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My pool goes to "sleep" for eight months (sigh...) and so does Taylor's test kit (k-2006.)
Taylor suggests to buy new ones when the new season starts but one can suspect that they have a vested interest in this proposition.
I'm planning to store the wet reagents in the refrigerator (after making sure that they are tightly closed.)
Any comments? Does anybody have experienced with using stored reagents?
My reagents are kept in a dark, cool, dry cabinet and I have never had a problem with them degrading, with the exception of the DPD-FAS powder, which is going to degrade anyway. (Even that I can usually get the equivalent of two seasons out of, most of the time--I use it year round, so I buy it in bigger bottles than the ones that come in the test kit.) Most of the reagents I have are directly from Taylor, and I have stored some in that cabinet for at least two years, with no reduction in accuracy when compared with a new bottle of the same reagent. I think my fellow mod, Poconos, keeps his CYA reagent in the refrigerator, but I keep mine in the same cabinet as the other stuff.
Janet
How does a degraded DPD-FAS powder look?
The more degraded it gets, the darker in color it gets, 'til it's clumpy and almost black. In my experience it still gives accurate results up to the dark gray, unclumped stage, but after that it needs to be replaced.
Janet
I ran a test a couple years ago and the thread is here:
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=4659
As for the reagents I do keep them in the fridge. Many years ago in an era known as BD, Before Digital, I did color film and paper processing as a hobby. Those chemicals, films, and papers are among the most sensitive to degradation. I kept all this stuff in the fridge and found all were perfectly good way beyond the published drop dead times. Cooling, darkness, and keeping dry, that is away from moisture and a source of oxygen, slows and sometimes completely stops degradation of chemicals.
Al
The FAS titrant can also degrade. It if turns orange or pinkish instead of clear (like water) then toss it out and get a new one.