Does powder Dektol go bad?

[fuegocito]

I have just mixed a batch of Dektol of unknown age, it looks like a dark ale with lots fine wood pulp and metal filing in it :-) just wonder if anyone else have seen the same in their older Detol.

The Dektol in question came in the regular Kodak sealed foil bag.

[BradS]

yes. it definitely goes bad. When it looks as you describe, it is bad but, it may still work (if you're desperate).

[cyrus]

I've had that happen but it worked fine nonetheless.

[William Whitaker]

...it looks like a dark ale with lots fine wood pulp and metal filing in it...

Kind of like a British ale... ;)

[fuegocito]

Kind of like a British ale... ;)

now now! :-) British Ale is one fine thing in a hot afternoon

I am filtering the debris out of the old dektol and give it a kick in the can.

[William Whitaker]

Or a cold afternoon or...
Cheers lads!

[Jim C.]

wonder if mine has gone bad, still in a can, and if I read the price correctly cost
me 70 cents !

[Mark Sampson]

Save the canned Dektol for your collection of 'stuff'. Kodak went to foil packaging somewhere around 1973/4.... unfortunately the foil package doesn't last forever. When you can see brown stains around the seal at the top of the envelope, it means that the contents have oxidized, and probably won't work. When I've made a mix like the one you'e described, I've just thrown it out. But those packets were of unknown age, perhaps 10 years old.

[fuegocito]

The report; this old Dektol does work despite being oxidized. I was making a pile of contact sheets so I was not concerned about fine quality, if it should make any difference that is.

I have not used Dektol in a long time and these stuffs came from a big pile of school darkroom supplies that they were about to throw away. I didn't have the heart to see them all go to waste so I truck them all back here trying to put them to good use. It is a very quick acting developer, not sure if it is natural or because of the oxidation.

D-76 and Microdol from the same pile are normal so not sure if it's just this one bag or all the Dektol's have gone "bad"

[c.d.ewen]

I'd be interested in knowing how to tell "sort-of-bad" Dektol from "pretty-bad" Dektol. Dead Dektol I think I can figure out.

Do you lose detail or what?

I picked up a real cheap 5 Gal bag of Dektol at a local camera store's clearance sale. I poured the contents into Mason jars and sealed them. All of the jars started out considerably darker than the contents of a fresh Dektol bag. As I use it, the partially filled jar gets very noticably darker than the unopened jars, but the stuff still works for casual contact prints.

I figure I'll just keep using the old stuff until I need glasses :p

Charley

[Jim Noel]

Bad Dektol will take forever to develop the print, and the contrast will suffer.
I have successfully used Dektol, and other powder developers, when the powder and resulting solution were almost chocolate brown. When the solution begins to smell bad, it generally is.

[fuegocito]

My oxidized version of the Dektol is definitely ale-ish minus the bubbly:)

The print came up really quick (within first 4-6 second) and definitely a lot faster than the beer formula developer I normally uses.

[c.d.ewen]

Thanks, Jim. I'll watch the contrast, and I'll keep my nose clean ;)

I'll confess to another abuse of Dektol: I calculate apertures by shining a point-source light through the back of a lens, while having a piece of photo paper under the front. The circle projected onto the paper is the entrance pupil. Developing the paper, all I want is a black circle to measure. I use old Dektol until I get tired of waiting for it.

Charley

[SamReeves]

I have a bunch of 1 gallon packages which are past date, and they all work fine. Just make sure they're all sealed.

[BradS]

I have a bunch of 1 gallon packages which are past date, and they all work fine. Just make sure they're all sealed.

Even the original factory sealed foil packages, Dektol eventually goes bad.

[Robert A. Zeichner]

I'd be interested in knowing how to tell "sort-of-bad" Dektol from "pretty-bad" Dektol. Dead Dektol I think I can figure out.

Do you lose detail or what?

I picked up a real cheap 5 Gal bag of Dektol at a local camera store's clearance sale. I poured the contents into Mason jars and sealed them. All of the jars started out considerably darker than the contents of a fresh Dektol bag. As I use it, the partially filled jar gets very noticably darker than the unopened jars, but the stuff still works for casual contact prints.

I figure I'll just keep using the old stuff until I need glasses :p

Charley

You might want to be real careful doing this as Dektol is not a single chemical, but a combination of powdered ingredients that must all be dissolved in water to assure the correct proportion. If you divide the powder, there is no guarantee that each mason jar will contain exactly the same thing as the components may settle due to differences in weight and crystal structure!

[Sirius Glass]

Kind of like a British ale... ;)

but better! ;)

[c.d.ewen]

You might want to be real careful doing this as Dektol is not a single chemical, but a combination of powdered ingredients that must all be dissolved in water to assure the correct proportion. If you divide the powder, there is no guarantee that each mason jar will contain exactly the same thing as the components may settle due to differences in weight and crystal structure!

Robert:

You're quite right. It's a chance I decided to take because of the price. I did put the entire package into a large jar and shook it a bit, hoping to mix it as well as possible.

Charley