Taylor CYA Reagent Refill

[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