Can anyone tell me where to buy muriatic acid?

[blessedbeingmom]

Can anyone tell me where to buy muriatic acid and if there is a certain name we should look for on the label? We have a Home Depot, Ace Hardware and a couple of other hardware stores (no Lowe's). We also have some sort of pool store that I've only been in once to buy polyquat. We have about a 5000 gallon above ground pool (more info in signature) that we are about to fill and our fill water pH is about 8.0. How much muriatic acid would we need to buy? Thank you!

[chem geek]

The hardware stores will almost all have Muriatic Acid and that's what it will be called. It may be in their stone/concrete section since the acid is often used to etch/wash stone/concrete. Sometimes it's in the paint section. In fact, they sometimes have it in both the stone section and the pool supply section, but charge more in the pool section or offer a half-strength (15%) version in the pool section for the same price so it's really twice as expensive relative to its concentration.

The full-strength version will say something like "31.45% Hydrochloric Acid" on the ingredients (the rest is just water).

[aylad]

If you have a Tractor Supply Store ( the chain), they're cheaper than most hardware stores. They carry it in the pain department. I would only get a quart or so--you're not going to use more than a cup at a time, and once you get the pH stable you won't need to use it much at all.

Janet

[PoolDoc]

In the "pain department"?? I guess so, if you get it on a cut or in your eyes ;)

Chem_Geek, if anyone is selling 15% muriatic acid, that is actually a GOOD deal for pool owners, even if it costs more. The vapor pressure of the HCl in 15% is low enough so that little off-gassing occurs.

This was actually one of my little secrets I hope to use to some day make money from commercial pools. That's not going to happen! So, here it is:

Regular 31 degree muriatic does MILLIONS of dollars of damage to commercial pools each year (trust me, that is NO exaggeration -- I can show you $2,000,000 in the Chattanooga area over the past 15 years), because of off gassing from containers of stored acid.

The solution?

Dilute it! 2 parts water to 1 part acid is ideal.

I discovered this by accident 25 years ago, and later discovered the reason.

If you use it all up right away, regular acid is fine. If you store it outdoors, it's still fine. But if you store it INDOORS, and can buy diluted acid, do it. You could dilute it yourself, but you'd need a full splash suit + gloves + face shield, and a place to work: it WILL splatter.

Ben / PoolDoc

[aylad]

In the "pain department"?? I guess so, if you get it on a cut or in your eyes ;)



Yeah, well, it can be a pain sometimes!!! :)

Janet

[chem geek]

Yes, the 15% Muriatic Acid fumes a lot less so that can certainly be worth it for that reason alone.

[madwil]

I found muriatic (31% I think) at Lowes and home depot- in the outdoor section (next to flagstones and such)
Often called concrete etchant or cleaner (is used to remove oil stains from driveways!)
Lowes sales 1 gallon bottles for $7-8; Home Depot sales the same bottles, but in a cardboard box with 2 bottles for $10; if you're gonna use much, Home Depot much better deal but not worth the storage hassles if not using much, so buy the single bottles for slightly more IMO...
Ace may have it in smaller sizes, but probably higher cost...
Many other places may have it, as stated above, as driveway cleaner...
Good Luck!