What is the life span of Xtol in Powder?

[Andrew ren]

The reason I am asking is I want to add some stock as we all know that Kodak discontinued it.

I am asking that how long will the xtol stay "fresh" in its package?

Cheers

Andrew

[Jan Pedersen]

Andrew, Kodak is not discontinuing the Xtol, only the large batches. I believe the 1 gallon size will still be available so, please check the Kodak announcement again.

It is the 5L that is going to stay not a 1gallon

[Andrew ren]

Andrew, Kodak is not discontinuing the Xtol, only the large batches. I believe the 1 gallon size will still be available so, please check the Kodak announcement again.

It is the 5L that is going to stay not a 1gallon

Jan, sorry, my bad. I always get sensitive under such circumstance. yes, its the 5L package I care of.

but back to the question, will it stay fresh as long as its sealed?

Thanks

Andrew

btw, my cat's name is Xtol.

[Jan Pedersen]

Andrew, Sorry but i can't answer that question since i have not used Xtol the last few years. I do have a few 5L bags stored so i to would be interested to know how long it will last.

[Allen in Montreal]

Andrew,
While I do not use Xtol,
twice in the last 20 years I have bought huge amounts of supplies at the closing sale of local retailers. I still have loads of that stock and to date I have lost nothing. Kodak is very conservative with expiry dates and their products hold for very long periods.

[venchka]

Stored properly of course. Moisture would be the worst gremlin. Keep the bags high and dry.

5L Xtol is still available people! Amazing how these rumors become the gospel truth.

[ronald moravec]

Two years from date of manufacture. After that it mixes up fine, works for a few days and the dies really fast. Don`t ask how I know. All I feel like typing is I bought some before they were dating the packages and screwed up irreplaceable shots. One of my many calls to Kodak about this product.

My advice is buy a scale and some chems and mix D76. Ther are but 4 components.

Mytol is a home brew Xtol. I am sure there is a formula on line somewhere.

[Gene McCluney]

I believe Kodak had an issue early on with the 1 litre (or 1 quart) Xtol powder mix, that went bad, but that has long been rectified, and the 5 litre pack never had any problems, and should last quite a while as long as the package is factory sealed.

[venchka]

Two years from date of manufacture. After that it mixes up fine, works for a few days and the dies really fast. Don`t ask how I know. All I feel like typing is I bought some before they were dating the packages and screwed up irreplaceable shots. One of my many calls to Kodak about this product.

My advice is buy a scale and some chems and mix D76. Ther are but 4 components.

Mytol is a home brew Xtol. I am sure there is a formula on line somewhere.

Insufficient data.

[Toyon]

Two years from date of manufacture. After that it mixes up fine, works for a few days and the dies really fast. Don`t ask how I know. All I feel like typing is I bought some before they were dating the packages and screwed up irreplaceable shots. One of my many calls to Kodak about this product.

My advice is buy a scale and some chems and mix D76. Ther are but 4 components.

Mytol is a home brew Xtol. I am sure there is a formula on line somewhere.

Are you saying that a Kodak Technician told you this as a fact?

[tgtaylor]

A couple of years back I bought 2 5-liter packs of Xtol for $1 each from a girl living near the UCSF campus that moved to the digital side and was selling her film developing equiptment. I thought that I had used both packs when I was suprised to find one remaining when I went to mix fresh developer in September. The expiration date was one month earler in August but I expected it to be good so I mixed it and used the last of it about 2 weeks ago with no problem. I mix 5 liters at a time and store the stock in a floating lid tank that will hold 10 liters or more. I have used stock as old as 5 months with no problem.

[Gene McCluney]

I've got a 3.5 gallon deep tank with floating lid and cover lid that I mixed up Xtol in, early last spring, and with replenishment I continue to use it with excellent results. There was a period of about 4 months over the middle summer and early fall when I didn't use it at all, but it stayed good. Before starting up I replaced about 1/2 gallon of it with fresh Xtol I had already mixed up in a separate bottle in the spring. Xtol is one of those developers that is replenished with fresh developer, as opposed to "developer replenisher".