XTOL Replenishment, Seasoned Developer Amount

Dan Rainer · Thursday at 11:57 AM

I've been using XTOL 1:1 for a while, but more and more I've found myself gravitating towards a stock XTOL replenishment system. Obviously the larger the preparation of seasoned developer, the better (slight variations in replenishment amount and byproduct residue will have have a diminished impact at larger scales). I have a 1x, 2x, and 3x 35mm Paterson tank and almost never use more than one liter of developer. Currently I have my replenished XTOL stored in a 1L amber glass bottle. Is this sufficient, or should I upgrade to a 1 gallon datatainer?

Andrew O'Neill · Thursday at 12:13 PM

I believe that larger volume of Xtol-R is more reliable/consistent....and that is what I have been using for the past few years, but if the 1 litre amount has been working for you, why change it? @MattKing is an expert in regards to Xtol-R, so he'll be able to give you a much more thorough answer.

mshchem · Thursday at 12:41 PM

I agree with Andrew, if you get good results no need to go to a larger "tank volume". I ran a 2 L soda bottle volume of XTOL when I was using 1/2 US gallon Kodak hard rubber tanks for sheet film and Paterson tanks for roll film. It worked perfectly!!!

Dan Rainer · Thursday at 12:47 PM

Andrew O'Neill said:
I believe that larger volume of Xtol-R is more reliable/consistent....and that is what I have been using for the past few years, but if the 1 litre amount has been working for you, why change it?

mshchem said:
I agree with Andrew, if you get good results no need to go to a larger "tank volume".

I've only been using replenished XTOL for a few months, and while it's working fine so far, I want to make sure I'm not setting myself up for headaches down the road.

MattKing · Thursday at 1:04 PM

My container of seasoned XTol is a half US gallon container which I fill to near the brim, so the actual volume is close to 2 liters.
One thing I always do to help support consistency is to always use the maximum recommended amount of seasoned developer in each tank I use - usually 1 litre in the 1 litre Paterson Super System tank.
And after each round of development, the amount of replenisher gets added to the working strength bottle, before that bottle is topped up with the developer that I have just used to develop film. I find it handy to have a large measuring graduate - the 2 litre Paterson graduate is great - as an intermediate vessel for recently used developer - empty the developing tank into that graduate, and then when it is convenient pour from that graduate into the working strength storage bottle until it is topped up.
I don't know whether "expert" is the right designation for me, but I've done this now for a fairly long time, with a decent amount of film, and paid close attention to how to make it work well as well as the information that is out there.

Dan Rainer · Thursday at 1:30 PM

Thanks Matt, this is super helpful. I'll probably ended up going to a 1/2 gallon or two liter jug and using my seasoned liter with a liter of fresh stock.

MattKing said:
I don't know whether "expert" is the right designation for me, but I've done this now for a fairly long time, with a decent amount of film, and paid close attention to how to make it work well as well as the information that is out there.

Labels aside, I've seen your contributions on other threads about this topic and really appreciate your insight

Sirius Glass · Thursday at 1:40 PM

Dan Rainer said:
I've been using XTOL 1:1 for a while, but more and more I've found myself gravitating towards a stock XTOL replenishment system. Obviously the larger the preparation of seasoned developer, the better (slight variations in replenishment amount and byproduct residue will have have a diminished impact at larger scales). I have a 1x, 2x, and 3x 35mm Paterson tank and almost never use more than one liter of developer. Currently I have my replenished XTOL stored in a 1L amber glass bottle. Is this sufficient, or should I upgrade to a 1 gallon datatainer?

I replenish with stock XTOL. XTOL 1:1 approximated replenish XTOL. Just stick to stock XTOL added to replenished XTOL [not 1:1] and you will be saving money while getting the advantages of replenishment.

K-G · Thursday at 2:35 PM

I posted this in another Xtol thread a few weeks ago and I think it can be used here also. I mix my Xtol with de-ionized water , I keep the replenished solution in a 10 L jar in order to keep the volume/surface relationship as high as possible , I fill it to the top and let it bleed off so there isn't the smallest air bubble left. Then I close tightly and I keep it in the dark. I started this batch sometime during 2016 and it still works fine. Before using the solution I filter it through a coffee-filter ( disposable !!!!! ) in order to get rid of some junk that always forms.

Karl-Gustaf

Karl-Gustaf Hellqvist

MattKing · Thursday at 2:49 PM

I agree with the recommendation for careful choice of mixing water. I happen to use grocery store bought distilled water, which unfortunately comes most economically and conveniently in 4 litre containers around here.
4 litres is, however, enough to use for initially mixing in the dry chemicals. One just needs to source that extra litre ...
I doubt it is necessary to store it in the dark, but out of direct sunlight and in reasonably temperate temperature conditions is important. I expect that if I had more room, I probably would use a larger container for the working solution.
In my case, I do my filtering from time to time, but usually I filter the developer that has just been used. Mostly I expect the filtering removes gelatin that came from the film.
FWIW, I also pre-rinse before developing the films. I have no idea if that helps or hurts or makes any difference at all. But if I change my process, I might bring on bad luck

Dan Rainer · Thursday at 3:03 PM

K-G said:
I posted this in another Xtol thread a few weeks ago and I think it can be used here also. I mix my Xtol with de-ionized water , I keep the replenished solution in a 10 L jar in order to keep the volume/surface relationship as high as possible , I fill it to the top and let it bleed off so there isn't the smallest air bubble left. Then I close tightly and I keep it in the dark. I started this batch sometime during 2016 and it still works fine. Before using the solution I filter it through a coffee-filter ( disposable !!!!! ) in order to get rid of some junk that always forms.

Karl-Gustaf

Karl-Gustaf Hellqvist

What size tanks/trays are you working with? 10L sounds very heavy and unwieldy, at least for my workflow. I develop 1-2 times per week on average.

Dan Rainer · Thursday at 3:09 PM

MattKing said:
I agree with the recommendation for careful choice of mixing water. I happen to use grocery store bought distilled water, which unfortunately comes most economically and conveniently in 4 litre containers around here.

I use distilled grocery store water for my chemistry too

MattKing said:
FWIW, I also pre-rinse before developing the films. I have no idea if that helps or hurts or makes any difference at all. But if I change my process, I might bring on bad luck

I was wondering if pre-rinse would be detrimental to the replenishment. Good to know it isn't! Which films do you mostly process?

MattKing · Thursday at 4:18 PM

Dan Rainer said:
I use distilled grocery store water for my chemistry too

I was wondering if pre-rinse would be detrimental to the replenishment. Good to know it isn't! Which films do you mostly process?

T-Max 400 and T-Max 100 almost exclusively.

John Wiegerink · Friday at 8:17 AM

I keep my replenished (working solution) in a one gallon Boston brown glass jug and use the remainder of the 5 liter mix to use as a replenisher mix. The replenisher is stored in a wine bladder type bag. I really wouldn't want to handle much larger than a gallon jug of developer, but that's just me. I use nothing but distilled water and filter my stock before I develop film. It's been foolproof for me and very consistent.

K-G · Friday at 10:31 AM

Dan Rainer said:
What size tanks/trays are you working with? 10L sounds very heavy and unwieldy, at least for my workflow. I develop 1-2 times per week on average.

Yes, the jar is a bit clumsy, but as I develop about once every month or two months it is no great problem. It use to be 10 - 15 rolls in 3 - 4 Paterson tanks in the size for either two or five reels for 35 mm film. So far everything has worked fine.

Karl-Gustaf

Donald Qualls · Friday at 10:32 AM

When I've run Xtol replenished I kept the working solution in a 2L PET beverage bottle -- my largest developing vessel is my Yankee Agitank, which wants 1.6 liters to cover 4x5 (one sheet or twelve). I think 2 liters is about the minimum I'd want to replenish; as noted, the larger your tank solution volume, the less small replenishment errors or variations in negative density matter.

Sirius Glass · Saturday at 1:07 PM

The larger the replenished XTOL container, the more likely that the balance between added stock replenishment is consistent throughout the volume.

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