Hello, I have a batch of Kodak D-76 which has been shelved for maybe 4-6 months in a ca pped plastic jug. It was only used once for 6 4x5 negs. Can this developer be re plenished or is it too old to bother with? thanks, Matt S.
Hello, I have a batch of Kodak D-76 which has been shelved for maybe 4-6 months in a ca pped plastic jug. It was only used once for 6 4x5 negs. Can this developer be re plenished or is it too old to bother with? thanks, Matt S.
If the solution is still clear then it should be OK. If its brown then throw it away.
Having said that I wouldn't use D-76 and replenisher for LF (or any) film processing. I want the developer solution to be a constant not a variable and using a one shot developer insures that. So I use D- 76 in a 1:1 ratio and then throw it away. That way I don't have any doubts at all about the strength of the developer. And if it's been 4-6 months since you've used the D-76, the increased cost of one shot developing isn't going to break you! ;-)
I've totally ruined a couple batches of film trying to be economical and squeeze in the use of that BROWN developer. I hope I'm not so stupid in the future!
Throw it out & start over again....but D76 _can_ be replenished successfully with D76R (a separate product). If you only develop a couple of sheets though, it won't be worth it to you...we used to run D76 in our deeptank and averaged about 200 sheets a month. We dumped it monthly though. If you want to use it straight and not replenish, you can average in extended times...I forget what they are, check the Kodak dataguide--about 15% or so for each additional 8x10 sheet equivalent. but there's a certain limit to this as well, and only for developer that you reuse in the same session more or less. Repl. only makes sense when you run a regular amount....you gotta keep it active....if you do it right, you won't have to worry about consistency.
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