kept so far up to around 6 months, which is how long it takes me to go through it. Never had any problems with the 3 or 4 packs of XTOL I've gone through using this method.

 

[venchka]

RE: Increased grain with higer dilutions.

Don't worry. Be happy. You'll need a microscope and perfectly controlled negatives to find the increased grain. If it's even there.

Xtol 1:3. No worries.

 

[Trius]

RE: Increased grain with higer dilutions.

Don't worry. Be happy. You'll need a microscope and perfectly controlled negatives to find the increased grain. If it's even there.

Xtol 1:3. No worries.

Great tip, now I know. Thanks, Bubba! 😉

 

[roboboy]

Hey,

Thanks everyone for the info.

I just dev'd 2 rolls of TX400 in Xtol 1:1, they look pretty good but I really do not know the correct method of cutting the strips for sleeving, managing a huge roll of 37-38 exposures whilst cutting and feeding into the sleeves i think i might have put a couple of scratches into them, I'm about to scan them, i'll see how they turn out but they look really nice already.

Also with the fixer, I'm using Ilford Rapid Fix @ double the time for it to "clear" the leader, but how clear is "clear"? at 1:4 it was around 2 minutes to clear for me meaning a 4 minute fix.

I stored my Xtol stock in a water bladder because I didn't want to go through the process of washing a wine bladder (thanks trius for the idea).