Taylor CYA Reagent Refill

[momof2grlz]

I'm going to order the Taylor K-2006 test kit, but have been reading on this board (thanks everyone!) that I should probably purchase extra CYA reagent. I can't tell from Taylor's website which R-0013 component to order. There's R-0013A, R-0013C, etc.

Maybe it's different size bottles, but I can't tell from the Taylor website. Does anyone know what product number I should order?

[chem geek]

If you look at the bottom of this web page you will find the "secret" code that Taylor uses. It sure was hard to find! I reproduce it below. I put the most common ones in bold, though you can get the CYA reagent in F=32 oz and even G=gallon sizes!.

Reagent Size Code Explanation

A = .75 oz (22 mL),
A-24 = .75 oz (24 pack),
A144 = .75 oz (144 pack),
B = 2 oz (60 mL, wide-mouth),
C = 2 oz (60 mL),
C-12 = 2 oz (12 pack),
D = 4 oz,
DD = 8 oz,
DB = dropper bottle,
E = 16 oz,
F = 32 oz,
F4 = 32 oz (4 pack),
G = gal,
G4 = gal (4 pack),
H = 25 g,
I = 10 g,
II = 50 g,
J = .25 lb,
K = 1 lb,
Z = 1,000 pack,
Z-10 = 10,000 pack,
Z-50 = 50,000 pack

For CYA reagent, the price is as follows
A=0.75 oz --> $2.50 ($3.33/oz.)
C=2 oz --> $3.75 ($1.88/oz.)
E=16 oz --> $8.15 ($0.51/oz.)
F=32 oz --> $12.15 ($0.38/oz.)
G=gal --> $28.25 ($0.44/oz.)

Looks like somebody wasn't thinking when they made the price of a gallon of CYA more per ounce than then price for a half-gallon!

Richard

[momof2grlz]

Thanks for your help, Richard!

My pool isn't being dug until tomorrow, so I have no idea how much CYA reagent I need to buy. Any suggestions?

[chem geek]

With the K-2006 test kit, you use 7 ml of reagent for each test, so the A-size bottle of .75 oz (22 ml) is only 3 tests, but you get two such bottles in the K-2006 test kit. The C-size bottle of 2 oz (60 ml) is about 8.5 tests while the E-size bottle of 16 oz (473 ml) is 67.5 tests. Usually you don't have to test your CYA very much once it's stable, so I would say that the C-size bottle (R-0013-C) should work well and is reasonably economical.

I wouldn't get the K-2006C kit since that has C-size bottles for all reagents and you'll only use up a lot of CYA reagent initially -- the others you will use up much more slowly. Probably the one you will use up most is the FAS-DPD Titrating Reagent R-0871-A which is much more economical in the C-size, but is sensitive to light so you don't want to get too much of it. If you do tests using a 10 ml sample size to get a resolution of 0.5 ppm, then you should last through a year of testing, but if you use a 25 ml sample size to get a resolution of 0.2 ppm, then you may go through an A-size bottle in less than a year.

Richard

[momof2grlz]

Thanks again, Richard. The C size bottle it is!

[fcfrey]

I have a bunch of different Taylor test kits and would recommend the "A" size for all chemicals except the R-0871-C and the R-0013-E.

I have found that the results with the FAS-DPD are much more consistent when using the 25ml sample size, therefore the bigger size of the R-0871.

I have also found the Rainbow Lifeguard #79 Kit for CYA to be easier to read which uses a 25ml sample with 25ml of R-0013 Reagent. (Taylor tells me it has a LONG shelf life if not abused).

As an aside for Richard --- I was wondering about buying the J (1/4 lb) of the R-0870 DPD Powder --- If I vacuum pack and/or freeze it will it keep??
I do a LOT of Chlorine Testing and have used 3 of the I size (10g) since late July.

[chem geek]

As an aside for Richard --- I was wondering about buying the J (1/4 lb) of the R-0870 DPD Powder --- If I vacuum pack and/or freeze it will it keep??
I do a LOT of Chlorine Testing and have used 3 of the I size (10g) since late July.

Unfortunately, I do not know the answer to that. I wouldn't freeze it, but if you keep it in a cool dark place it should last longer. I just don't know how long nor how sensitive, but my hunch is that only the titrating reagent is sensitive and the others should last much longer. Sorry I don't know more. Perhaps somebody else knows.

[Poconos]

I bought the 1/4# of DPD powder a couple years ago and keep it in the fridge along with a bunch of other bulk refills I purchased. For the DPD powder, I may open the 1/4# container once a year to refill smaller containers that I've accumulated. Keep it cold and dry. I posted somewhere that I'm running a test to determine how degraded DPD powder affects test accuracy. Final check will be done soon at end-of-season. From years of doing color photo processing as a hobby I found the fridge is the best place to keep chemicals. Color processing is extremely sensitive to chemical changes and have used chemicals, papers, and films over 2 years old with no noticable changes. Paper and film in the freezer, chemicals in the fridge.
Al
Edit: here's the thread. Stay tuned for more info.
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=4659