[kypfer]

On Ilford's ID-11 packaging they quote :- "ID-11 powder in dry conditions will keep indefinitely"
I'd like to confirm this appears to be true
A 1 litre pack of ID-11 that had been stored "under the bed" for around 20 years was made up last December and is about to be discarded after successfully processing the recommended 10 36 exposure 35mm films, though I might try a couple of tests with some also very outdated roll film just to see how far it can be pushed and/or how badly the roll film has deteriorated.
I've been spending some time assessing the performance of a few old film cameras over the last three months and took the opportunity to test some old film that had also been stored under the bed, anticipating not very much in the way of results, but at least I'd know if the cameras and lenses worked!
Nevertheless, 20 year old Paterson Acupan 200, Phototech 100 and Ilford SFX have all proven to be perfectly useable, albeit with slight background fog, but Kodak TMax P3200 had deteriorated to virtually useless.
The cameras, a '64 Spotmatic, an Exa 1a of similar age, a Chinon CE-4, a Miranda Fv and my "one owner from new" *ist have all proved perfectly reliable, used, where necessary, in conjunction with my Weston Master V light meter.
The waist-level viewfinders on the Exa and especially the Miranda proved to be a "refreshing" experience
Next up … a pack of Kodak D-76 of similar age and some Kodak HIE

[rvandenbrink]

Can confirm, used some ID-11 form high school a few years ago (I was ~55 at the time)
Once mixed of course it’s a different story

[tuco]

D-23 is just two dry chemicals, Metol and Sodium Sulfite, that you mix at the time of use (single shot). And it will also keep a very long time unmixed. It is a good economical choice for people who develop film infrequently. Development times and results are nearly the same as D-76.

[StiffLegged]

D76/ID-11 is just four dry chemicals, or was in my day. If kept dry and cool I’d expect it to keep a long time. I used to make it up from the ingredients myself.

[titrisol]

That is correct, powders can last a lifetime if no humidity gets to them
Liquid solutions not so much

[kypfer]

A little update, if anyone's interested.
I've finished using the 20 year old pack of Ilford ID-11, made up as stock solution and used to develop the recommended 10 films, a mix of 36 exposure 35mm and a couple of 120, with the adjusted times as detailed on the pack for the later films … then a couple more just to see what was possible … no problem!
So, next step was to try out some Kodak D76 of similar age … significant reservations about this, the pack says "EXP DATE 2004-12", whereas the Ilford pack states "in dry conditions will keep indefinitely".
On opening the a pack the powder inside was very dark brown and significantly clumped
The Kodak powder is pre-mixed, whereas the Ilford powder is in two separate packs.
Mixed up to 1000cc I've got a bottle full of very dark-coloured liquid … not risking a whole film in that!
So, a couple of frames off the beginning of a roll of Acupan 200 in my Olympus XA1 (been wanting to know if that still worked) and away we go.
Give it an extra minute 'cos it's old, a good rinse and in with the fix.
Five minutes later, two perfectly good looking neg's
Getting ambitious now … a full roll of Acupan 200 from my recently acquired MZ-M was dunked in the "soup", rinsed and fixed … and a whole roll of good-looking neg's!
So, not only does the camera work but the dev' is useable as well
The film is drying at the moment … anticipate finding time to scan it tomorrow
Fingers crossed

[niceshot]

Have news for you just used really old concentrated T-Maxx DEV at least 30 yrs old and guess what it worked fine. I mixed it one part to two instead of 4 parts . And it works like a charm. Probable could have gotten away with 4 to one. In any event , just wanted to share that.

[Cerebum]

@kypfer you are having too much fun loving how much success you are enjoying, makes me want to try some expired dev

[titrisol]

When in doubt put a film leader in the developer and time how long it takes to turn dark
This time should be ~1/15 of the estimated development time of your film
I.e. if it turns black in 30s, your dev time should be 7-8 min

If it takes a lot more than that (say 2 min) then developer is shot

[Digitalis]

a pack of Kodak D-76 of similar age and some Kodak HIE

All I can say about Kodak HIE is the film is so blasted sensitive it is annoying to work with. Double bag the camera when loading it. If you think you are being too careful, you are not.

on the plus side, you'll be able to easily find out if your camera has any light leaks.

[kypfer]

All I can say about Kodak HIE is the film is so blasted sensitive it is annoying to work with. Double bag the camera when loading it. If you think you are being too careful, you are not.
on the plus side, you'll be able to easily find out if your camera has any light leaks.

Absolutely
Changing bag under the duvet with the lights off
I'll be using one of my older bodies, without the DX window, just to be on the safe side.
I've already "road-tested" a couple with conventional film and am confident they're light-tight.
The film I've got is my own old stock, so until I process the first roll I won't know if it's still useable or not.
Fortunately, nerd that I am, I have several sets of referenced contact prints, with exposure details annotated for each frame, from the last time I used it, so I should be on fairly safe ground if the film is still good
After that, there's some Macophot IR820c waiting to be assessed
Similar sensitivity to HIE but without the need for total darkness when loading the film … last time I used it was in a Retina, so no problem with blacked-out viewfinder, but I'm wanting to play with my fish-eye lenses, so I'll be using an SLR … just need to figure out how to mount the filter.
The Peleng 8mm has rear-mounted filters, so should be able to rig that without too much difficulty, but the EBC Fujinon 16mm may be a bit more of a challenge

[disconnekt]

A photography channel I follow called "Attic Darkroom" has a video where he developed some film in expired D76, one packet was ~20 years expired & the other was in a metal tin that ~35 years expired, and they came out ok. Here's the video of it & has some results of it::

You Tube

You Tube

[kypfer]

A photography channel I follow called "Attic Darkroom" has a video where he developed some film in expired D76, one packet was ~20 years expired & the other was in a metal tin that ~35 years expired, and they came out ok. Here's the video of it & has some results of it

Thanks for that … more or less confirms my findings
My D-76 was in a foil-lined paper envelope … it would seem the later plastic envelope is/was more successful at retaining the chemical properties of the contents!
My "brown coffee-like liquid" lasted for approx. four rolls of mostly test clips and extremely expired roll film before failing to produce any useable results.
However, I do now know that my 35mm Macophot IR820c is no longer sensitive to infra-red, as predicted by the documentation, and my Negrapan 127 roll-film is OK to test a camera but of little use for anything "serious".
The Kodak HIE is still in the camera … just a few frames to go, when I can find a reasonable subject between the showers, then it'll be processed in new ID-11 … watch this space

[kypfer]

The Kodak HIE is still in the camera … just a few frames to go, when I can find a reasonable subject between the showers, then it'll be processed in new ID-11 … watch this space

Update :-
The Kodak HIE has now been finished and developed … it still retains it's i/r sensitivity, to a degree at least.
The overall density is probably about 1 stop under-exposed, judging from un-filtered exposures at the recommended 80 ISO, but the overall problem is multiple black splodges on the final image (clear spots on the negatives), so unfortunately, of little practical value
Probably about time to come back to the "real world" … load some fresh FP4 into a few cassettes and go and "play" … summer's coming