I've been using dilute Xtol for a long time and like it a lot, it really is a terrific general purpose developer. I mix up 5 liters, store it in 5 one-quart bottles (which fill to the brim with 1 liter) and haven't had a problem with storage time (Kodak says a full bottle will last one year, partially full two months).(posted 9688 days ago)Note that Kodak specifies a minimum stock solution requirement of 100ml per 80 in^2. I usually process 35mm films in an 8 oz tank with 1+1 or 1+2 dilute developer, and I process 120 films in a 20oz tank with 1+3 dilute developer.
My experience indicates that one shouldn't be sloppy about the agitation - 30 seconds initially and 5 every 30, by inversion, work very well for me.
I won't soup my T-Max in anything but Xtol.
John (Spectrum Photo) observes that Ilford Microphen is quite similar to Xtol and has stored better for him, but I haven't tried this developer myself yet.
Dana K6JQ Dana@Source.Net