Old PMK Pyro film developer

[Dan Dozer]

So - for various reasons, I have not been able to do any film processing for a couple of years. I have some PMK pyro developer (parts A and B) sitting up on a shelf that has not been touched during that time. The bottles are about 2 years old and are about 3/4 full. The solution B has turned dark brown over this time. Do you guys think both bottles are still good to mix and use or should just I throw them out and get some new stuff?

[Jim Noel]

I would say "B" is likely oxidized, but give it a try on a snip of film.

[Drew Wiley]

It's remarkably stable even when oxidized and dark brown, and the bottle mostly empty, as long as the two components are unmixed. But it's the clear B solution more likely to cause an issue if there's granular settling in the bottle. If so, mix of shake the B part well before mixture with Part A. This is generally a cold weather issue. But of course, if you are dealing with valuable negatives, it's better to be safe than sorry.

[Dan Dozer]

It's remarkably stable even when oxidized and dark brown, and the bottle mostly empty, as long as the two components are unmixed. But it's the clear B solution more likely to cause an issue if there's granular settling in the bottle. If so, mix of shake the B part well before mixture with Part A. This is generally a cold weather issue. But of course, if you are dealing with valuable negatives, it's better to be safe than sorry.

There is a small amount of granules on the bottom of Bottle B, but I've had that before with "good" developer. I normally shoot 8 x 10, but maybel I'll try it out on a sheet of 4 x 5 to see if it works.

[Drew Wiley]

Try putting the B bottle in a warm water bath awhile first, and see if the sediment dissolves more easily. A tiny bit unmixed won't have much appreciable effect, but the degree of final contrast can be slightly affected if too much remains settled out of solution.