Taylor K-2006 Replacement Chemicals

[Cooper772]

I'm running low on many of my test chemicals and while looking online I noticed they sell 16oz bottles. I'm sure this if for the pool/spa pros that use this stuff a lot on several pools/spas. I'm wondering though if these chemicals have a shelf life and if it would be ok if I bought these to use and to just keep the .75oz. bottles full that came with the kit. The droppers of the small bottles come right off and the bottle could be filled. All together buying the bigger bottles would cost me a little over twice as much as the smaller bottles but I would not have to buy test chemicals for years this way, as long as they don't expire. This forum has been a great asset for me in keeping my hot tub, and hopefully someone here will know the answer to this question. Thanks in advance.

Josh

[chem geek]

Taylor recommends replacing reagents annually, but the different reagents do vary in their shelf-life. If you keep reagents in a cool dark place then see this post for reasonable shelf-life.

You could probably get away with using "C" size reagent bottles instead of "A" size but anything larger is pushing it, especially for the dyes that are the most sensitive. While you could certainly buy any sized bottle for the acid and base reagents, there's no way that you could use 16 oz bottles of the dye indicators before they go bad. DPD powder and FAS-DPD titrating drops also both have limited shelf lives.

[mrwrick]

Amazon has the Taylor chemicals available from different suppliers. How does one tell whether the source is selling fresh supplies or old stock? Are there manufacturing dates/codes on bottle labels that would give the true age of a bottle?

[chem geek]

You can also look at Amato Industries and TFTestkits.

There are lot numbers on the bottles (not dates) and you can call Taylor Technologies if you are concerned with their age. You can also look at the Taylor info on Recognizing a Compromised Reagent.