XTOL strength

[Lauffray]

Hey guys

Yesterday I found three full 1L bottles of mixed XTOL with no preparation date on them, they're in stoppered bottles, in a black bag.
Is there a quick developer strength test I can do (besides developing a dummy roll), kind of like the fixer test, to know if they're still good to use ? 3L of XTOL is a lot to throw away

 

[Godfrey]

Hey guys

Yesterday I found three full 1L bottles of mixed XTOL with no preparation date on them, they're in stoppered bottles, in a black bag.
Is there a quick developer strength test I can do (besides developing a dummy roll), kind of like the fixer test, to know if they're still good to use ? 3L of XTOL is a lot to throw away

I'd sacrifice a roll of film and do a clip test:

- Shoot a series of exposure tests, about ten frames each, rolling over a range of ten stops exposure with a Black, White, Grey test target.

- Process a third of a roll in developer from each bottle to the spec for the film speed

- See which frame meets the exposure rating.

If it's about nominal, the XTOL is likely fresh and fine to use. If it's well under nominal, it's likely near to exhausted.

G

 

[ath]

When I develop with XTOL I do a sanity check first. When diluting the XTOL 1+1 I place a drop on the exposed leader I clipped off from the 35mm film. The drop should turn the leader black in 10 minutes or so. The subsequent use of the leader is to determine the fixing time via clearing time.
This test should tell you if your XTOL is dead or not. It will not tell you if the activity has gone down.
Maybe a first step and if OK a subsequent less important roll (or clip) to check the activity.
Check all three bottles.

 

[--s]

a nice test, ath, i didn´t know it can be that simple.
i´ll do so when my xtol is older than 6 months, as this is the guaranteed shelf life in "full, tightly closed containers" according to kodak.
afaik, xtol always dies a sudden death, without losing strength before.

 

[ath]

afaik, xtol always dies a sudden death, without losing strength before.

Not always. When stored properly XTOL keeps quite long but with a significant loss in activity:
http://www.apug.org/forums/forum37/102289-keeping-properties-xtol.html

 

[clayne]

I've used 6+ month old XTOL without issue - but I *did* leader-test (as any sane individual should do, regardless of developer).

I use the accordion containers, but XTOL is still dealing with the unneeded 1L pack bad-rap issues that it doesn't deserve in this day in age.

 

[--s]

today, i´m the fool. xtol mixed in september and always stored in full and tightly closed bottles gave me a blank roll. two weeks ago a roll was absolutely perfect. excuse me, sir, i call this a sudden death.

 

[k__43]

I had 1 lost roll w/ a batch of XTOL that went bad. I'm still sure the stuff looked different - slightly yellow and I was suspicious. I still hate myself for not making a quick test with the film leader.
AFAIK the developer works or doesn't .. it's a sudden death with not fading in between.