[Leica] xtol question

[hoppyman at bigpond.net.au (G Hopkinson)]

Very interesting detail from Marty.
But I have to say, given the XTOL reputation of rapid onset and catastrophic 
failure to soup, don't even mess with the current
batch. About the same cost for a gallon or so, as a roll or two of film, I 
think. Maybe you like to live on the edge;-) Not really
too awkward to mix, is it?
Kodak's official storage figure for partially filled, tightly closed 
container "at least two months", "approximately 1 year" in
full, tightly closed container.

Just my two cents
Cheers
Hoppy


-----Original Message-----
Subject: Re: [Leica] xtol question

Very interesting -- I'll give it a try.  Anything to
avoid mixing up another 5 liter batch of nasty
powdered chemicals.  Since I don't have a
densitometer, the Kodak test strips -- whatever they
are -- are not an option.  Tip of the hat to John
Black as well.

Of course, if the test yields a false positive and I
ruin a critical batch of film, it's on you guys.  ;-)

Peter.
SF, CA

P.S.  OTOH, I never seem to have any critical batches
of film -- so I can afford to experiment.

--- Marty Deveney <freakscene@weirdness.com> wrote:

> Peter,
> 
> It is possible to test if your Xtol is still
> working.? 
> 
> The simplest way is to take a strip of film and in
> ordinary room light place a drop of Xtol on the
> emulsion side of the?film.? After 10 seconds, put
> another one a little further along.? After 20s more,
> put another one on.? Put another one on at 1
> minute.? Rinse, fix and wash.? Without a
> densitometer it's hard to quantify and therefore
> it's hard to tell if it?has partly oxidised, but you
> should have spots of increasing density.? Xtol also
> tends to die quickly, so partial loss of efficacy is
> pretty unlikely.? LuGer John Black put me on to this
> and should be acknowledged as the source of this
> simple, elegant and effective method.
> 
> The other way to do this is to buy some Kodak test
> strips, develop one in it and see how it looks and
> check with a densitometer.? That would be the most
> precise way to do it.
> 
> Marty
> 
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> 
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> 



       
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