brown Dektol

[d.s.]

I mixed up a fresh gallon of Dektol today and it's brown... like darker than Coca-Cola brown. My mixing temp was right and the package was not opened til I opened it to mix it. I've seen a little color in Dektol before but not like this! Anyone else come across this before?

[Gene M]

Yeah. My Dektol is brown too. Real dark. Don't worry. It's fine.

[Louis Jensen]

Mixed Dektol is a very light brown. It sounds like your Dektol was oxidized before it was mixed. It can happen when the dry Dektol has been stored for along time. Usually the bag also become discolored. I have had this happen to me. Dektol is rather inexpensive, you should toss it out.

[David Richhart]

The last several gallons of dektol I mixed turned out darker than usual. I have used them and they seem to work fine. The way 'Big Yellow' wants to change things all the time, it makes me wonder if they are screwing with the formula...

[lee\c]

Probably in the warehouse or camera shop shelves for a long time. Fresh Dektol is straw colored when new. I would use it as it probably ok. I doubt they are screwing with the formula.

leec

[John Kasaian]

Perhaps you've discovered a new alternative process: the murkytype!;-)

[Andre Noble]

Dark brown is not a very confidence-instilling color for a developer. Personally, I'd be inclined to toss it based on my limited past experience with dark brown developers. Somewhere something got overly oxydized?

[d.s.]

I looked the package over to see if I could find a date code...I couldn't. It may have been on the corner I clipped off. But, I did find a date code on the other package (Jan. 05), which has a different (newer) look to it. I mixed the older looking package. I started to toss it, but it's a fresh batch and I'll be diluting it 1:2 so that's 3 gals. As long as it's consistant throughout the batch I should be OK. If not, I'll toss it.

Since it's rather dark in there anyway.. I call it "Chem Noir"

[Richard Boulware]

Too brown Dektol is like "Yellow Snow". (And it ain't lemon)".

Richard Boulware - Denver.

[gerryYAUM]

Same thing happened to me in southeast asia a while back. I was in my toilet darkroom in Thailand mixed up some fresh Dectol and brown brown brown...was worried so tossed it mixed up a second batch and same thing..used it and it seemed fine, thought it was because it had been stored in the Bangkok shop for a long time but interesting to see others had the same problem.